‘Shark Tank’: Lori Greiner comments on quick Scholly investment, subsequent argument
At first, we have to admit that we were not a huge fan of Lori Greiner making such an early offer to Scholly on Friday night’s “Shark Tank,” well before many questions were answered and details were handed out to the sharks. We thrive on seeing all of that stuff, and then hearing Kevin O’Leary dissect valuations and sales with a fine-toothed comb. However, we love entertainment more than anything else; if we were just into the business side of things, we’d be in a different line of work.
Ultimately, what happened as a result of Lori and Daymond John making their quick investment in scholarship-tracking app Scholly was wonderful entertainment, and also a debate that led to some sharks storming out of the tank. We don’t believe that she and Daymond were giving out “charity,” which is a word that was bandied about. However, we also don’t think of it as “sour grapes” on the part of Robert Herjavec and Mark Cuban, which is a term that Lori used in reference to them. The answer lies somewhere in between. There may just be a certain manner of traditionally doing things in the tank, and Mark, Kevin, and Robert may not have enjoyed an augmentation of that. At the same time, we’re sure that they probably were annoyed that they did not get a chance to invest themselves.
Following the episode, Greiner did send out a statement (thanks to Reality Blurred for bringing this to our attention) explaining her thought process, and giving a pretty clear update that suggests Scholly made it past the due diligence phase that follows the show:
“Within about 10 minutes of Scholly’s pitch to the sharks, I had heard enough to know that Scholly was already doing well, and it was clear Chris was a very smart entrepreneur. I didn’t need to hear a lot more, the algorithm was already working and I knew going forward anything else we could figure out together. It was shocking to learn that $100 mil in scholarships go unused each year. I wanted to get behind Scholly to help bring these scholarships and aspiring students together. I’m so glad to be working with the Scholly team and Daymond John now and we have just re-launched an enhanced website and the database is fully up to date and growing. Scholly is a HERO. Sometimes it’s not all about the money, it’s about what you believe in. In regards to the shark fight, every shark has a unique approach to business, we’re like a family and we are not always going to agree.”
Ultimately, there’s a great point in here. As much fun as we have sniping with our opinions, it’s not our money. If Lori, Daymond, or any other shark wants to break protocol a little bit to give money to a business, who are we to stop them?
You can read our full review of Friday’s episode over at the link here. Also, sign up right away to get some other TV coverage sent right to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)