Lessons from the Shark Tank: Secondary Characters Have Their Own Role to Play

 

The people who go on Shark Tank to pitch an investment come in all shapes and sizes. That’s also true of those secondary characters in fiction who have more than a walk-on role. When developing secondary characters, it can be helpful to draw from the personalities that predominate on Shark Tank.

Here are some of the common types.

• Patronizing. These are the participants who think they are smarter than the sharks. They ignore the sharks’ advice and keep arguing even after the sharks have made their position clear. One example is two women with bedding sets who wanted the money for an infomercial and refused to listen when all five sharks said that wasn’t the right sales approach for their product. Although they said they agreed, their comments on leaving the tank were that the infomercial was the right approach and they were determined to do it.

In fiction, this is the person who won’t listen to anyone’s advice, even if he or she has asked for it.

• Clueless. These are people who believe in their products so much that they have unrealistic expectations about how much the business will grow and/or are blind to the fact that the business is headed toward bankruptcy. Or they may be so in love with the product or the marketing plan that they can’t see the flaws.

In fiction, this is the naïve or impractical character who expects unrealistic outcomes.

• Snake-oil salesman/scammer. This is the stereotypical salesperson who makes outrageous claims with no scientific research or consumer trials to back them up. On Shark Tank, it may be someone with a diet pill or an electro-magnetic watch that is supposed to cure all the wearer’s ills.

In fiction, this is a charismatic person who will lead others down the wrong path.

• Inventor. Some participants come on the show to pitch their second or third or even tenth invention but aren’t enthusiastic about the business side of the enterprise. They may get a deal if they have a patented invention and are willing to license it. But if they want to be the ones to sell it, they walk away empty-handed.

In fiction, these are people who jump from one idea to another or refuse to give up control of their grand brainchildren.

• Waffler. These people can’t make up their minds. When offered a deal, they take forever to consider it or shop around among the other sharks even when told they must decide immediately. The shark who has offered a deal often rescinds it, leaving the waffler with nothing.

In fiction, the person who can’t make up his or her mind often loses out on opportunities and ends up with nothing.

• Teachable. This person is inexperienced or not terribly strong on the business side but is eager to learn. If he or she has a good product, one or more of the sharks may be willing to mentor the participant.

In fiction, this is actually a good characteristic for a protagonist to have since it will add realism to his or her internal journey.

• Entrepreneur. The true entrepreneur has an interesting product, a realistic understanding of its market potential, and good business sense. This person is almost guaranteed to walk away with a deal.

In fiction, this is James Bond. Sometimes this is the least interesting of the characters because there are no flaws for the reader to identify with. However, if dressed up properly (similar to having an interesting product in the Shark Tank), the reader will buy into the character anyway.

On Shark Tank, the participant’s personality may be the main determinant of whether he or she gets a deal. Even if the business opportunity is fantastic, most sharks won’t work with someone who will be hard to get along with.

That can create great tension in your fiction.

So make it work for you.

Lessons from the Shark Tank: Creating Distinctive Main Characters

 

I’ve recently become hooked on the TV show Shark Tank. I’m not interested in being an entrepreneur, and I’d probably make a lousy one, anyway, but I love the show for its entertainment value. Entertainment is a fiction writer’s business, so my next few posts will talk about the show’s lessons for writers.

This post will cover the importance of developing main characters with distinct personalities. That isn’t limited to the protagonist but also includes the characters that play a significant role in the protagonist’s life.

I’ll start by distinguishing the six Shark Tank regulars. Here is my description of each, moving from left to right based on their normal seats on the show.

• Mark Cuban is possibly better known as the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and as someone with political leanings on the right. He has strong opinions about products that make health or dieting claims without solid scientific research behind them, and I heard him refer to one of the participants—to his face—as a snake oil salesman. He also doesn’t hesitate to call someone a scammer. On the other hand, he’s very supportive of people he believes have a valid product and a realistic view of their future success even when he doesn’t see himself as the right business partner for them.
• Barbara Corcoran struggled in school because she has dyslexia, and it wasn’t diagnosed right away. After growing up in a large, low-income family, she made her fortune selling real estate. She invests in people as much as in their products. Although she can drive a hard bargain, she uses her vast network to make the products and companies a success.
• Daymond John worked all sorts of jobs as a child to help out his struggling family. While in high school, he decided that some of the popular clothing items (e.g., ski hats) were overpriced and that he could sell them cheaper, so he started his own clothing company. Although several of the sharks support good causes, I see Daymond as the most compassionate among them. He often invests in companies that give a share of their profits away. He also refuses to invest and dilute the owner’s equity when Daymond doesn’t think he brings any value to the deal besides providing capital. As an example of his big heart, he refused to invest in a teenager’s bowtie company because he didn’t think the teenager should be giving up any equity for money that Daymond wasn’t sure he needed, but Daymond did offer to mentor the boy, and that “deal” was accepted.
• Kevin O’Leary (nicknamed “Mr. Wonderful”) has a reputation for being mean, but I don’t see him that way. He tells it like it is and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. A venture capitalist from Canada, he also makes it clear that he is only interested in investments that will make him money. But none of that makes him mean in my book, and there are rare occasions where his soft side comes through.
• Lori Greiner is the sweetest shark. Even when she doesn’t like what an entrepreneur is doing, she sugar-coats her criticism before saying, “I’m out.” She has a show on QVC (a cable shopping network) and likes products that can be easily demonstrated on TV but will occasionally invest in something else.
• Robert Herjavec is an immigrant from Yugoslavia who made his money in the technology industry. In the heated discussions that sometimes occur on Shark Tank, he often takes issue with Kevin’s and Mark’s criticisms and supports the person who came on the show looking for an investment. He usually, although not always, believes an entrepreneur should follow his own dream even when it isn’t the best business decision.

Not only do the differences between the sharks make them easier to distinguish, but they are often the spark for heated discussions that help create the entertainment value of the show. In the same way, a fiction writer can use the differences among characters as the spark for the tension that any story requires. But characters that are too alike don’t create create friction.

So give them distinct personalities and watch the sparks fly.

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I thought about using the show’s logo at the head of these posts, and there wouldn’t have been any trademark issues with doing so. It would probably also be considered a fair use for copyright purposes. But since I had some of my own photos, taken at an aquarium in Wilmington, North Carolina in 2018, I thought it would be more fun to use them.