In my newsletter a couple of weeks ago, I recommended the If I Ruled the World episode of What Now with Trevor Noah. If Christiane ruled the world, her decree is that everyone would be required to watch one hour of unscripted shows once a week. The reason being that it widens one's lens of what's happening in the world outside of our own bubbles. I've never been a fan of unscripted TV — not since The Real World Season 1, but I thought Christiane's reasoning made a lot of sense.

So I went looking for a show that I would enjoy while also learning a thing or two and landed on Shark Tank. The show started in 2008 and is a great time capsule for what was happening at that time — an economic downturn that we are still feeling the effects of today. Manufacturing jobs had started to move overseas and by the beginning of Season 3, episode 2, entrepreneurs are on the show pitching businesses to revitalize manufacturing in their home towns that had become economically depressed.

At this point in the show, the sharks are telling these folks they won't invest in their companies because the entrepreneurs won't "do what's best for their business", which is move the manufacturing overseas.  A guy who'd designed an attachment for a pickup truck wanted to make his product in America even though it cost more to make it here. The business owner had distributors interested in his product but they were only willing to pay slightly more than what it cost to make the product, meaning he'd not made any profit from his genius invention so far. When asked if he would move manufacturing overseas to bring the price down and give him a 50% profit, the business owner said absolutely not because he wanted to help his town come back from economic disaster. "If you don't ever get to make it yourself as a company, who can you help?," Daymond John asks. The Sharks tell this owner that as his business grows he will be able to employ people in America and if he grows even bigger he could bring his manufacturing here if he wants to. The business owner continues to refuse and he does not get an investment. My heart breaks for that business owner because had I been standing there on TV in 2009 or whenever it was, with the support and future of my community riding on me, I would have refused, too. From 2025, though, I do see the sense in what the Sharks were saying. "Make it, master it, and then I can matter," John says.

BUT the problem is, nobody has really moved any manufacturing back after making it and mastering it and today — 16 years later — we see how that's worked out for us. It's part of how we ended up in the middle of a techno-fascist takeover. People being unable to find meaningful work where they live is a problem for the country. I'd go so far as to say it's a national security risk. It makes me think we should slow our roll with AI because if it really is going to put people out of work, we need a plan for that.

Anywho, Shark Tank is a show that sheds light on how Americans have come to worship money and the people who make it. The Sharks are all self-made and that's very compelling to me. So as I sit at the sewing machine trying to make it myself, I'm watching this show and I'm taking notes. But I wonder what's gonna happen to us all if we don't start putting people ahead of profits.

Here are some my takeaways after watching a little over 2 seasons of Shark Tank:

1. If you haven't tried selling your own product, investors are not so into you.

2. Lots of people don't get anywhere because they don't even try knocking on the right doors. This is a mistake. Investors want to see that you've tried to get the right people to notice you.

3. Savvy is one thing, greed is another. Be savvy when negotiating, not greedy.

4. Being able to think on your feet goes a long way, but don't make shit up.

5. Not taking yourself too seriously goes a long way.

6. Branding is everything.

7. Investors want to see that you have sales, you're making a profit, you have drive, you're responsible with money and time, and you're committed to your idea because they want to make their money back as quickly as possible.

8. Know your financials inside and out.

9. Ego and confidence are two different things. Ego is a drain. Confidence is a boost.

10. Passion is great but it's not enough. If your business is a bad idea, there's no amount of passion that can make up for it.

11. You can be creative and a little off-kilter, but there's a line. "You need to be 100% entrepreneur with a wisp of nutbar," (Kevin O'Leary)

12. Your product really needs to be solving a problem and having something about your product that is proprietary is highly valuable.

13. Potential investors really don't like it when you ask them for money but you haven't put your own money in. Makes for good TV, though.

14. The value of knowing when to shut up can not be understated.

15. Your company needs to make money or else it's not a real business. It's a hobby.

I am letting that last one sink in.