How hard would it be to pitch a bitcoin investment on "Shark Tank"/"Dragons Den"

[gigabytecoin]

I figure we send in Gavin and Bruce...

Both wearing suits...

Lots of chairts, graphs, financial know how, numbers, etc...

It should be an easy sell to get the sharks to invest $1,000,000 or more dollars into Bitcoins. (If they have not already, that is!)

Or possibly even into an ASIC mining project?

A huge initial investment by the sharks followed by all of their loyal followers investing would be a great kick-starter for the Bitcoin success path.

Thoughts?

Shark Tank Info

• Shark Tank Wikipedia Page
• Shark Tank Airs In USA On ABC

Dragon's Den Info

• Dragon's Den Wikipedia Page
• Dragon's Den Airs In Canada On CBC
• Dragon's Den Twitter Page

[Rage]

I think Kevin (from Shark Tank) would totally go for it! He seems like a 'where's the money' type of guy who doesn't care how 'weird' or 'different' things are as long as he can make money on it. He'd be on I'd bet. And, even if the sharks didn't invest, I bet just being on the show would get a bunch of new people here. From what I've seen with the Dragons, though, I'm not so sure they'd invest. They seem like a freaking tough group.

Rage

[gigabytecoin]

I think Kevin (from Shark Tank) would totally go for it! He seems like a 'where's the money' type of guy who doesn't care how 'weird' or 'different' things are as long as he can make money on it. He'd be on I'd bet. And, even if the sharks didn't invest, I bet just being on the show would get a bunch of new people here. From what I've seen with the Dragons, though, I'm not so sure they'd invest. They seem like a freaking tough group.

Rage

You are right. Some of them are all about the numbers, some of them like to "go with their gut" and only invest in business' that they know and understand.

The only problem I can foresee is that it would differ from a typical show.

Nobody has ever gone on either show (so far as I know) and asked them to invest in Coca Cola or Barrels of Oil. Typically every show I have seen consists of a small (usually less qualified) entrepreneur that has a great idea but no funding for their product.

Which might mean we would have to go the ASIC route.

[teflone]

they are 99 percent only interested in tangible items.. I doubt it.. the exposure would be great though..

[peach]

What we need is a TED presentation.

[gigabytecoin]

What we need is a TED presentation.

Totally taking it off topic but I agree!

Ok back to our regularly scheduled program people... what do you think about a possible Shark Tank / Dragon's Den sales pitch of some sort?

I was just thinking... both the Shark Tank and Dragon's Den are both relatively unpopular shows.

They have viewers, but a very select type.

They might enjoy the exchange of viewerships so to speak...

They could introduce a few thousand people to Bitcoin, and our community could introduce a few thousand to theirs. Unless every bitcoiner on here already watches one of the shows that is.

[SgtSpike]

How does one go about applying to be on the show?

Heck, even go on as a bitcoin mining company.  You still have a 600% ROI/yr at this point with mining.  Of course, it's not guaranteed, but it'd make for an interesting pitch to the sharks.

[FreeJAC]

Meh. You might have something w/ the software guy, but it would all be lost on the others. The exposure would do BTC some good however.

[phillipsjk]

I don't think this is a great idea. I read the terms and conditions for entry: they are allowed to reject your idea/concept and promptly introduce a similar product or service. Now, understanding that nobody really "owns" ideas, this may not be a problem for a bitcoin-related pitch.

The problem is that the dragons want exclusive deals. They will ask if it is patented. They will ask if the presenters themselves have any sales. Of course, presenters looking for ASIC funding won't have sales (unless they sell FPGAs using the same circuitry first). For the proposed "EasyCoin" Payment processor, they will balk at releasing the source code to allow competition. They likely won't understand that the success of the project hinges on being open and accountable to the public.

[istar]

Well someone could go there and talk about coding a bitcoinwallet with pro security etc, would give some good publicity.

A TED talk would also be great.

[gigabytecoin]

I don't think this is a great idea. I read the terms and conditions for entry: they are allowed to reject your idea/concept and promptly introduce a similar product or service. Now, understanding that nobody really "owns" ideas, this may not be a problem for a bitcoin-related pitch.

The problem is that the dragons want exclusive deals. They will ask if it is patented. They will ask if the presenters themselves have any sales. Of course, presenters looking for ASIC funding won't have sales (unless they sell FPGAs using the same circuitry first). For the proposed "EasyCoin" Payment processor, they will balk at releasing the source code to allow competition. They likely won't understand that the success of the project hinges on being open and accountable to the public.

An ASIC would be a "patentable" idea I believe.

[grue]

get gavin here now!

[phillipsjk]

An ASIC would be a "patentable" idea I believe.

But.. Patents are evil!

Edit: Specifically, they allow you to prohibit competitors from using the same technique. Not good for a decentralized currency. Also, Artfonz may have prior-art.

[TheBitMan]

The show is for "businesses" not bitcoin but good idea. I think the lady and the guy on the right would go for it. Everyone else is a dick on that show.

[MatthewLM]

The Dragons Den is supposed to be for businesses but there was once a man that offered a share in his poker profits, so it's not always as you'd expect on there. 

[TheBitMan]

The Dragons Den is supposed to be for businesses but there was once a man that offered a share in his poker profits, so it's not always as you'd expect on there. 

True I have seen Shark Tank. I'm a fan of it, I plan on buying some beef jerky I saw on it!

[BitcoinBabe]

What we need is a TED presentation.

+1

[BitcoinBabe]

It should be an easy sell to get the sharks to invest $1,000,000 or more dollars into Bitcoins. (If they have not already, that is!)

Or possibly even into an ASIC mining project?

A huge initial investment by the sharks followed by all of their loyal followers investing would be a great kick-starter for the Bitcoin success path.

Thoughts?

I've never watched Shart Tank, but I assume it operates in a similar way to Dragon's Den.

The question then is, what would you be giving them in return for their £1,000,000 investment?

They're generally looking for a share in a business/venture (hopefully one they think can make lots of money). Remember, they haggle over how much of a stake in a business they want in exchange for their investment. Sure, a guy offered them a share in his poker winnings once, but are you going to give them a share of 21 million bitcoins? How, and by whose authority?

It couldn't really be an investment in bitcoin per se (as in buy $1m worth of bitcoin as an investment!), it would have to be in a bitcoin related venture.

For a venture like an ASIC mining project, on the other hand... I guess a $1m investment would make the difficulty increase 100-fold overnight, making it unprofitable for even the biggest miners currently in operation, and then they'd have a monopoly on mining... unless another millionnaire stepped in and set up his or her own operation... and soon they'd be taking the open source code and developing a new currency, using their already existing business establishments and resources to promote this new inflationary virtual currency, and then... Why don't we just ask the Rothschilds and Rockefellers to invest in the mining of bitcoins - they've already got centuries of experience in creating and promoting fiat currencies behind them. Hey, they even managed to sucker in national governments!

[w1R903]

What we need is a TED presentation.

Yes, this would do it.

[billyjoeallen]

Sure, a guy offered them a share in his poker winnings once, but are you going to give them a share of 21 million bitcoins? How, and by whose authority?

You're making this way too complicated. You get a share in the twenty on million bitcoins every time you buy one. You get a 1/21,000,000th of the total BTC economy.  You need nobody's authority. You just need a seller.