This blog post discusses Dustin Sproat’s blog post “Behind the Scenes with Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary” and Paul Davidescu’s post “Tangoo’s journey to Dragon’s Den: The conclusion“.

In our Comm 101 class and tutorial, we discussed the show dragon’s den and the companies called Shnarped and Tangoo. After the class, I was interested in learning more about the show so, heeding Paul’s advice, I visited Dustin Sproat’s blog on his Dragon’s Den experience. In terms of his blog and the episode, I quickly realized that regardless of what business you start, there will always be negative feedback; however, what you do with the feedback is what really matters. In his blog, Dustin highlights his learning experience in a few lines:

“DON’T be afraid to put yourself out there. Basically the worst case scenario happened — Mark hated it — and we still came out way ahead of if I hadn’t gone to LA. 
– DON’T overthink the advice of any one person. We’ve taken advice from hundreds of people way smarter than me and they all disagree with one another anyway. 
– DO listen to everyone’s advice, but make your own judgements. 
– DO be continually thankful for the people that have supported you, as they form the base that will help you figure out how to get to the next level.”

Shark-Tank

The show Dragon’s Den and the American Shark Tank are both shows that provide a huge opportunity for companies that are just starting up. Generally, the show allows a business idea to be publicized, allows the “sharks” or “dragons” the opportunity to invest in a great idea, and provides a great way for a company to gain more capital. The opportunity is massive and it is quite easy to feel shut down. However, as Dustin illustrates within his timeline of events leading up to, during, and after his company’s appearance on the show, he encourages small-time entrepreneurs to constantly be confident and willing to take negative feedback in stride for your company- allowing improvements where needed based on your judgements.

The show provides excellent real-life examples of how  a company or a business pitches a business, does it’s financial statements, and utilizes it’s customer segments, value propositions,  and business plan.

Shnarped Hockey – http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/dustin-sproat/behind-the-scenes-with-mark-cuban_b_5085533.html

Tangoo – https://blog.tangoo.ca/tangoos-journey-to-dragons-den-the-conclusion/