Barbara Corcoran Embodies That Can-Do Entrepreneurial Spirit: TV Puts Tigress in its Shark Tank
"Corcoran has seen a lot in her time as a tycoon, but even she was shocked at some of the offbeat ideas that surfaced." (New York Daily News via HSB)
Aug 14, 2009
TV puts tigress in its 'Shark Tank': Barbara Corcoran embodies that can-do entrepreneurial spirit
BY Gina Salamone | New York Daily News
Wanna-be entrepreneurs get the chance to score large sums of money to kick-start a business on "Shark Tank," premiering tonight on ABC.
But there's a catch. They have to convince at least one of five self-made multimillionaires — the sharks — to cough up their own cash. Hopefuls present their ideas to the panel, who decide whether they want to invest. And if a shark does bite, the cash comes at the cost of a stake in the business.
One of the sharks is Manhattan-based business baroness Barbara Corcoran, who turned a $1,000 loan into a $5 billion real estate company.
Corcoran, 60, has seen a lot in her time as a tycoon, but even she was shocked at some of the offbeat ideas that surfaced.
What's been the wackiest business pitch presented to the panel so far?
The weirdest thing was a guy who wanted to put this Bluetooth thing in your ear surgically. That guy was weird. I wish they had zoomed in on his face. He was scary. He was so intense. In fact, right after him, we all needed a break because it was exhausting just to be in his company. And I needed to use the rest room. I was afraid to go out, so I had two big camera guys escort me to the ladies room because I just thought this guy will kill me when he sees me.
Any runnerups?
Another guy wanted to put these giant, 8-foot stands in doctor offices so that you could sit and watch ads. Who wants to watch ads and what doctor would want it in his office? But the plan was that the doctor would get a portion of the revenue [from products] that the sick patient would order while they're waiting to see the doctor. Everything about it was wrong. But this guy had put two mortgages on his house. He was about to foreclose. He spent his kids' college funds on the idea and had run all of his five credit cards to the max.
Were there any moving presentations?
There was another guy who invented a seat belt that you put in your car. And if your kid unlatched it, an alarm goes off. In concept, it was great. Or if you tried to start the car, and there's a weight of a person in the spot without a seat belt, the car won't start. The motivation for building the business was he lost his only sister in a car accident because she didn't have a seat belt on. So he made it his mission to save the world.
Your bio boasts of scoring straight D's in high school and college. How did that not hold you back?
The worst students make the best entrepreneurs. You have an issue with authority because anyone with any authority your whole life has told you, ‘You are stupid' or implied it. So you always hate your boss just because they're in charge. What you can't do with books you usually learn to do with your mouth. If there's one thing that an entrepreneur can do well, it's they know how to express themselves. They usually talk in double time to make up for all the time they couldn't talk in class because they didn't have the answers.
Does that make you more likely to team up with bad students?
I rarely get an e-mail from a successful entrepreneur without gross grammatical errors. And I interpret that as a great sign, like, "Oh, this guy's going to be good."
What's it like being the only female on the panel?
I've gotten comfortable with it now, but it was very, very difficult. I have a smaller voice than the men. I spent the first whole show raising my hand. Secondly, when I do speak up, I'm terrified because it's similar to being back at school with competitors in the desk next to you. So I have a feeling I have the wrong answer or the wrong question. Sometimes a shark makes fun of me.
You started your own real estate business with a $1,000 loan. Was it tough getting the cash?
No, I slept with him. It was easy. The truth is he was my boyfriend. I would have slept with him anyway. But he happened to give me the $1,000 as his girlfriend. Within a year of our relationship, he said to me, "You'd be great as a real estate broker." I pictured driving a bunch of screaming kids and a mother around in the back of a car in New Jersey. But he was thinking New York, hailing taxis, which was a lot better version of it.
The company was first run out of your Manhattan apartment's living room. How did that work?
I happened to land a good account at Citibank, where they sent all of the new recruits for the training program to me to find them an apartment. So I was bringing potential tenants up to my apartment all day. I got an eviction notice. The rent was paid, and it took me a while to put the dots together. Then I said to the landlord, "You think I'm a prostitute, don't you?" And of course, they did. But fortunately, from that meeting I got my first account. He allowed me to start renting apartments in the building where I lived.
Did you offer funds to any of the entrepreneurs on the show that you may have connected with, but weren't so sure of their idea?
I would say every single business I've bought [on the show] to date — which has been 11 so far — I bought because I was 150% confident in the individual, and somewhere between 60% and 80% confident in the business. I can hardly hold myself back because I'm in love with a person. If you get the right person with the wrong plan, somehow they twist it and turn it and make it right. I had to do that building my business, again and again.
