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S09.E01: Locker Board, WYP Aviation, Sierra Madre Research, Simple Habit / S09.E02: The Seventy2, Jackson's Honest, Qball, Trippie


Tara Ariano
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5 hours ago, mtlchick said:

My sister would really benefit from the meditation app.  Our dad died in April and she's been so grief stricken that she has yet to go back to work and is on currently on long term disability.  She is trying to practice meditation but she gets distracted and loses track easily so 5 minutes on her phone would be great.  However, I wasn't a fan of the weird arm movements and then the admission of having 2M in the bank just sitting there. ""Gold digger" was pretty harsh, but I get was Mark was implying: "you already have cash, and backers and you need us because you need exposure instead of using some of your 2M to advertise? BAH."  

My condolences on the loss of your dad. There's a fabulous free app, Meditation Studio, that would probably be perfect for your sis. It offers hundreds of guided meditations and has loads of accolades (Time Mag's Top 50 apps, etc.) as there's something for everyone, including those new to meditation and/or those who find it difficult. 

As for meditation girl, she irritated for reasons already mentioned and because she acted like they've created both the wheel and fire when there's at least one other wildly successful company already out there, having both guided meditations and yoga (and so very much more).

Given that I've been a paid subscriber for over two years, her overwrought ridiculousness about the need for their product was somewhat deceptive; at this point, they should be hoping to simply be competitive as both will come up with searches and the existing one has a standard monthly fee and a much broader offering. 

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4 hours ago, Thrifty said:

That's fine.  I'm not saying you have to like the sharks.  I'm not trying to convince you to do that.  I just hope you'll realize that when Mark or any of the sharks call someone a "gold digger", it's not a slam against them as a woman.  I thought you were offended by Mark's accusation because you were thinking he meant "gold digger" in the traditional sense, and you were going for some ham-fisted sexism angle.  Upon re-reading your original post, I can see that was pretty unfair.

I have to say I’ve never picked up on any sexism from the sharks and no, was not seeing it at all from Cuban in this episode either. 

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I liked Robert's response when the airport app kid said he didn't have a rich uncle.  Not what to say to a self made man from poor emigrant parents!  All the sharks are self made, he just spoke up first  

Yep, I travel a lot and have never had a problem finding a bite to eat.  It isn't like there are fantastic choices you might miss.  Lol. 

Production wants authentic reactions from the sharks.  They cast people with a variety products and stories.  I feel certain they knew the meditation app woman wanted exposure.  

 Mark was right to call out the meditation app woman on her mission to get exposure. I believe her tears were about them lambasting her and NOT about the cancer patients that she has helped.  Pfffft.  I will reluctantly give her a pat on the back for a quick recovery on that, though. Lol

I like the new set and hope they continue with different seat assignments. 

The men with the survival kit made a mistake going with Robert. Lori did not convey she wanted a deal quickly enough.  This product is made for QVC. Everyone in Florida and the entire Gulf Coast will buy one. 

I was not impressed with Branson. If the water throwing was a production set up, Mark was not in on it.  He was pissed.

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21 hours ago, Auntie Anxiety said:

What I think I dislike most after all these many years of watching this show, is when someone thinks they are entitled to a deal because of all their hard work, the effort, the time and money they put into their idea.

100%. I don't think airport app kid was an entitled millennial brat; he seemed kind of sensitive and clearly Mom had never said no to him, but he was so crushed, it made me sad. Your first lesson from the real world, kiddo. That said, you never get a pass from me by saying, "I worked so hard!" On your shitty idea that no one needs? So what? On something that failed? It happens. Only to be turned down? We've all been there. On a huge success? Good for you. But that doesn't prove, like people accepting awards always say, that if you persevere and follow your dreams, you'll be richly rewarded with money, success, fame, hookers and tacos. Sometimes you try and try and fail and some lucky chump gets the goods. There's no formula for success, and certainly working hard isn't the metric.

You can also byo to the airport. They'll let a sandwich and a bag of chips through security, and you don't have to eat oversalted, overpriced airport garbage.

Edited by Silly Angel
had another brilliant thought, lol
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23 minutes ago, EAG46 said:

Phil, honey, maybe you can ask to stick with a written recap? You don't really seem comfortable with the audio podcast format.

I don’t get why P.TV feels the need to go all podcasts. I can’t do them and the written recaps were always good. Writing is too hard I guess.

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I am relatively new to the Tank and don’t know all of the dynamics of the Sharks, but if I had to make a deal with one of them, I would probably choose Mark.   He seems to be the most sincere if he is making a deal.    Robert seems like he wants to play the nice guy but it’s more an act for the camera and he also seems like a big baby when he loses a deal.

