Profiting from a trip to the "Shark Tank".

The new reality show "The Shark Tank" really resonates with me because I have been down that road. After my first business had been in operation for about a year and a half I was contacted by a money guy out of New York City who wanted to help me raise money for the business on a retainer basis. Since our original business plan had shown that we needed $250,000 to start the business and, after pooling our funds, my partner and I had $3,500 (but what the heck it was pretty close) we could certainly use some additional capital. So we agreed to pay this individual a retainer fee for which he would get us audience with venture capital people and angels. And indeed in about two months, after many iterations of our business plan, he did manage to schedule half a dozen angels and VCs for us to meet who were scattered across the South and Midwest. I had just finished my MBA at the ripe old age of 36, and that combined with my experience in the business world at that time, convinced me that I could do a really good job on this road show. Well, if you've been watching the reality show "The Shark Tank" you can imagine what a buzz saw I encountered! I had my own personal Shark Tank over a period of about a month, repeated over and over again. I received a postgraduate education in business that fortunately my MBA had prepared me to appreciate. But that didn't make it any less painful. Since that time, I have had occasion to present business plans when searching for funding a great many times and that initial education has always stood me in good stead. However, if I had been smart enough to get coaching before I went on the road trip it would have been much more successful, and a lot less wear and tear on me personally.