"Hero or a zero" - Shark Tank's Lori Greiner shares tips to judge an idea's success

Lori Greiner, an investor on Shark Tank, has been dubbed the "Queen of QVC." She is an entrepreneur and an innovator and is recognized for identifying successful products and bringing them to the market. She has over 120 patents and launched over 1000 products.

In her recent Instagram video, she shared the blueprint that could help young inventors decide if their prototype will be successful in the market or not. The tips shared by her on this reel are derived from her book, which discusses product evaluation strategies as experienced in the market.

Lori started as an inventor and did not think about entering the business world. It all happened when her ideas started gaining traction, and she was listed on the New York Times Best Seller List. This was when she took her earring organizer idea and went all in. Talking about the roadmap, Lori said,

"Is your idea a hero or a zero? Here are my top 5 tips to tell. Does it have broad mass appeal?"

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Shark Tank investor Lori Greiner shares her 5 criteria for a successful idea

The first factor that Lori gave importance to is "broad mass appeal." For a product to be successful, it should attract a wide base of customers instead of just targeting a niche audience.

Products like these tend to have a higher sales rate and are appealing to a larger base. This aspect is also important if an idea is seeking an investment opportunity because they would always prefer a business that caters to a greater scale.

Lori then asked the second question by saying,

"Does it solve a problem?"

As asked by Shark Tank investor Lori, a product should be of aid to a consumer. It should address an existing issue and aim to eradicate the same with its use. This creates a need for the same. Greiner's strategy is often focused on products that solve problems.

These are the ones that gain demand naturally and have very good word-of-mouth marketing.

"Is it unique and different?"

Lori then focused on her third question about the uniqueness of a product compared to what already exists in the market. A product needs to set itself apart from others of the same sort that are already available.

It has to be creative, either by design or by price point. The Shark Tank investor asks the innovators to curate something new for the audience, which will gain a mass market and give it an advantage over existing solutions.

Lori continues,

"Can it be made at an affordable price?"

She highlights the issue of cost efficiency during the production phase of the product. If it is costly to make, it will be costly to sell. This might reduce the range of profitability in the business. The final retail price should not become uncompetitive due to high production costs.

The last question asked by Lori was,

"Does it fill a gap in the market?"

This highlights the importance of market research before finalizing if the idea is feasible or not. This helps determine if the product fills a gap and whether it serves an unmet need.

However, if there are already products in a similar niche, creating a differentiation is difficult. Lori's question hints at creating something that enhances the existing product or is unique on its own.

This five-step approach by Shark Tank's Lori Greiner provides a structural approach to building a business from just an idea. She says that if an idea meets all these five benchmarks, then "it might just be a hero."

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Shark Tank season 16 episodes drop out weekly on ABC at 8:00 pm Eastern Time on Fridays. Later, they can be streamed via Hulu.