Not all about the hunt: Lessons in failure, learning and creativity from the new Shark Tank judges

Startup pitch TV favourite Shark Tank, which is making a comeback to Aussie screens this year, announced its new lineup of judges yesterday.

Oodie founder Davie Fogarty, Showpo founder Jane Lu, King Kong founder Sabri Suby join Responsible Metaverse Alliance founder Dr Catriona Wallace and Shark Tank veteran Robert Herjavec.

Each shark has had a storied business career, and has much to offer in terms of experience, insight and wisdom.

So what can you learn from the new Shark Tank judges? 

Don’t always try to grow

Last year, SmartCompany asked Jane Lu how retailers can continue to attract and sell to customers in times of economic hardship. Her answer: it’s time to buckle down. “Focus on margins and cashflow. “Unless you are fortunate enough to have a recession-proof product, don’t burn through cash trying to grow in a down market.”

Lu, who started Showpo in her parents’ garage to quickly become one of Australia’s fastest-growing companies, is a Smart50 winner and last year joined the program as a guest judge. 

Another lesson came from her biggest mistake — a premises relocation that resulted in confusion and a sales decline; it’s a cautionary tale about getting too obsessed with competitors.

Self-teach and upskill — always

Davie Fogarty turned his Oodie brand into an empire during the work-from-home revolution, complete with sky-high sales and big brand partnerships. But he launched his share of failures before finding success. “I’ve actually founded a lot of businesses,” he told SmartCompany Plus. “I launched a Vietnamese roll shop, I launched a singlet business, I tried a seasoning business after growing seasonings in my shed.”

After these false starts, he entered a “period of learning” — and that’s one of his recommendations, too: “YouTube is a great free resource. Make the most of it.”

Fogarty said he believes the time he spent learning, teaching himself, and upskilling was “everything”. 

“There’s not one successful person that doesn’t still self-teach themselves.”

“I’m still learning more than ever, every single day to be honest.

“[Learning] was the defining moment where it stopped me from failing businesses, and it’s the one thing that keeps you progressing.”

Create the ideal workspace — then work in it

Sabri Suby, the Melbourne-based author and founder of ad agency King Kong, said there’s no match for the magic of the creative collaboration that occurs in the office. On working from home he says “it’s not just millennials who need flexibility — all humans do.

“But separating work from the physical workplace is not the answer.”

Suby said creating the ideal workplace is an investment in your team, your “collective brain.”

“When your team enjoys coming into work, they will smash it.”

Champion women — not just because it’s the right thing to do

Dr Catriona Wallace, who founded Flamingo AI, which garnered a number of impressive early funds before becoming the second startup founded by a woman to hit the ASX, went on to found the Responsible Metaverse Alliance and is now an author and public speaker, encourages all to champion — and fund — women in tech and reap the benefits.

“Women-led startups are outperforming their male counterparts in the financial returns they’re getting for investors,” she said. “Because women founders are typically more conservative on how we spend money, we tend to run our business very leanly and very effectively.”