Small Talk: Shark Tank

[Thrifty]

Doesn't the Affordable Care Act preclude any sort of denying of insurance based on things like pre-existing conditions or DNA?

[StatisticalOutlier]

17 hours ago, bilgistic said:

...until you remember that Equifax was hacked...

*tap dances off stage left*

Ah, I was being sarcastic.  I couldn't remember how to do the /s or whatever, and thought surely nobody would be comforted by using credit reporting standards.

The whole credit reporting business makes me want to scream.  I haven't voluntarily given any of them a shred of information about me, but they've compiled it, and turned it into a number that I don't have access to, which determines what I pay for car insurance and god knows what else.  And if there's an error, it's up to ME to prove that I'm not the person who opened a store account at K B Toys because proving a negative is so easy, right?  And then they let all that information get hacked.

That's what the protections of the Fair Credit Reporting Act get you, so yeah, not a lot of comfort there.

 

 

6 hours ago, Thrifty said:

Doesn't the Affordable Care Act preclude any sort of denying of insurance based on things like pre-existing conditions or DNA?

Oh, you mean the Affordable Care Act that lawmakers are doing everything they can to repeal?  Yes, it does prohibit denying ACA-compliant insurance based on pre-existing conditions.  It does not apply to policies that are not ACA-compliant, or to plans like Christian health-share ministries. 

But that's a good point--could it be argued that DNA isn't a pre-existing condition, as it just shows a tendency toward or probability of a condition?  A pre-pre-existing condition, and the law applies only to pre-existing conditions. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I don't know if this is the right place to put this, but there's a new Clinton Kelly show (I suspect will end up on Discovery+) called Self-Made Mansions, and this episode is two couples who had deals through Shark Tank.    The Cut Buddy man, and his wife, and the Cookie Department (Keto cookies) couple.    He shows each couple a few mansions, and they 'pick' one (I'm sure like every other house hunting show, they already own the house before filming).  

[lyric]

I'd really like to see an full inventory of deals that were actually closed / not closed after due diligence, with whom they closed, and revenues. I've been watching loads of reruns on Hulu lately and, originally, Mark made the deal with the Plated guys, but in follow ups and in-show references, Kevin's partnered with them. Likewise, Tom & Chee made a deal with Mark & Barbara, but now only Barbara is referenced as their partner. I know sometimes the sharks invest in a company that was turned away originally, and many don't actually close at all, so I assume Mark could've just decided he didn't want the deal during due diligence, but apparently he closes a higher % of his deals than anyone... I dunno, just kind of curious - hearing these kinds of follow ups would be more interesting than hearing about Grace & Lace or Cousins' Maine Lobster for the millionth time.

I've spent entirely too much time considering this - so ready for regular tv production to resume...good lord.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I remember reading an article talking about the percentage of deals each sharks made, and if they really closed.   Some like the toy subscription service Mark partnered with, turned into a terrible idea, and it's long gone.     There are other companies that I've wondered what happened to them, and searched, and they're long out of business.     Mark closes the most deals, and he didn't even join the show until Season 3, and he only alters the deals after the show about 25% of the time.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

The kids from Cup Board Pro were on the last new episode of Clinton Kelly's "Self-Made Mansions" on HGTV last night.    They are all grown up, and bought a huge house on Long Island by the beach, which is the area they grew up in.   They're all going to live in the same house, and they remodeled a lot of the house (I'm sure they owned it, and started the reno before the filming), and it looks lovely.    I'm so glad they're sticking together, and all looked so happy.  

[bilgistic]

There's a new show on Prime called "Buy It Now". It's like Shark Tank Lite. There are inventors that are given 90 seconds each to pitch their product to a panel of 100 people.

If at least 10 people give it the green light (literally), the inventor goes in front of the judges, one of whom is the guy who invented the Ring doorbell and who was infamously turned down on Shark Tank. The other two judges rotate out every episode. One of them is always a higher-up at Amazon.

If two of the judges deem the product worthy, it goes to the "Buy It Now Store" (which isn't a real thing, confusingly) on Amazon. The host is JB Smoove.

It goes by quickly--three or four products per 44-minute episode (at least, before Prime forced ads on us😤). There are no sob stories so far (I've seen three episodes) because how emotional can you get in 90 seconds. Most people are on their game for 90 seconds. It's actually refreshing.

Edited November 3 by bilgistic

[tired and hungry]

3 minutes ago, bilgistic said:

If at least 10 people give it the green light (literally), the inventor goes in front of the judges, one of whom is the guy who invented the Ring doorbell and who was infamously turned down on Shark Tank. The other two judges rotate out every episode. One of them is always a higher-up at Amazon.

Oof I thought I'd check this out coz the audience aspect of this might be interesting. I'm 2 mins in and I see the Goop lady so I'M OUT 😒

Maybe i'll give it another shot later if I'm really bored. Thanks for the recommendation @bilgistic

[bilgistic]

She's only on that one episode if it helps.

Edited November 3 by bilgistic

[bilgistic]

Gwyneth has been on more episodes of "Buy It Now". There are now 13 episodes. I find her kind of annoying, but she's actually been fairly down-to-earth and realistic about what the average person can afford.

The Ring guy is on every episode.

[bilgistic]

I saw this on Instagram, and it made me think of the HummViewer (sp?).

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDn82HrqkYh/?igsh=eG8yZmxrNGllOHky