 

I thought the water thing was scripted.  And while Mark’s “gold digger” comment was not nice, I get what he meant.  That girl bugged and was all about the exposure.  I think he just chose the wrong word.

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On 10/1/2017 at 4:08 PM, Dots And Stripes said:

Having the mom of the airport app guy waiting for him felt like a set up. Like the producers knew he would get called an entitled millennial and had mommy there to prove the point. I get the sharks' point that you have to succeed on the merit of your product, but I also thought Cuban was more adversarial than necessary. 

It got painful to watch so I fast forwarded, but was there actually any constructive criticism for him?  I understand that he had a lot of beefing up on the app to do, but they weren't exactly throwing out connections except for maybe contacting the airports directly to get the back-end.  And he seemed definitely to be someone who is more of an "inventor" than an "entrepreneur" type, in other words, he had a great idea for a product but he needed someone to help execute (market the product to get the users, contact the airports and the businesses to do back-end etc.).

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32 minutes ago, HawaiiTVGuy said:

And he seemed definitely to be someone who is more of an "inventor" than an "entrepreneur" type, in other words, he had a great idea for a product but he needed someone to help execute (market the product to get the users, contact the airports and the businesses to do back-end etc.).

This was not a great idea; it didn't solve a problem.  No one has trouble finding food in an airport!  

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2 minutes ago, wings707 said:

This was not a great idea; it didn't solve a problem.  No one has trouble finding food in an airport!  

They have apps for everything, and no one was poo-pooing the idea or concept itself, in fact they were lauding the idea of a "waze" style feature which could allow travelers to know exactly how long it would take for their food etc.  And he wasn't saying it wasn't a matter of finding food, it was finding certain food.  And considering how many travelers travel through the major hubs every day, as long as you get a small percentage of them to sign up and use the app you have a very big DL customer base.  My understanding is that it is a free app, so it isn't like people will DL it only if they "need" it, they will do it if they think it will be helpful and make their commute easier without them needing to think about it.  How many inventions that get funding out there actually "solve" a "problem"?  Squatty potty?  9 times out of 10, the inventions are not designed to solve a problem you know you have, but to present a solution to a problem you didn't know you had.  

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On 10/2/2017 at 7:21 AM, FawnLeibowitz said:

It seems like Lori has been told that she doesn't need to ramble on and on if she's going out. Instead of her usual long winded speeches, we just got "This isn't for me. I'm out."

She needs to be told not to ramble on when she's in. I very much enjoyed the Emergency Bag guys closing a deal with Robert while Lori was just ramping up.

 

22 hours ago, Kenz said:

There are lots of people who come on this show to do their pitch and already have plenty of financing. I don't see why Mark Cuban was such a jerk to the meditation woman. After all, the producers make the decision as to who comes on the show, and if they accepted her, that's fine, and more power to her for getting attention to her venture.

It's not just just that she was flush, but that she didn't really seem interested in landing a Shark. Her offer was the same as made to passive investors and as others said, she wouldn't negotiate any higher than 6%. When you put all of those things together, it seems like someone who just wants exposure.

All the entrepreneurs get asked "why do you want the money?" and a good number say "It's not so much the money as finding a good partner." Had she said that (and meant it) I doubt any of them would have had a problem with her.

BTW there are a ton of meditation apps out there. She made $700,000 so perhaps she's positioned well as one of them. But it's hardly an unexplored niche. I was surprised no one gave her a hard time about that. (Again, perhaps the sales was enough to quash those concerns.)

10 hours ago, Silly Angel said:

100%. I don't think airport app kid was an entitled millennial brat; he seemed kind of sensitive and clearly Mom had never said no to him, but he was so crushed, it made me sad. Your first lesson from the real world, kiddo. That said, you never get a pass from me by saying, "I worked so hard!" On your shitty idea that no one needs? So what? On something that failed? It happens. Only to be turned down? We've all been there. On a huge success? Good for you. But that doesn't prove, like people accepting awards always say, that if you persevere and follow your dreams, you'll be richly rewarded with money, success, fame, hookers and tacos. Sometimes you try and try and fail and some lucky chump gets the goods. There's no formula for success, and certainly working hard isn't the metric.

He turned a (bad) corner for me when he said "It's not just about the business, it's about investing in the person." You don't get to say that about yourself. It really does sound entitled.

But at the same time, I get it. Smart guy. Spent a lot of time in the education system which tells smart kids "follow our instructions, work hard, and you can have anything". It's easy to believe the real world is going to be clamoring after you, and be shocked when it isn't. You have to fall on your face a few times and still be enthusiastic, and that's how you get through the tough times until the successful venture comes along.

