RICHARDS LOOKING FOR SCALEUP POTENTIAL IN NEXT SHARK TANK CLASS

DR GLEN Richards (pictured) is circling the waters for his next big investment as season three of Shark Tank goes to air.

Founder of pet care powerhouse, Greencross, and one of the show's five big-time business "sharks", Richards says he'll be looking for innovative products or services with the potential to take the global market.

"If I have a sniff of something that looks exciting and that I think I can add value to, that's the sort of thing I will go after," he says.

"For me, I want something that we can scale up from a small business and go global with, so it has to have an opportunity about it or a scent that it's heading somewhere big."

During his season two debut, Richards made 13 deals worth a total investment of $1.6 million, securing a stake in everything from children's toys to safety switches.

He says the show presents a great opportunity for early stage businesses seeking a leg-up in terms of industry networks or capital.

"You're going to have an audience of more than 700,000 seeing your product or service," he says.

"From an investment point of view, there's five very interesting, very experienced sharks who are always on the lookout to mentor a business on the brink of going national or global.

"It's a triple whammy: publicity, capital and one of our sharks as a partner in your journey."

Richards is joined by judges Janine Allis, founder of Boost Juice, RedBalloon's Naomi Simson, tech entrepreneur Steve Baxter, and Andrew Banks, co-founder of recruitment company Morgan & Banks.

He says the key to securing their investment lies in the entrepreneur's passion for their business and understanding of their industry.

"Any good entrepreneur must be completely across their sector or industry, competitors that are in their space, their margins, their supply chain, what sort of resources they need as they scale up," he says.

"The reality is, if they come off half prepared, they're going to get eaten alive by the sharks.

"They need to do their homework and put some time into developing their pitch, and make sure that when they present it's an exciting time for them. They shouldn't be overwhelmed by us."

Richards says Shark Tank viewers can expect more competitive banter from Season 3 as the sharks battle it out over promising ventures.

"Keep an eye on the Doberman and the Rottweiler on the right side of the tank," he says.

"Janine and Steve seem to be aggressively competitive with me, so we're going to see a lot more of me having a crack at them."
 

Dr Glen Richards writes a regular From the Tank column for Business News Australia, and you can read previous entries here:
Good old-fashioned business still relevant
Bringing an investment to life
The clock is ticking, time to act
Should you ever whack-a-mole?
How I pick tech companies