Entrepreneurship and The Role of Shark Tank

 Humble greetings to all the readers. In the present times, we all very often hear the words like “entrepreneur”, “entrepreneurship development”, “economic growth” and so on. Also, the television show Shark Tank has gained an unprecedented fame, especially in India. Well in this article, we will get into the insight of ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND THE ROLE OF SHARK TANK. I hope you will love reading this amazing blog on my views regarding this topic. So, let’s begin. Enjoy reading!

Industrialization is the phase when a nation develops from an agrarian society to an industrial one, that is, when manufacturing plays the lead role in the development of the nation and its people. Industrialization isn’t a new concept and it began in the mid-18^th century. The mid-19^th and the 20^th century evolved as the era of industrialization where the present-day developed nations around the world like UK, US, countries of European Union and many more developed as manufacturing giants. During this period, the world witnessed an unprecedented “entrepreneurship development” and economic growth.

During the same period, many nations, particularly the colonized ones, were developing themselves as young democracies and did not emerge as a manufacturing economy. Hence, for countries like India, Malaysia, Iran and so on, the 21st century is considered as the century of developing countries. During this period, these countries, at present, are witnessing significant growth of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial development, which is vital for their economic growth.

Entrepreneurship, as I see, is the skill and ability to think and identify a near-to untouched problem or cause, to think of all possible solutions or innovations, combined with the physical and social factors, technology, finance etc., converting the solutions into executable ideas and then implementation of these ideas to run the enterprise or business and eventually earn profit. An entrepreneur is defined as someone who has the ability and desire to establish, execute and succeed in a startup venture along with the risks entitled to it and to make profit. Entrepreneurs are often known as a source of new ideas or innovations, who deliver customer satisfaction and convenience in the market by replacing the old with a new invention or technology. It also provides new job opportunities for both the skilled as well as unskilled labour.

Entrepreneurship Development is the process of developing and enhancing the skillsets and knowledge of entrepreneurs to help them ideate, manage and execute their business or startup efficiently. They are also taught about the possible risks and how to overcome them in this program. Entrepreneurship development is conducted by the leading B-schools or established entrepreneurs who can assist and encourage the aspiring entrepreneurs to dream and achieve big. This development plays a major role in the economic growth of a nation as the economy depends on the industrial development as well as the business or start-up culture in the smallest of villages and towns of the nation. Through this training, the entrepreneurs learn the following skills:

•     Ability to take risk
  
•     Ability to think and innovate
  
•     Flexibility in ideology and work
  
•     Leadership and visionary qualities and many more

 

The Indian Decade of Entrepreneurs

The 2020s is seen as the “decade of Indian entrepreneurs”. This decade has witnessed the emergence of new start-ups in the country. The youth of today aspires to dream and achieve big. The start-up culture within the higher education institutions has significantly increased. The youth of today dares to reject the 9 to 5 job placements, rather they put in all their efforts, skills and knowledge towards establishing their own start-up venture. The Government of India is also launching various schemes like Startup Leadership Program (SLP), ASPIRE (A Scheme for Promotion of Innovation, Rural Industries and Entrepreneurship), Startup India Initiative and many more for the help and growth of these start-ups. I believe, the nation will become developed only with the growth of these entrepreneurs.

As India enters the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, it’s also the time to acknowledge the contribution it has made to the global entrepreneurial ecosystem. From an emerging market, we have consolidated our position as one of the fastest-growing markets for emerging tech companies. The Indian start-up ecosystem has become the third largest in the world today with over 100 unicorns (valuations of US$ 1 billion or more) emerging in the last decade. These startups span across a variety of sectors and industries ranging from finance to health to education and many more, attracting global investors and venture capital. Over the last two decades, India evolved from being an IT services and business process outsourcing hub to becoming a significant R&D centre for multinationals.

The role of Shark Tank

Shark Tank is an American television reality show involving the business tycoons and investors, called sharks, of the nation and various aspiring entrepreneurs, first started in the year 2009. The entrepreneurs register themselves for the show and get selected on the basis of various factors. The selected entrepreneurs are then invited to pitch or present their business idea to the sharks. If the sharks find the business or start-up idea worth investing, they provide finance to the pitchers, mostly in exchange of equity (the value of the shares issued by a company) or sometimes, in the form of equity plus debt. This way, the pitchers not only get the finance or capital expenditure for their business, but also get the benefit of the mentorship and expertise of the sharks in growing their business in multiples of crores.

Shark Tank plays an important role in assisting and opening the doors to new opportunities for the new and young entrepreneurs, who become the future and caretakers of the nation's economic development. It also generates entrepreneurial and financial awareness and literacy among its viewers through its episodes.

Shark Tank was recently started in India in the year 2021. The first season witnessed huge success and it was the first time in Indian television history when such a TV show, spreading financial literacy and promoting start-ups was on aired. Through this show, the nation saw the rise of hidden entrepreneurs not only from the elite institutions like IITs or IIMs, but also from the remote areas of the country. The entrepreneurs were given assistance and encouragement by the sharks of the show, who not only supported them financially as investors, but also provided their mentorship, expertise and network.

The show also provided financial awareness and literacy to the common viewers through its specially designed presentation format. Shark Tank is also a medium of encouraging the youth to dream big and enter into the start-up or entrepreneurial journey. It’s a motivation to the people that investors and the government are always ready to help the budding entrepreneurs sprout and grow.

As per the judges (called sharks), the initiative to air this show on national television in India will prove to be the beginning of a new era of Indian entrepreneurs and the nation will see a developing economic growth. Start-ups also provide job opportunities to the human resource and this can make the liability of overpopulation turn into an asset for our country. One of the sharks, Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of People Group and Shaadi dot com, quoted that 2020s is the decade of Indian entrepreneurs wherein the world will witness India developing as a major manufacturing and entrepreneurial hub.

This show has achieved great success and fame in the Indian households and will certainly change the perspective and destiny of the nation. India will soon emerge as the producer of great entrepreneurs and will hence achieve the tag of "developed nation" through its top-notch growth.

I believe, India will develop as the leading nation of the world politically, socially and economically by the year 2047 and the mission of "India @ 100 – Hundred years of Independence" will be achieved.

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