------------------

My favorite product of the night was the hammock tent. When I hiked the Appalachian Trail years ago I carried hammock + tarp instead of a tent, and it was a great way to sleep. However, setting both up manually every night was a bit of work. An all in one easy-to-set-up product is a great idea. (And I checked - it only weighs 3 pounds with all pieces, including ground stakes.)

Edited by Amarsir
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42 minutes ago, Amarsir said:

It's not just just that she was flush, but that she didn't really seem interested in landing a Shark. Her offer was the same as made to passive investors and as others said, she wouldn't negotiate any higher than 6%. When you put all of those things together, it seems like someone who just wants exposure.

Agreed. I think Stanford Business School woman was put on there to be made an example of -- perhaps that this season, the Sharks will not tolerate you coming in asking for 5% unless you're actually willing to negotiate. I agree with Cuban that the businesses that come in asking for 5% -- save that one breathalyzer guy a couple years ago -- generally do not want a deal and just want the exposure. I'd like to see less of that myself. I think she was the triple threat: a tech app from Silicon Valley, asking for lots of money and low equity.

And I hated Richard Branson. Not as much as Mr. Uber-ful, but close. I liked Oza. He had a sense of humor, some humility and asked good questions. And he only name-dropped "pop chips" which (Uber) I don't even (Uber) know what those (Uber) are.

Branson throwing water at Mark Cuban struck me like a particularly snotty guest at someone else's dinner party. You're a guest shark for a reason, buddy. I don't care if you're Richard Branson -- it's not your house.

The new set is funny. Half-aquarium, half-late night talk show (with the skyline in the background).

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First thing I noticed.... Barbara’s had some major plastic surgery done, and one of her eyes isn’t level with the other one. And Mark’s had something done as well. He looked sort of pained, like he was gritting his teeth and waiting to get out of there. Grow old gracefully like the rest of us.

I totally agreed with Mark on both shows. That woman has more than $2 million in the bank? You don’t come on Shark Tank when you have that kind of money. I fist-pumped when Mark called her out for taking someone else’s spot on the show, who had mortgaged their home or used their life savings to get where they are. She was there for the exposure, nothing more.

Snowflake Crybaby can take his app and go home. It does nothing that looking up and reading a sign can’t accomplish. Now, if someone develops one to tell me where a parking space is in the airport lot, I’ll buy it. I wanted to smack him and tell him to put on his big boy britches and grow up. He’s been coddled since he could walk and talk.

The hammock tent people ... the one question no one asked... what happens if you’re someplace and there are no trees correctly aligned for you to hang it up? Lots of campgrounds don’t have trees that close, nor does the desert camping spots I’ve been to.

Richard Branson is an ass. Throwing water? Really? Acted like the rich entitled jerk he is.

Edited by cooksdelight
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That airport app seems more like a mobile friendly website rather than an entire app.

 

Branson's water throwing stunt seemed more like an act of mischief than malice.  Malice means you're a jerk.  Mischief is more like you're immature and/or impulsive.  I mean, it is just water after all.  It dries off and doesn't leave stains.

Edited by Thrifty
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4 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

If you are invited to be a guest at any event, do you toss water on one of the hosts if you disagree with them? I don’t. LOL

I think he was trying to be playful.

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On 10/3/2017 at 9:24 AM, wings707 said:

The men with the survival kit made a mistake going with Robert. Lori did not convey she wanted a deal quickly enough.  This product is made for QVC. Everyone in Florida and the entire Gulf Coast will buy one. 

I don't know too much about QVC, but in my mind, I think that the products they sell are not very expensive.  Those survival kits are $350 USD, do they typically have things that are that expensive on the show?

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8 minutes ago, AEMom said:

I don't know too much about QVC, but in my mind, I think that the products they sell are not very expensive.  Those survival kits are $350 USD, do they typically have things that are that expensive on the show?

I am not that familiar either but I saw that Lori really wanted that deal so she had a place in mind, be it QVC or another place where she has connections.   Both she and Robert agreed that women would be the target buyers. 

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2 hours ago, Thrifty said:

That airport app seems more like a mobile friendly website rather than an entire app.

 

Branson's water throwing stunt seemed more like an act of mischief than malice.  Malice means you're a jerk.  Mischief is more like you're immature and/or impulsive.  I mean, it is just water after all.  It dries off and doesn't leave stains.

The trend seems to be app over mobile site. If people become regular users, they want apps - even if the standalone program does the same (or less) than a site would.

Branson has always been about acting like a teenager for attention. When The Apprentice first came out, a competing version launched with Richard Branson as host. One of his final tasks was to go streaking, because it's "the gutsy kind of thing I would do".  It's not easy to make The Apprentice's host look professional, but he did.