Aug 14, 2009
TV puts tigress in its 'Shark Tank': Barbara Corcoran embodies that can-do entrepreneurial spirit
BY Gina Salamone | New York Daily News
Wanna-be entrepreneurs get the chance to score large sums of money to kick-start a business on "Shark Tank," premiering tonight on ABC.
But there's a catch. They have to convince at least one of five self-made multimillionaires — the sharks — to cough up their own cash. Hopefuls present their ideas to the panel, who decide whether they want to invest. And if a shark does bite, the cash comes at the cost of a stake in the business.
One of the sharks is Manhattan-based business baroness Barbara Corcoran, who turned a $1,000 loan into a $5 billion real estate company.
Corcoran, 60, has seen a lot in her time as a tycoon, but even she was shocked at some of the offbeat ideas that surfaced.
What's been the wackiest business pitch presented to the panel so far?
The weirdest thing was a guy who wanted to put this Bluetooth thing in your ear surgically. That guy was weird. I wish they had zoomed in on his face. He was scary. He was so intense. In fact, right after him, we all needed a break because it was exhausting just to be in his company. And I needed to use the rest room. I was afraid to go out, so I had two big camera guys escort me to the ladies room because I just thought this guy will kill me when he sees me.
Any runnerups?
Another guy wanted to put these giant, 8-foot stands in doctor offices so that you could sit and watch ads. Who wants to watch ads and what doctor would want it in his office? But the plan was that the doctor would get a portion of the revenue [from products] that the sick patient would order while they're waiting to see the doctor. Everything about it was wrong. But this guy had put two mortgages on his house. He was about to foreclose. He spent his kids' college funds on the idea and had run all of his five credit cards to the max.
Were there any moving presentations?
There was another guy who invented a seat belt that you put in your car. And if your kid unlatched it, an alarm goes off. In concept, it was great. Or if you tried to start the car, and there's a weight of a person in the spot without a seat belt, the car won't start. The motivation for building the business was he lost his only sister in a car accident because she didn't have a seat belt on. So he made it his mission to save the world.
Your bio boasts of scoring straight D's in high school and college. How did that not hold you back?
The worst students make the best entrepreneurs. You have an issue with authority because anyone with any authority your whole life has told you, ‘You are stupid' or implied it. So you always hate your boss just because they're in charge. What you can't do with books you usually learn to do with your mouth. If there's one thing that an entrepreneur can do well, it's they know how to express themselves. They usually talk in double time to make up for all the time they couldn't talk in class because they didn't have the answers.
Does that make you more likely to team up with bad students?
I rarely get an e-mail from a successful entrepreneur without gross grammatical errors. And I interpret that as a great sign, like, "Oh, this guy's going to be good."
What's it like being the only female on the panel?
I've gotten comfortable with it now, but it was very, very difficult. I have a smaller voice than the men. I spent the first whole show raising my hand. Secondly, when I do speak up, I'm terrified because it's similar to being back at school with competitors in the desk next to you. So I have a feeling I have the wrong answer or the wrong question. Sometimes a shark makes fun of me.
You started your own real estate business with a $1,000 loan. Was it tough getting the cash?
No, I slept with him. It was easy. The truth is he was my boyfriend. I would have slept with him anyway. But he happened to give me the $1,000 as his girlfriend. Within a year of our relationship, he said to me, "You'd be great as a real estate broker." I pictured driving a bunch of screaming kids and a mother around in the back of a car in New Jersey. But he was thinking New York, hailing taxis, which was a lot better version of it.
The company was first run out of your Manhattan apartment's living room. How did that work?
I happened to land a good account at Citibank, where they sent all of the new recruits for the training program to me to find them an apartment. So I was bringing potential tenants up to my apartment all day. I got an eviction notice. The rent was paid, and it took me a while to put the dots together. Then I said to the landlord, "You think I'm a prostitute, don't you?" And of course, they did. But fortunately, from that meeting I got my first account. He allowed me to start renting apartments in the building where I lived.
Did you offer funds to any of the entrepreneurs on the show that you may have connected with, but weren't so sure of their idea?
I would say every single business I've bought [on the show] to date — which has been 11 so far — I bought because I was 150% confident in the individual, and somewhere between 60% and 80% confident in the business. I can hardly hold myself back because I'm in love with a person. If you get the right person with the wrong plan, somehow they twist it and turn it and make it right. I had to do that building my business, again and again.