Find Out How to Apply at ABC.com or Attend Open Casting Calls in Los Angeles
On Friday, June 17 or in Dallas on Saturday, June 25

The producers of the ABC reality series “Shark Tank” are on a nationwide search to discover the next successful – and possibly wealthy – entrepreneurs, inventors, businesspersons, dreamers, promoters, creators and innovators. In each episode, budding entrepreneurs are given the unprecedented chance to make their business dreams come true.

Whether you just have an idea, are a start up or already operating successfully and looking to expand, if you feel you have a lucrative business/idea and could use financial backing, then “Shark Tank” is just the show for you. Casting is looking for aspiring entrepreneurs who can pitch their breakthrough business concepts, products, properties and services to moguls in hopes of landing investment funds. If selected, five self-made, brilliant but tough investors (the Sharks) could be willing to part with their own hard-earned cash to give you the funding you need to jumpstart your idea. But the Sharks aren’t just out to invest; they too have a goal — to own a piece of the venture.

Your business idea should be top-notch and something the Sharks will really want to sink their teeth into. It might even spark a bidding war between them. Who knows? You could be the fortunate entrepreneur who gets the Sharks to reveal their true level of interest and to bid up the price of your investment!

For application information, visit: www.abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank/casting.

You can also apply by attending one of our Open Calls. This is your opportunity to meet face to face with the Shark Tank casting teams. Come prepared to wow and dazzle us with your product/business/idea and your completed application which you can download at abc.com/shows/shark-tank. Be advised: security may check your bag and you are responsible for your own parking. We do not validate.

LOS ANGELES OPEN CALL: FRIDAY, JUNE 17TH
BEVERLY GARLAND’S HOLIDAY INN
4222 Vineland Ave.
North Hollywood, CA 91602
1:00pm to 8:00pm

DALLAS OPEN CALL: SATURDAY, JUNE 25TH
WFAA – VICTORY PARK
3030 Olive St.
Dallas, TX 75201
11:00am to 6:00pm

There is an open casting call today at Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn in North Hollywood, from noon until 8PM. If you have a business that needs funding in order to take it to the next level, then the Sharks are looking for you.

If you are not able to make it today you can still contract the producers at SharkTankCasting@yahoo.com.

If you have any questions feel free to call 310-244-3745. Good luck and remember to tell them InTheSharkTank.com sent you.

The producers of Shark Tank are looking for entrepreneurs who need the Sharks help to make their business dreams come true.
For several weeks, producers have been asking entrepreneurs to send in their applications for Shark Tank, by emailing SharkTankCasting@yahoo.com but now the producers want to see you in person. The first open casting call has been announced for September 17th at the Beverly Garland’s Holiday Inn in North Hollywood. The casting call will take place from 12:00 PM until 8:00 PM.
If you are in the area this is a great opportunity to wow the producers with your business or product.

Last season the Producers held casting calls in Chicago, New York, Orlando and LA, there is no word yet if this will be the only casting call this season or not.
If you have any questions feel free to call 310-244-3745. Good luck and remember to tell them InTheSharkTank.com sent you.

Here are just a few of the essential business lessons that I noted after watching just one episode:

1. Know what your business is worth. The most important thing any contestant on the show can do is to have a clear idea of what their business and market is worth. Valuing your company wrong (either over or under estimating) is mistake most of the early contestants seem to be making – and mirrors a mistake many entrepreneurs make in real life.
2. Make an offer to establish your position. There are different points of view on how best to negotiate, but the format of the show that I find myself liking is that contestants must state as soon as they walk in the door what offer they are making, how much they want and what equity they will give. If only real business worked this smoothly.
3. Focus on what’s in it for the other guy. When you walk into a situation to ask for money, it’s obvious that the person you are asking can help you. But what is in it for them? The better the answer to this question, the more likely a contestant on the show is to get the funding he or she is seeking.
4. Decide what you are willing to accept. There is a difference between what you ask for and what you are willing to take. Knowing what you really want and what you can live with is crucial to any negotiation and is proving to be an important lesson that the contestants on the show are forgetting with surprising regularity.
5. Prove the value instead of describing it. Similar to a point I made about infomercials in an earlier blog post, the power of a product is often best unlocked through a live demonstration. Most of the contestants were asked to illustrate what their product could do, and the value of it was directly related to whether or not they could do it.
6. Create a bidding war. The last important point I took away from the show is that if you have something really valuable, it helps to create a bidding war. Too many times, businesses go for the first offer they can get, which can be a major limiting mistake.

Keep these tips in mind if you ever decided to swim with the sharks.

Open Casting Call:

ORLANDO
Thursday, June 11th
Sheraton Hotel Orlando Downtown
60 S. Ivanhoe Blvd.
Orlando, FL 32804
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

NEW YORK
Saturday, June 13th
Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
333 Adams St.
Brooklyn, NY 11201
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

CHICAGO
Satuday, June 13th
Embassy Suites Chicago Downtown/Lakefront
511 N. Columbus Dr.
Chicago, IL 60611
9:00 AM – 4:00 PM

As I said last time, arrive early, make sure you fill out this application (tell them you found out about it from InTheSharkTank.com) and be prepared to answer these questions.

Follow us on twitter at Twitter.com/SharkTankABC

Shark Tank is a new reality show where entrepreneurs must try to convince five multi-millionaire business tycoons to part with their own hard-earned cash and give them the funding they need to jumpstart their business’s. Each week, ambitious entrepreneurs from across the country will present their breakthrough business concepts, products, properties and services to the panel of ruthless investors. Their goal is to convince these merciless moguls to invest their own dollars in the concept. Convincing real-life millionaires to part with their own money is no easy task, because when the idea is poor, the Sharks will tear into the ill-prepared presenters and pass on the idea with a simple, “I’m out!,” sending them running for the exit. Entrepreneurs will be asked to give up a percentage of their companies’ equity to the Sharks in order to get the investment they need.

Casting is still ongoing, so if you think you have what it takes to swim with the sharks then email SharkTankCasting@yahoo.com with your name, age, contact info, a recent photo, and a brief, NON-CONFIDENTIAL description of your idea. Tell them In The Shark Tank sent you.

Just one last note, be on the look out for scammers who may be taking advantage of would-be contestants during this casting process. You can never be too careful.

Please be prepared to speak about the following in your casting interview:

1. What’s your name and your business?
2. How much money do you need from investors and why?  Be specific.  How will it be used?
3. What percentage of your company/idea/product are you willing to give up (e.g., 10%, 40%)?
4. What do you do for a living and where are you from?
5. When did you start inventing or become an aspiring entrepreneur?  What influenced this decision?
6. Please describe your product/invention/business idea.
7. Make your pitch!
Examples of interesting information:
• What is it?  Is it patented?
• How or why does it work? (Do a demonstration if you can.)
• What’s the market for this and why?
• How did you come up with the idea?
• Why is your idea the next best thing?
8. How much have you invested in your business? What would happen if you can’t get your business off the ground?
9. What does your business mean to you?
10. What is your ultimate goal for your business?
11. What has been your biggest challenge so far?
12. What do your family and/or friends think of your business?

Make sure you tell them that you learned about the casting call from InTheSharkTank.com or Tweet us at twitter.com/SharkTankABC

Good luck

Edit: if you still want to apply send your application to SharkTankCasting@yahoo.com