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I thought the Stanford woman came across as really talented and found it a bit odd that the producers obviously told him  to react so strongly. It's not like she is the first to be on this show just for the commercial.

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7 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I thought the Stanford woman came across as really talented and found it a bit odd that the producers obviously told him  to react so strongly. It's not like she is the first to be on this show just for the commercial.

I think that Mark and maybe a couple of others thought her app was stupid. And I don’t think producers had to tell him to do anything, if I found out someone in front of me was asking for my money while having a huge bankroll, I’d probably say worse things to her.

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9 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I thought the Stanford woman came across as really talented and found it a bit odd that the producers obviously told him  to react so strongly. It's not like she is the first to be on this show just for the commercial.

Unlike most reality shows, the participants are not average nobodies that the producers can manipulate and pressure.  The Sharks don't need this show, and seem to do it because they enjoy it and they benefit from possibly lucrative investments.  Heck, Mark convince the producers to change a rule from earlier in the series. 

The CEO of Copa Da Vino was one of the earliest gold diggers.  The sharks hated him because they thought he was just jerking them around.  Barbara almost quit the show after the producers brought him back a second time.

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On 10/3/2017 at 6:24 AM, wings707 said:

 Mark was right to call out the meditation app woman on her mission to get exposure. I believe her tears were about them lambasting her and NOT about the cancer patients that she has helped.  Pfffft.  I will reluctantly give her a pat on the back for a quick recovery on that, though. Lol

I asked hubby if she's all about helping cancer patients, do thney get a discount/free app?

I did get irritated when they were all about "we are here to help people who need it, who want to work with us and have a great business", then they pull the "If you talk to anyone else, I'm out".  If it's all about helping people, let them hear all the offers.  It's OK if they play games for the TV show, but not the ones pitching.

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10 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I thought the Stanford woman came across as really talented and found it a bit odd that the producers obviously told him  to react so strongly. It's not like she is the first to be on this show just for the commercial.

Err... it's doubtful that the producers had to get involved here. We know that Mark Cuban hates two things...

1. People who come on the show just for the attention, with no intention of making a deal.

2. People who sell woo-woo things like balance bracelets or algae pills that magically give you energy.

She pretty much hit both of his biggest pet peeves in one place. (If you have cancer... meditate! Only $11/mo.)  I honestly thought he took it rather easy on her compared to how hard he's gone off on some past contestants.

On 10/3/2017 at 9:24 AM, wings707 said:

The men with the survival kit made a mistake going with Robert. Lori did not convey she wanted a deal quickly enough.  This product is made for QVC. Everyone in Florida and the entire Gulf Coast will buy one. 

I think the perpetuation of the idea that Lori is the only person that can get stuff on QVC is her biggest success on Shark Tank.

If Robert wants to put this thing on QVC and the HSN then it will get on QVC and HSN.

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15 minutes ago, ae2 said:

I think the perpetuation of the idea that Lori is the only person that can get stuff on QVC is her biggest success on Shark Tank.

If Robert wants to put this thing on QVC and the HSN then it will get on QVC and HSN.

Yes.  Damon and Kevin have a connection with HSN or QVC.  Robert could, too but he is in the computer business, primarily and does not have a good track record on his deals.  I think Lori was a better bet for this one. 

ETA.  She is the only one who seems to utilize her connection with QVC.  

Edited by wings707
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On 10/5/2017 at 6:58 AM, cooksdelight said:

I think that Mark and maybe a couple of others thought her app was stupid. And I don’t think producers had to tell him to do anything, if I found out someone in front of me was asking for my money while having a huge bankroll, I’d probably say worse things to her.

Mark doesn't like things that claim to have health benefits when it can't be proven.  He gets really pissed at entrepreneurs that come in with vitamin supplements and the like.  So maybe that extends to meditation?

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There are not only plenty of free meditation apps, but the fancier ones cost around $1.99 to own forever! Who in the world would pay $11.99 a month to subscribe to any app, much less a meditation one where it's not like it's dependent on new content? (Find the audio with the calmest voice that relaxes you and can use it for as long as you want, it's not like you need a different video every day to meditate.) That's about what I pay for commercial free Hulu. 

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On 10/1/2017 at 8:38 PM, retrograde said:

Whoever (I think it was Cuban but I didn't have my eyes on the screen) asked the skater boy if the skater girl was his girlfriend made me want to throttle him. I'm sure he just thought he was teasing the boy, but it was really demeaning to the girl -- and also pretty gross to sexualize a couple of 12 year olds. 

