Mark: I can’t be definitive because the entrepreneurs didn’t consult me on their decision to…
Perhaps that was a mistake, but then you get into the relative value of TV as a marketing exercise versus the valuation and evaluation of…
Mark: I can’t be definitive because the entrepreneurs didn’t consult me on their decision to participate in Shark Tank. But I believe that they viewed the opportunity as a remarkable chance to promote their product on national television. They wanted to get a Shark to invest so they could get the marketing benefit of that. Then the question is: what offer to make to get a shark to bite (so to speak). Personally, I think they made a mistake by offering a $5M valuation as the initial offer. You are right that the sharks always try to get a lower valuation.
Perhaps that was a mistake, but then you get into the relative value of TV as a marketing exercise versus the valuation and evaluation of the businesses proposing investment. The sharks are the dominant species and should be expected to be bloodless in that environment. Very complicated; do you mean to say that you have NO responsibility to take the entrepreneur into account? It’s the difference between shark and vulture. Shark worries about the eventual outcome and the value of their share; Vulture worries about winning and getting the best deal. @sacca did not optimize for success of his investment. IMHO.