Keeping it real on Shark Tank

Not everybody pitching in the Shark Tank is up front about their business proposals, according to Shark Steve Baxter.

“Some people come on merely wanting the PR. 1 in 20 only come on for the PR. And some blatantly lie,” he tells TV Tonight.

“I don’t mind if people sex up their business. ‘Puffery’ is a legal term, so you’re allowed to do that. But when you out and out lie to me, I have a problem with that.

“If you’re going to lie there, what will you lie about later on?”

Not every deal agreed to on air will proceed, with the Sharks undertaking due diligence, sometimes as long as 9 months.

A recent business which drew media headlines for under-paying staff had reportedly been backed by Janine Ellis and Andrew Banks -but in reality neither had proceeded after problems arose through due diligence.

“Is it honest? No. But is it real? Yes.”

It sort of begs the question, if the entrepreneurs are expected to be up front, shouldn’t the show be as equally candid if an investment does not proceed?

“How long should or shouldn’t we wait? The average due diligence is probably over 4 months,” Baxter explains.

“I know what you’re saying: is it honest? No. But is it real? Yes.

“Shark Tank gives you the impression that it is exciting: ‘let’s go and do it now! Sign a cheque and let’s get it done!’ But ultimately this is my kids’ money. Their inheritance. So I’m not going to stuff it up.

“I’d love Channel TEN to say ‘Here’s the reason why a deal didn’t go ahead.’

“But my job is to be an investor and TEN’s job is to make TV.”

Baxter has a staff of five and due diligence costs serious time and money, as it should given the seriousness of business partnerships.

“If someone wants $20,000 or $50,000 from me, I might deploy $15,000 in resources to may a Yes or No decision. So it’s not a free decision for any of us.

“I’ve said Yes to people who barely have a bank account and have a shoebox full of receipts. So they have come and lied to us. There are people who have come on the show and afterwards have said ‘I know we said $200 grand for 10% but I want to do $200 grand for 1%.’ They try and rewrite the deals themselves.”

“I have a merry band of online trolls”

Baxter is the IT-savvy Shark on TEN’s show, having had plenty of success with start-ups and tech. He joined the series to raise his profile, which it has done in spades.

“That part has been thoroughly pleasant. I get a lot of feedback, and the other Sharks have mentioned they get a high proportion of people who come up and say hello. There are teenagers who sit down and love the show.

“I’m about encouraging people to try and get into business,” he continues.

“But I have a merry band of online trolls, they’re pretty funny. If you go on Facebook and people have a go at you I ‘Like’ them, which must drive them insane.

“They call me ‘nasty’, or ‘sexist’, or ‘something-ist.’

“I’m a huge believer of the freedom of the internet. But you can go into an online room and have a conversation, or you can just as easily leave the room and ignore them. So I choose to leave. If they are being nasty to me I don’t have to listen to them.

“They have a right to free speech and I respect that, but it doesn’t mean I have an obligation to listen to them.”

“My default is ‘No’ and people have to convince me.”

Baxter even pre-writes his tweets for the show beforehand, engaging with fan opinions. But if he is considered the ‘grumpiest’ of the five Sharks, there’s a good reason. He expects to be impressed before imparting with his money.

“I’ve been told numerous times by my friends that I should be less expressive!

“My default is ‘No’ and people have to convince me. I don’t know if I started that way, but I am that way now,” he explains.

“It’s a very long term proposition, so you have to know that person. You will be at it together for 10 years. So hopefully they explore us and we explore them.

“There’s a fair bit of exchange on both sides.”

“We don’t make decisions as fast as that, we spend a lot of time on the minutiae, the paperwork and the understanding. But the basics are the same. So if someone comes in with an outlandish claim, they need to prove their outlandish traction.

“I always say I can be convinced of anything that is good if people are actually buying it.”

Shark Tank airs Tuesday nights on TEN.