Lori Greiner, QVC Queen and my favorite shark, is giving Mark Cuban a real run for his money. She’s only been on a handful of shows, yet she has invested nearly as much cash in new entrepreneurs as Mark has- and he’s on every week.
To date, Lori has invested around $525,000, or roughly one percent of her net worth, in The Shark Tank. Cuban has invested around $680,000 or a little under two percent of his net worth.
Lori’s background in the TV sales business brings a new dimension to the Shark Tank. She has a keen eye for what will sell on TV and the vehicle to deliver products she invests in to the masses. Cuban certainly has a lot of resources at his disposal and brings his own level of “juice” to any deal, but Lori has the whole package for certain types of products. I wonder what she would have done with Litter Jewelry had she been on the show; I think it would have been in her comfort zone.
I like the fact that Lori is also one of two Sharks- Daymond John being the other, that is actively running a company that produces consumer goods. Sure, Cuban’s sports team and other endeavors, Barbara’s Real Estate empire, and Robert’s and Kevin’s high tech successes are compelling, but consumer goods are what people who watch the Shark Tank are more likely to encounter on a regular basis. Daymond’s still selling a whole bunch of clothes, but Lori is out in front of her products more than the other sharks. She has to be- she’s on TV all the time.
I hope Lori returns next season- I like what she brings to the show. Here are a couple of videos of Lori demonstrating some past Shark Tank successes and failures and she shows us the product that started it all for her.
Entrepreneur, auteur, raconteur. Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A father of five who freelances in a variety of publications, Rob has a stable of websites including Shark Tank Blog, Hot Dog Stories, Rob Merlino.com and more.
Great article Rob! As Lori’s new Shark Tank partner, I want you to know that you are dead on. Lori is all this and more!
Lori Greiner is a great addition to the show, and she’s certainly willing to deal (unlike Kevin Harrington) and she even managed to increase the level of competition on the show, but I think that her focus on consumer goods is more of a downside than an upside. Mark, Kevin and Robert seem to be willing to invest in a lot broader range of products and industries than Daymond and Lori in my opinion.
I would love to see more tech companies come on the show but the fact is that it’ll almost certainly never reach a deal because of the risk and the size of the investment needed (more than likely it would range around the 1-5 million dollar mark whereas the sharks primarily make deals in the 50-500k range). The current products offered in the shark tank are almost always either a consumer product or a service sold to consumers. I think it’s a shame: there’s a lot more out there.
By the way, isn’t Mark Cuban a billionaire?
Cuban is a billionaire- I will have to check my math- too many zeros!
If you are into tech products- two are on the docket for this week and both appear promising. Stay tuned…..
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