Is getting funded on Shark Tank an ultimate prize?  Not everyone likes the show, but I find it entertaining and actually good education for entrepreneurs.  Yet I have always wondered what really happens?

Last week I heard an amazing business growth story from Patrick Whaley, founder and CEO of TitinTech (www.titantech.com).  The story has two parts:  1) Incredible growth; and 2) The Shark Tank experience.  Incredible growth — from $100,000 monthly revenues to $1m monthly revenues in seven months.  How — Google and Facebook.  Their product is a very advanced weight garment used by amateur and professional athletes who wear it to train so that they feel lighter and faster when competing.  While they are now in Dick’s and other major retailers the driver continues to be on-line sales.  They are a model of the new marketing reality and an inspiration to anyone launching a new product without millions to spend on traditional advertising.

The incredible growth occurred before actually filming the Shark Tank episode, which takes about five hours.  His first ah-ha was that it is reality tv, and they are going to define you and make you the character they want.  In his case, Mark did not believe his growth, and Patrick was not allowed to bring financial on the set.  Patrick kept inviting Mark to go backstage to see for himself, but instead the back and forth lasted for two hours.  The in-person Patrick and the filmed Patrick seem like two different people. 

He did get funded but learned that the deal you end up with is not necessarily what you agreed to on the show.  Makes sense in some ways after additional due diligence.  The real issue is that one waits months to actually film the show, then several more months to close the deal, then more months to “activate” the deal.  Patrick’s product sells for several hundred dollars, and cash flow for manufacturing and inventory was his biggest need due to his explosive growth.  This became a key part of his deal, but it took seven months to place the first order after the deal was closed.

Time is money to any entrepreneur. Waiting first for the filming (they film each season across two weeks, not weekly as aired), then for the busy Sharks to focus on and close the deal, and finally to get the deal activated could mean missing a market. It is hard to imagine having a really hot product, then taking a year to fund enough product to meet demand.   Once in the Shark Tank web it is hard to get out — so one just has to ride it out.

In Patrick’s case, they were so impressed that they asked him to help mentor other companies which takes precious time.  Furthermore, he does not agree with all of the advice they offer his company.  So Patrick would say the reason to be on Shark Tank is to gain market exposure for your product — not the money. 

It was a great story, and he is an impressive young Georgia Tech alumni.  Go Patrick!

– Jim Deupree

Over the last ten years I have heard hundreds of career transition stories from senior executives. Some were voluntary, many were surprised and most would say “it came earlier than I expected or would have chosen”.

Whatever the trigger, it is natural to begin thinking “what could I have done differently?” “Am I as good as I thought I was?” Often the executive wants to share notes from colleagues about how much they will be missed, and those notes are sincere. Most of the executives were every bit as good as they thought. The trigger wasn’t them, it was changing organizational structure or needs of the bigger team.

The attached article about Reggie Wayne being released from the Indianapolis Colts is a great example and inspiration. As you read it you will appreciate that Reggie has done everything right. Clearly a Hall of Fame career on the field, and a stellar person and role model off the field. Yet he was cut — because the team, his team, needs to move on. Is there any more he could have done? Absolutely not. It is just the circle of jobs and life. He knew this day was coming someday, but was likely still not ready for it.

This wonderful story does raise two questions:

1. What will they write about you someday?; and
2. If you asked Reggie “what do you want to do next?” how do you think he would answer? And if his answer was “play another year” would you recommend for or against?

– Jim Deupree

—-

Article: Colts parting ways with longtime standout WR Reggie Wayne – Yahoo Sports

According to a Gallup Survey only 36% of Managers and Executives are engaged in their job.  51% are not engaged, and 13% are actively disengaged.  Wow!  

Workload and relatively flat earnings play a role.  Too many companies promote a view that everyone is replaceable.  But the survey found that the main driver was the boss.  “Managers from hell” are costing the US economy from $450 billion to $550 billion annually.

The survey also found that those who work off-site 20% of the time are more satisfied.  Why is that?  There are a number of surveys all confirming these findings.  We take two calls to action away from them:

1. If you are not engaged, or actively disengaged, what are you going to do about it?
2. If you are the boss, do you really know how your team feels about you and your leadership style?

