Shark Tank – Am I an Inventor?
Alice Lee
AHTC Summer Institute 2012
Introduction:
A strong relationship exists between the business world and inventors throughout history. But how do inventors stay true to what they create, but also allow some change in order to get their product to the mass market? The give and take between this relationship can be seen through the television show Shark Tank, where a panel of businessmen and businesswomen invest in businesses and products that were created by everyday common people.
Essential Questions:
á What characteristics do inventors share?
á What is the nature of discoveries? What counts as a discovery and why?
á Which discoveries become popular and which become obsolete? Why?
á What issues do inventors face when trying to get their product out to the general public?
Roles:
Inventor
á
You are an aspiring inventor/entrepreneur who has
made a unique product that you feel like will be very popular and meet a need
that the public has.
á
You are going to go onto a show called Shark
Tank to give a pitch and sell your product to the panel of business men and
women in order to get funding to reproduce and offer your product or service to
the public.
The Task:
á
You have to create a pitch about your product or
service to the investorsÕ panel on Shark Tank, in order for them to give you
money to start your business. The investors are looking for profitable
inventions that they can invest in and in return receive a percentage of the
business. You need money to get your business going but you need to figure out
how to convince and educate the investors that your product or service is
useful and will make money. If they do not believe in your product or service
they can reject your pitch all together.
The Process:
á Begin by watching Shark Tank Episodes in order to better understand the nature of the show. Remember you have to know your audience, make sure you understand what the common characteristics and tendencies are for the people sitting on the business panel. Also remember that you can get multiple bids on your product and must choose how to proceed with different investors.
o http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/
á Now begin your research checking out inventors and their story of how they developed their product, received credit for their creation, and were able to attract the right investors and to then offer the product to the general public.
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Websites |
Usefulness of Discoveries |
Common characteristics of inventors |
Factors that contribute to scientific discoveries |
Issues that face inventors |
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á After you finished the chart, write down a guide containing the top two most important characteristics for each column from the chart above that you think will best convince the panel of investors to invest in your product or service.
Evaluation:
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Chart |
Pitch |
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3 |
At least 75% of the chart is filled out using all the websites |
7-8 important characteristics can be attributed to the chart that has been filled out |
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2 |
50% to 74% of the chart is filled out |
5-6 important characteristics can be attributed to the chart that has been filled out |
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1 |
Less than 50% of the chart is filled out |
Less than 5 important characteristics can be attributed to the chart that has been filled out |