ABC Shark Tank Kevin Harrington Shares His Wisdom

I spent a few days in Miami at the Pro Athletes Business Summit and I actually was voted to pitch my deal, Children's Educational Network,  to a few sharks including Kevin Harrington.  One of the Shark investors on ABC's Shark Tank TV Show and he loved my pitch and agreed to give me an interview and share some of his wisdom.

He was a very nice and I am glad I got to know him.  He has been in the infomercial business for 25 years and had had over $4 billion in revenues from his infomercial!  He is looking for more products he can bring to market, so if you think you have a product that would be worthy on mass marketing on TV check out his site at www.TVGoods.com and tell him Greg Writer sent me!

I was not aware that in 1987, Kevin and a group of young entrepreneurs including Michael Dell, of Dell Computers, and Ted Leonsis, of AOL, teamed up to create the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, or EO (formerly known as the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization), and today it has grown to over 7,000 members worldwide, with 113 chapters in 38 countries with more than 924,000 members. The EO is recognized as a catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life.

So there's proof he has been an entrepreneur advocate for decades!  Thanks Kevin, we appreciate your efforts!

Here's his bio for your review.

Kevin Harrington, CEO of TVGoods.com, LLC, is widely acknowledged as the pioneer and principal architect of the “infomercial” industry. Since producing the industry’s first infomercial in the 1980s, Harrington has financed more than 500 product launches resulting in sales of more than $4 billion worldwide with 20 products reaching individual sales of over $100 million each, and creating dozens of millionaires.

Harrington got his start in direct TV marketing with his company Quantum International, which after merging with National Media in 1991 grew to over $500 Million in annual sales with distribution in over 100 countries in 20 languages. Harrington was the pioneer responsible for setting up international infrastructure worldwide which lays the groundwork for today’s infomercial industry. He had offices in: London, Tokyo, Sao Paolo, Brazil, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

After leaving Quantum, Harrington had several other successful infomercial ventures including HSN Direct with Home Shopping Network before founding TVGoods in 2005.

He subsequently raised more than $20 million in capital from a New York hedge fund in a venture, which then acquired Tampa’s premiere film studio where TVGoods is headquartered. The studio is located in Clearwater, Florida, featuring a 33,000 square state of the art production studio on 5.4 acres.

Regarded as a tireless entrepreneur with a talent for identifying blockbuster products, Harrington’s business was a case study that was chronicled and taught for over 12 years at Harvard/MIT, called “The Rise, The Fall and The rise of Quantum International.” The case study is used as a teaching guide about what it means to be a grass-roots entrepreneur in a fiercely competitive industry.

In his latest venture, Harrington is an investor on a new ABC show called “Shark Tank”, in which budding entrepreneurs compete in pitching their potentially moneymaking ideas to business experts in hopes of securing investment financing. The show is owned by SONY Pictures and produced by Mark Burnett.

Harrington is uniquely qualified as an investor/shark because of his involvement over his career in a wide range of industries. As a young entrepreneur at the age of 19, Harrington launched and operated a successful company that reached $1 million in annual sales and employed 25 people, all while still in college. In 1979, he started Franchise America, a franchise consulting and brokerage business, through which he sold thousands of businesses, giving him insight to the inner workings of dozens of industries; from restaurants to retail to small manufacturing, etc.

Harrington’s book, ACT NOW!, explains how he innovatively turns ideas into million-dollar products. It is available through Amazon and at bookstores nationwide. Examples of popular products available through TVGoods.com currently are: Tony Little fitness, George Foreman cleaning, Jay “the Juice Daddy” Kordich Health, Flying Lure fishing, Wolfman Jack music, and the Dual Saw, marketed by the late legendary pitchman Billy Mays. One TVGoods.com product, the Air-Cutter, a precision vacuum haircutting system, will be featured in the upcoming film Father of Invention starring Kevin Spacey.

Harrington is proud to have founded two of the most important global networking associations in the marketplace, the Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and the Electronic Retailing Association (ERA).

Sharks Decline on Coffee & Counsel!

I liked the idea, but the sharks hated it (just goes to show you they really don’t have a clue J) and chewed up founder Jeffrey Hughs (founder of Legal Grind) and spit him out like a piece garlic bubble gum!

I mean after all can you show me another coffe shop where the upsell is a $175 will and estimanen rather than your favorite music CD!

Your thoughts on Shark Tank are welcome!

Shark Tank Investors Fight Over Deal…Entrepreneur Gets Screwed!

BEFORE you watch this video…please be AWARE I was in rare form, I laughed my you what off when I hit replay! 

ABC's Shark Tank is entertaining!

OK if you watched this episode you hopefully know what "contingent" means.  And I hope everyone realizes that if you get funding contingent upon a contract with a multi billion company you surely don't have to give up 50% of the pie! 

These Greedy sharks landed another record catch!!!!

No risk and 50% of the pie for a measly $200k…..ahhh another good guy gets taken due to lack of knowledge! 

You Only Think You Need Money!

One of my top financial consultants recently cc'ed me on an email response to an entrepreneur looking for investment capital.  I thought the response was so good I got his permision to post it here.

This email could be addressed to about 70% of all entrepreneurs when they come to us form money.  You must learn sequence and what you need next!  And most of the time it is NOT money. 

Please read and let me know your thoughts!

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It all depends on what you honor more….where you are now, or where you want to be in 6 months.

In order to gain access to capital, one has to get belly to belly with an investor.

When belly to belly, you have to have the language of capital in order to be a magnet for money.  It matters not, what the idea is.

Also, one has to have the team in place, the proper sequencing etc.  I think you said it best when you said, often times, it's what you don't know that you don't know that is toughest in business.

I like what you're doing, you are just not ready for an investor right now.  That's not personal, it's just a fact of the matter at hand.

I know you're smart enough to realize you have to go to where the money is.  You're just not as likely to find it at the local chamber mixers.   Money hangs around money.  When there is a Country Club of investors, money is not only found, but it's in abundance.   

I can accept that you feel you can find it.   I respect that.   I wish you well in finding it.   When you do, their probably going to get a pretty good sized piece of your company.   Who knows what that will cost you in the long run.   Let alone what you will pay for consulting once you get the monies.

I apologize that you do not appreciate me trying to save you time, money, and frustration of getting every thing you need for your business.    That's OK.  I don't take it personally.  Not everyone resonates with what we do.

What I would suggest is becoming a member of the Angel Network.   Over the next 18-24 months, you will get some very good tips as to how to talk to investors.   You'll start getting some traction if you follow through.

Another thing you can do is go back to CEOspace.net and view a few more of the videos.  You might find some that resonate with you more and you may begin to see exactly why we were able to help raise over $3 Billion for our members, in one of the worst economies since the second World War.

As the largest, and the oldest organization of it's kind in the world, we'll be here for you should you or someone you know ever need us.

To Your Success!

Hells Bells Helmets Founder Marix Stone Spills His Guts!

Life is not always as it seems!!  I had the chance to interview Marix Stone, the founder of  Hells Bells Helmets, and in this interview he reveals what REALLY happened when he appeared on Shark Tank!

It's frickin amazing!

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