Reality television has narrated us the essentials of controversial lifestyles and the trivial values that come along with it. Facing a new era of youth-centric startups, broadcast has shifted towards shows with an entrepreneurial foundation:
New venture finance has become the alternative diction of a reality TV-based production, presenting highly commercialised and successful formats such as The Apprentice or Shark Tank. The latter is an American series based on the original Japanese inspiration of the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, launched in 2009 as an episode format.
The initial concept seems simple: entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to venture capitalists, serving in a panel of potential investors in the show, referred to as “sharks”, who are looking to invest in the next “big thing”.
Including Kevin O’Leary in the panel, among others, the evaluation of whether to opt out or in gains a crucial judging sense, a train of thought, which can be regarded as one of the highlights of the show. The different ideas introduced by the respective entrepreneurs, who often already happen to have local success, are then judged by essential criteria. For example whether the concept or product is “serving a greater purpose”, or a purpose at all.
The “celebrity” version of this format can be found in The Apprentice with Donald Trump, a show in which potential candidates compete for a job as an apprentice to the billionaire. A show which is equally known for its rather sensational nature as it is for its investment substance. A follow-up on the progress of every deal sealed on the show is solely reserved to startups which prove a long-term viability. Strikingly, some of the negotiated outcomes are never finalised into deals due to the investor’s process of reviewing the entrepreneurs’ personal and financial history.
So do reality TV shows of this kind really have potential to be beneficial for (aspiring) entrepreneurs? Generally speaking, they do have a great potential. With regard to gaining a foreign perspective on your very own business pitch, for example, it certainly is a helpful tool to combine both your domestic version as well as the “overseas” one. Generally knowing how to operate within both markets could provide you with a leap to the front door of your niche. However, at the end of the day it is still a show successfully living off of ratings, hence the element of entertainment outweighs its “educational” factor – for now.
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