Article 08: “And for those reasons, I’m out!”

Those are the words the entrepreneurs don’t want to hear from the sharks. Although disheartening, it is the reality of all pursuits in life. We get rejected from the job we really wanted, the love interest we pursued 😜, the client we chased like forever but walks away with a worse deal. Rejection is not always about not being good enough, at times it is just about not being a fit. We have listed out the most common reasons (rather expressions) why sharks walk away from deals - when they go out.

*This list is not exhaustive.

Twitter handle of the tech business shark: @mcuban

• “Your business is in direct competition with my other investments, so it is not correct for me to invest, and for those reasons, I’m out!” (i.e., conflict of interest)
• “You’re doing well for yourself, I don’t see how I can be of any value to you. I’m out!”
• “This isn’t really a business, it’s a hobby. This is not investible for me; so, I’m out!”
• “I cannot get a straight answer from you to any of my questions, I’m out!”
• “This is not a good fit for me/I don’t want to be in this space, so I’m out!”
• “I have to like something to invest in it. You’re doing well for yourself, but it’s not for me. I’m out!”
• “You don’t seem to be interested in what I have to say. You’re here only for X (shark), I’m out!”
• “The other sharks have made great offers. I cannot match them. So I’ll make it simpler for you. I’m out!”
• “It’s not a business. It’s a feature. It may be profitable, but I don’t see this working as a viable business and for those reasons, I’m out!”
• “I like working with partners who are decisive. You don’t seem to decide what you want. I’m out!”
• “I don’t want you to wait and hear offers from others. You accept my offer right now, else I’m out!”
• “For me to get my money back, you need to have 100 multiple of your current sales figures. I don’t see it happening in the next few years and for those reasons, I’m out!”
• “The key for this kind of business is scalability. I don’t see this becoming a countrywide, worldwide sensation. I’m out!”
• “I don’t see you scaling this business up so I’m out!”
• “This is a great product and you’ve done very well to reach where you are. I’d be your customer but not an investor. I’m sorry, but I’m out!”
• “You don’t seem to have a vision for other things that you can do in this business and for that reason, I’m out!”
• “Your valuation is outrageous! Your numbers don’t support it in any way! There’s no way your business is worth X (the dollar amount)! I’m out!”
• “ I see a very different path for this business going forward compared to you and I don’t think our visions match. So, sadly I’m out!”
• “You don’t seem to have your logistics figured out. It’s painful to deal with all that and for those reasons, I’m out!”
• “I want X% for Y money. If you’re not willing to give up X%, it doesn’t even get me up in the morning. I’m out!”
• “I think this is going to need too much attention and time commitment from my side in the future, and I am not sure I am going to be able to do that and for those reasons, I’m out!”
• “I don’t think your business is investible for me right now. I’m out!”
• “I don’t think you are considering the amount of marketing dollar this is going to take to really open up a new category. I don’t think it’s a ride that I can take, so I’m out!”
• “You’re not listening to anything I said, you’re not answering my questions, I don’t think you want a deal. I’m out!”
• “You’re chasing revenue and not profit and that’s why, I’m out!”
• “You’re trying to sell science without using science & for that reason, I’m out!”

Twitter handle of the head of Herjavec Group: @robertherjavec

Twitter handle of the fashion shark: @TheSharkDaymond

By Ambarish Kulkarni & Sapna Patni

This is our eighth in a series of articles on Shark Tank, where we try to deconstruct the pitches, business fundamentals, and the Sharks.

*Copyrights of the images are owned by authors.