Who said anything about sex?  Most people have girlfriends (or want to) at that age. But most people aren't having sex at that age. 

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I laughed when Mark asked the boy if she was his girlfriend. I typically tease my nephews in the same way and get the same look from them that he gave. Boys at that age do NOT want you knowing if they have a crush on someone. I had a boyfriend in fifth grade and if my mother ever stopped by school (she’d do that often, to talk to my teachers, make sure I was eating all my lunch), I’d move to a different seat so that she wouldn’t catch on. :)

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If we are some place that we aren't familiar with, there are two apps that help us locate specific stores, types of food, etc. they are AroundMe (use this most often) and SearchIt, so the kid's airport food app would be useless.

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1 hour ago, Katmai said:

If we are some place that we aren't familiar with, there are two apps that help us locate specific stores, types of food, etc. they are AroundMe (use this most often) and SearchIt, so the kid's airport food app would be useless.

And if you are in an airport you just have to look from side to side!  No app needed.  It is not the time to be fussy.  A muffin and a cup of coffee or a slice of pizza fills the bill. 

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On 10/2/2017 at 11:24 PM, bilgistic said:

...which meant that the final valuation was half the final valuation offered by the app developer, versus twice the value (chips vs. app) going in. My point remains that Mark groaned when the app developer stated her valuation, but approved the chips creators' valuation. He knew neither of their stories at the time. With the exception of Daymond (and maybe Barbara and Robert on a good day), the Sharks seem to want to be assholes just for the sake of being assholes. It doesn't endear them or the show to me. It's tiresome.

He groaned because everyone is trying to make the next big app/website (he was also pretty hard on Mr. Entitled Airport) while healthy food is trendy and a growth industry.

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44 minutes ago, Skyfall said:

Is there a website or anything to reference track records?

Yes there is.  The link is in this thread way back, though.  

The deals we see made do not necessarily hold.  They meet at another time after filming and go over details and either side can back out if it doesn't work for them on paper.  

Mark makes fewer deals than some but his percentage is higher for the ones that go through.  Lori makes a lot of deals but her percentage is on the low side when it comes to what actually happens.  

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1 minute ago, cooksdelight said:

I would like to know how many times the client vs the shark doesn't follow through and what the reason usually is.   The client comes to the table with their lawyer, of course.  Somewhere in there the deal goes through or fails.  I tend to think the client backs out more than the shark when they look at how large a percentage of their company they will be relinquishing.  

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If you look up each pitch individually on Gazette Review, or other sites, it states where the client is now and how they are doing. I just started doing that in the past year and I’m amazed at how many times Robert or Lori reneg.

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On 10/2/2017 at 5:58 PM, slowpoked said:

And I'm on Robert's side regarding "deserving" to be on the Shark Tank. She made it through the audition process, so she certainly deserves to be there. Period. I don't agree with Daymond that Shark Tank are only for the most desperate people - if that's the case, then why not invest on bad businesses in order to "save" them then?! I think it starts to get murky when you start arguing about who "deserves" to be there or not. 

I agree with this. I haven't watched the second episode yet, but I've obviously seen the show before and the pitchers come from all different walks of life and financial situations. Shark Tank is for entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas, and the show, as far as I know, has never specified they have to be desperate or in danger of losing their business.

I am not an entrepreneur myself, but I would guess that any good idea certainly can always use all the exposure it can get. So, even if what she was asking for was unrealistic, isn't she demonstrating that she is a good entrepreneur by taking every opportunity she can, even if all she gets out of it is exposure? Maybe she was working the system a bit, but it didn't seem like she was playing dirty or anything like that. I think anyone in her position would have taken the same opportunity. If the producers cast her, what's she supposed to do, say "oh, they probably won't go for my deal, I'd better not."? No way. She may have thought, "they might not go for my deal, but at the very least I can show my product to a ton of people and build it up a bit, and see what kind of feedback I can get from the sharks."

Just my opinion. And yes, when calling a woman a gold digger, even if that's the term they regularly use on the show, they should have at least clarified it a bit. Those guys were being kind of dickish to her.

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50 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

If you look up each pitch individually on Gazette Review, or other sites, it states where the client is now and how they are doing. I just started doing that in the past year and I’m amazed at how many times Robert or Lori reneg.

I wouldn't necessarily call it reneging.  What you see on the show is an informal handshake deal.  There is still a due diligence process to go through.  Business deals fail to close all the time.

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1 hour ago, Thrifty said:

I wouldn't necessarily call it reneging.  What you see on the show is an informal handshake deal.  There is still a due diligence process to go through.  Business deals fail to close all the time.

Agreed. But Robert and Lori’s deals fall through the most.

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