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Comment by swanson | Hacker News Reader

I think there is something there with the "reality-TV MBA" the article links to.

Lessons from "The Apprentice": the dynamics of leading a project. If you win, it can cover up bad process/bad leadership; if you lose, people blame the person they like least and rationalize reasons.

Lessons from "Nathan for You": outside the box thinking and pushing on rules until they are just about to break spurs innovative and creative thinking, it's mostly garbage ideas but there are gems. Even the garbage can be interesting because people are so used to companies following existing playbooks and being safe.

Lessons from "Shark Tank": desirable companies are in a position to reverse interview investors, basic heuristics for company valuation, financial metrics (COGS, CAC, etc), the difference between products and companies

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I'm not a business person but Nathan For You, while being funny and enjoyable, really tought me some ways to think outside the box about marketing. His ghost realtor gimmick is still being used afaik.

I will add that I watched Lemonis' spin-off show "The Partner" and it was hot-garbage. One of the worst reality shows I've ever watched in terms of structure and concept.

Nathan For You is one of the best shows out there. It's a satire of other business advice shows -- the host pitches ridiculous business schemes that are usually borderline scams, and it's crazy how often they work out. He's had a couple episodes go viral, like Dumb Starbucks (he opened a Starbucks lookalike called Dumb Starbucks and justified it by saying it was protected under parody law). I highly recommend it!

I remember this guy having skits on 22 minutes, my father & I thought it was genius, glad to see how he's continued

What I learned from Shark Tank was also how to pitch better. Getting the right amount of info in small amount of time takes a lot of practice, and some pitches were great.

Thank you for this fantastic list of shows. I love Shark Tank and am looking for similar shows where I can learn more about business. Does anyone know any other shows that fit this purpose?

How about Dragon's Den? The Canadian version is probably the closest counterpart to America's Shark Tank.

Dragons' Den is the show that Shark Tank is based on. It has run for many seasons in the UK and Canada (and short runs in Australia and Ireland and elsewhere). Episodes can be found on Youtube.

In turn, Dragon's Den was based on a Japanese show (The Tigers of Money).

My ranking of Dragons Den series:

Canada (Kevin/Robert from Shark Tank are in some seasons) UK Ireland

You can also watch the UK version of The Apprentice and Young Apprentice (teens). The US versions of the traditional The Apprentice are a bit old and the Celebrity Apprentice is not worth watching.

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