"About 60% of my deals close" - When Mark Cuban revealed Shark Tank's behind-the-scenes process

Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban shed light on the process that goes on behind the camera when the series is being filmed. He has been on the reality TV show for years now.

In an interview with Yahoo Finance, the investor talked about how they shoot and what they are required to do as a panel member. Talking about it, Mark says that he reaches the studio at 8:30 AM and gets his face and hair done in a bit.

However, Lori Greiner and Kevin O'Leary have to arrive almost two hours before to get their cameras ready. He joked that Kevin "got a lot more landmass to cover." Then, sharp at 9 AM, the cameras start rolling, and they shoot Shark Tank. Deals come in one after the other, and Mark says that they "know nothing about them."

Mark said that if a deal is not too great or "stupid," then they finish the negotiations within 15 to 20 minutes as all the Sharks opt out of it. However, if the deal is "intense," all the sharks are interested, and huge negotiations are going on for it, then it could all go up to 90 minutes to two hours.

However, Mark revealed that the Shark Tank editors cut out the longer parts to have a more streamlined viewing experience. Talking about the same, he said,

"So yeah, we'll do due diligence, and about 60% of my deals close."

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Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban talks about the process of filming the series

Mark Cuban, the Shark Tank investor, navigated the conversation towards the "due diligence" process of the deals. He said that every deal that is presented to them is genuine, and the Sharks invest their real money in the same, although sometimes the pitch can be misleading. Revealing the same, he said,

"Sometimes they'll embellish—that's a polite way to put it. 'My widget costs a dollar to make and we've sold a million of them,' when in reality the widget costs $10 and they've sold six."

This is where all the investors need to have their due diligence process completed to confirm the authenticity of the brand. Thus, Mark can close about 60% of his deals.

Mark also revealed that not all the pitches that are made on Shark Tank can make it to the television. Talking about the numbers, he says that almost 250 to 300 businesses pitch their products, but only 75% of them air on TV.

The reason behind it could be anything ranging from legal concerns to narrative flow, but the viewers only see a curated selection of the pitches filmed for the season.

As for Mark Cuban personally, he says that his approach to investments extends beyond Shark Tank. He hopes to support disadvantaged entrepreneurs. He discussed creating a million-dollar fund for businesses led by people of color and the LGBTQ community. Talking about the same, he said,

"I just invested with a woman, Arlen Hamilton, who we together created a little million-dollar fund where she's going out and finding ten businesses run by people of color or disadvantaged LGBTQ-type communities and just opening doors.

He added,

Because I think my experience applies to anybody, right? Any entrepreneur no matter what you're trying to sell and I also think that it's a great business opportunity simply because the markets that they wanted to sell to are underserved."

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Shark Tank season 16 episodes are released weekly on ABC at 8 PM Eastern Time on Fridays. They are later available to watch on Hulu.