When Kevin Waltermire ’03 appears on ABC’s Shark Tank on February 6, 2015 to pitch his product, The BevBoy (a koozie that floats and stays upright in the water) it will be his second experience in a shark tank.
Waltermire (right) appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank with his friend (left) demonstrating The BevBoy.
Waltermire, who graduated first from the College of Charleston with a bachelor’s degree in history and then from the College’s One-Year Global MBA Program in 2011, had his first shark tank experience in the MBA’s capstone course. Waltermire’s One-Year Global MBA classmates pitched ideas to Charleston-based business people for valuable feedback on their ideas as well as their presentation style.
“It would make for a better story if I’d won!” Waltermire said. Instead he participated as an audience member, as he had already been hired for a job in Shanghai. In the scheme of things, though, Waltermire is focused on the more important shark tank – the one on network television. Here are a few things he’s learned from preparing for and appearing on the hit reality show:
1. You might black out – and that’s ok.
Despite being nervous, Waltermire rocked his appearance on Shark Tank – at least that’s what he was told. “When I walked off set all the producers were waiting and they hugged and high fived me and said ‘Kev, you killed it!’ I was like, ‘Really, because I don’t remember anything!’” he said. “It was so stressful to face the Sharks that I felt totally exhausted and I didn’t remember specifics from the taping for a couple of days!”
The BevBoy in action.
2. Use props.
When Waltermire pitched The BevBoy to the sharks, he knew he’d have to put them in the mindset of needing the product. So, “I had a buddy come on with me and we set up a real hot tub on the set. That way the Sharks could see the need for the product and how it was used.”
3. Prepare for the long haul.
Waltermire explained, “About a full year passed between when I first applied for the show on ABC’s website and when I actually filmed my appearance. Four months went by before they reached out to me for a phone interview, then I had to submit three professionally produced videos, then I had to create a mock-pitch. Once the producers approved those, they flew me to Los Angeles for the episode and I still had to jump through several hoops before filming.”
4. You are your company.
“There are two types of investors,” Waltermire said. “Those who invest in the horse and those who invest in the jockey. In this case, the horse is the product or company you’re pitching, and you are the jockey. Based on the questions the Sharks asked me, I would guess that they’re investing in the jockey. They want to know about your idea and your numbers and all that, but mostly they care about your vision and how committed you are to that vision. They need to see that you’ll fight for it.”
5. Use your nerves as motivation.
“I noticed that the Sharks on Shark Tank really rip people apart when they get their valuation wrong,” Waltermire said. “Your valuation is based on a lot of factors, and determining it is a delicate balance between your actual sales numbers (among other things) and your potential for growth in your market.”
Waltermire continued, “While I didn’t want to come right out and value my company at $1 million – in part because, as a new company we only had about $10,000 in sales – I knew that it had that potential and I didn’t want to sell it short. On top of that, I was super focused on making my family proud. I knew my parents and their friends were watching and I was not going to embarrass them – I channeled my nervousness about that into motivation and tried to appear as confident as I could.”
