(Brian Ach/Getty) “Shark Tank” investor Barbara Corcoran.
Barbara Corcoran has invested in nearly 30 companies over the past six seasons of “Shark Tank.”
In a new Reddit AMA, Corcoran says that in his experience, the worst mistakes an entrepreneur can make are “wasting money on patents and PR” and not having enough confidence.
She explains:
The correct dance steps are: 1) manufacture the product 2) get some sales 3) make the big guys envy you and only then obtain a patent.
But what stands in the way of every young entrepreneur is insecurity. That little poisonous voice inside all of us that whispers, “Don’t go there. You can’t do it. Don’t take the risk.” It took me 20 years to break that voice and free myself.
His first point, that money cannot buy success for a new venture, is a reflection of his belief that great entrepreneurs have a need That’s why he told Business Insider last year that he never invests in “rich kids” who can easily bounce back from financial failure.
Fellow Shark Daymond John, who agrees with Corcoran on the danger of “wasting money,” told us that “if you can’t prove your concept when you’re broke, you can’t prove it with money, either.”
How entrepreneurs should approach patents is more controversial. Another Shark, Lori Greiner, holds more than 120 patents and writes in her book “Sell It, Bank It!” that “if it’s even remotely within the realm of possibility, I would urge you to try to get one” as soon as possible, both for market protection and investor safety. Greiner says, however, that it’s ultimately a personal choice.
Corcoran’s point ties back to what John said: If you’re spending $2,500 to $15,000 to obtain a patent on a product that customers may not even want, you’re wasting money that could be used to grow the business.
Corcoran started his own business when he co-founded the Corcoran Group real estate company in 1973 with just $1,000. He sold the company to NRT Incorporated in 2001 for $66 million and then became a media personality.
She told Business Insider that the best “advice” she ever received came from her first business partner and ex-boyfriend, Ramone Simone.
They parted ways with the Corcoran Group in the 1980s after their relationship soured, a decision Simone was unhappy with.
“On the way out the door he said, ‘You’ll never succeed without me,'” Corcoran said.
It helped her turn that nagging voice of doubt into a source of power.
“That was the ‘advice’ that got me through thick and thin, mainly because it hit me in the gut and I didn’t want to let him have the satisfaction of seeing me fall. That’s what I always leaned on when things were going bad. I was like, ‘Damn, I’m not going to let him see me (like that).'”
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