Through our work we have met many executives who were desperately hanging onto a job they were not even sure they wanted.  Invariably their family feels it, and you can even see it in their faces.  So why do they stay?  One reason is that they do not know what else they would, or could, do.  Another is that “bird in hand is worth two in the bush.”  Neither are solving the core problem.  

Our society and workplace are evolving so fast that many new opportunities exist.  Talent and experience are more portable than ever before, as are ways to “get current” for different roles.  So, do you want to stay where you are as long as you can — or do you at least want to understand your options?  While you are pondering perhaps you will appreciate this poem:

If a man (or woman) does not keep pace with their companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer.

Let him (or her) step to the music they hear, however measured or far away.

Henry David Thoreau

Link to survey:  http://theweek.com/article/index/246084/why-most-americans-hate-their-jobs-or-are-just-checked-out

– Jim Deupree

Some of you know that along with my love of cooking, wine and travel I am also a car guy.  My career began as an automotive engineer, and I appreciate the constant evolution of styling and engineering.

So I had to chuckle when reading a Car and Driver article about the 40th birthday of the BMW 3 Series.  It has won top car honors more than any other car, and built it’s reputation being agile, nimble and sporty.  Now, as they report: “The 3 series has put on weight over the years.  It’s gotten softer.  The creep of technology and features that have nothing to do with driving threatens to overwhelm the car, just as the pressures of family and finance leave us in a fog, wondering how, exactly, we arrived at this point in our lives.”

Too much introspection for a car magazine?  Perhaps.  Two things struck me.  One is the similarity between cars and us.  As we look in a mirror and reflect on our own lives, sometimes it feels like our best performance may have been in the rear view mirror.  That doesn’t mean that we will not continue to enjoy driving.  In fact, we are likely to set our GPS on new and exciting destinations.  And perhaps it becomes less about the speed, and more about the journey.

The big thing that struck me is what it means to have a legacy — to stand for something.  Legacies are built on past performance, not on future promises.  They symbolize having delivered, on what is important.  The BMW 3 – series may get softer and slower, but it will always be iconic — at least in our lifetime.  With everything else changing so rapidly it is nice to pause and realize that technology does not change legacies.  They are built brick by brick through consistent values and delivery.

What will your legacy be?  And when did you begin to build it?

– Jim Deupree

I found a number of interesting points in this Yahoo! Finance article, written by a Gen X/Gen Y professional.

“I don’t consider a retirement as a time to do absolutely nothing; instead, I view it as a time when I can do more of what I want.”  What a great concept and perspective.  A time to do more of what I want — and therefore look forward to it!

“As someone who likes to stay busy, part-time work (or activities that will earn me some sort of income) will likely be part of my life until I die.  Therefore, I may be able to retire earlier than some, while still earning an income.  In the past, this may have been more of an all or nothing proposition, but with the ability to work through the internet and travel at the same time, it’s opening up a whole new retirement option … the working retirement.”   He nailed it!  When I talk with successful people, one of the things they want is a better balance of life — and getting away from being tied to a rigid schedule.  Advances in technology give us global freedom; and social acceptance of virtual meetings is here!  It is good for the ecology, and good for the people.

Trying new things.  The writer believes that “while stocks, bonds, pensions, and Social Security benefits can be strong elements of retirement finances, having something to hold onto and utilize as a way not only to possibly generate income … but to reduce expenses adds another integral part to how I hope to redefine our eventual retirement.”  

Some might call these “performing assets.”  His point is not about simply reducing expenses and living a more spartan lifestyle.  It is about deploying your assets in a way that cover some of your costs.  Many of you have a second home — which you rent some of the time to defray the costs.  Others are using new services like HomeAway to exchange use of their home (or second home) for a week or two with someone in Italy, or wherever.  Taking this to its limits means looking at deployment of your capital just as you would as a business.  What strategy gives you the greatest return — not just in income but bottom line?  Can you use some of your resources as a piece of the puzzle fueling your passions and contributing to your independence?

We are in an era, for many reasons, that provides an opportunity to think differently — and act on those thoughts. The questions continue to be how do you think differently, and when do you begin?  When you are ready to focus on those questions please give us a call — just to chat and share your thinking.

– Jim Deupree