How to Create Winning Shark Tank Pitch Videos
The hit television series Shark Tank has aired on ABC since 2009 attracting the interest of entrepreneurs that are at varied stages of business development and are seeking investment financing as well as other interests from “the sharks.” Pitching to the “Sharks” on the series can certainly be intimidating for the entrepreneur, particularly as there is a lot weighing on their pitch. Many presentations kick off with Shark Tank pitch videos, highlighting key details of the business and the entrepreneurial spirit of the owners.
Learning how to create winning Shark Tank pitch videos is something that typically requires the support of a professional, especially if you want to impress the Sharks. To help you understand what goes into the production of a winning pitch, and how to approach the process, we’ve put together this guide.
But first, let’s dive into a bit more detail about the show itself and what it means to pitch to the sharks.
About Shark Tank
Shark Tank is a television series that started in 2009 on ABC and continued for its 13th season in 2021. Over the years, there have been different “Sharks,” high profile investors that are there to take the bait and fight over the best entrepreneurial offers that are presented to them.
So how’s the process work? Pitchers, the entrepreneurs that are looking for investment financing or funding for various projects, have just a few minutes to pitch their business idea to the “Sharks” a panel of five investors that decide whether or not they are interested in investing in the entrepreneur’s company.
Who are the “Sharks”?
The Sharks of Shark Tank makeup a core group of 6 total investors but there have been episodes in which guest shark appearances have been made. Generally though, the sharks consist of the following multi-millionaire and billionaire investors:
- Barbara Corcoran, a Real Estate investor with a net worth of $100 million.
- Lori Greiner, a retail investor known for her work on QVC with a net worth of $150 million.
- Robert Herjavec, a self-proclaimed software engineer with a net worth of $200 million.
- Daymond John, a self-proclaimed fashion guru & founder of FUBU with a net worth of $350 million.
- Kevin O’Leary, a Canadian businessman & author known as Mr. Wonderful with a net worth of $400 million.
- Mark Cuban, a media buyer and owner of NBA team Dallas Mavericks with a net worth of $4.5 billion.
What’s the Catch?
So, as you can see, the “Sharks” have plenty of money to go around, which is why they come together for the reality television series in which they fight for the best opportunities, those they believe they can not only be most profitable with but that they also believe they will be able to help most with, to invest in.
You’re probably thinking, there must be a catch! There is! Entrepreneurs have just a few minutes to pitch their idea to the sharks and when an offer is presented to them by any, or all, of the sharks, they have mere seconds (or minutes in some cases) to decide whether to accept, or reject the deal. It’s a high stakes situation, and the pressure is real!
What Shark Tank Pitch Videos Should Include
You’re probably wondering what you could possibly include in a video that you’re pitching to people with such high net worth? So, after some research of the past pitches that have won the approval of the sharks, here’s what the top Shark Tank pitch videos have included in the past:
- Strong Personal Connection. Showing similarities to the Sharks can help you catch their interest.
- Statistics & Figures! But make sure you’ve triple checked because 64% of instances where there was no “deal” from the Sharks were the result of some kind of math problem!
- Interactive capabilities. If you’re using Shark Tank pitch videos as part of your presentation, it needs to open the presentation up to an interactive session between entrepreneur & the Sharks.
- A Story! 58% of successful pitches include a strong story. If you’re not a good storyteller, you might turn to your pitch video to do the storytelling. Tell a story, make it about money, and get it out in less than 90 seconds or else you’re probably not going to win over the sharks!
How to Create Shark Tank Pitch Videos
So, how do you go about actually creating your pitch videos? It starts with hammering out your story. You must be thinking about how you are going to connect with the Sharks (you might even consider a particular shark or two to target!) and how you’ll share your story. You’ve got maybe 90 seconds for your pitch video followed by just a minute or two for your interactive pitch, so literally every second is going to be incredibly important!
Start with a strong introduction that grabs the interest of the Sharks. If you’re thinking about using numbers, you need to make absolutely sure that they are right! Do not risk your deal by having your math wrong!
Your pitch video will have a call to action, but it needs to be unique and it needs to be relevant. Make sure that you have informed the sharks not only WHY you need investment financing, but WHAT you will do with the funds if you receive them!
For professional Shark Tank pitch videos, we recommend working with a professional film producer. Not just because we’re biased, but because the Sharks will immediately recognize a poorly produced video! You have about 90 seconds with video to grab the Shark’s attention and get them hyped up about your company. You can’t waste a second on poorly produced, poorly planned, or poorly filmed video content.
If you’re serious about producing Shark Tank pitch videos that will get your company front and center with the sharks, give Beverly Boy Productions a call!