"Lost about $2 million": When Shark Tank Australia investor Nick Bell opened up about his "bad investments"

Shark Tank Australia's Nick Bell appeared on fellow Shark Jane Lu's podcast episode aired on November 27, 2024. While on The Lazy CEO Podcast, Nick shared some of his "bad investments," which resulted in huge losses.

It happened after the Showpo founder asked Nick about "commonalities in bad investments." Listening to that, Nick recalled a few of his biggest failed businesses that resulted in considerable capital loss.

"I've invested in a casino in Nepal and it...gambling is illegal in the pool. But the theory was that people will cross the border from India and go gamble. But the challenge was that the founder of the casino wasn't based in the Nepal. He was based in Hong Kong. So he was never there running the business. So I lost about $2 million in that," revealed Shark Tank's Nick Bell.

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Shark Tank investors Jane Lu and Nick Bell discussed his "bad investments" and the losses he endured in terms of capital

Jane Lu's podcast episode titled Losing Millions by Investing Blindly! Nick Bell, First Page aired on November 27, 2024, featuring Nick Bell. During one of the podcast segments, she asked him about the biggest "commonalities" in business.

The Lazy CEO podcast host captioned the Instagram clip with the following:

"Had such an eye-opening chat with @nickbellau, where he shared some of his biggest investment fails—from restaurants he had no clue about, to a casino in Nepal (where gambling's illegal). But here's the thing—it all comes down to the founders. If they're not the right fit, the business won't succeed. Get the right team and make it happen."

The Shark Tank investor recalled a couple of such business ventures that had been quite significant in terms of losses. He stated that he had made "a lot of" bad investments. It happened when he invested in businesses for which he didn't understand the "industry."

The first one was in restaurants. As Nick stated, he invested in a founder who lacked experience. As a result, he lost one million dollars. He referred to that business investment as "so dumb."

Next was a Casino in Nepal. When he mentioned that Casinos in Nepal were "illegal," it shocked Jane Lu. It was also a failed business as the founder of that business was not based in Nepal but was based in Hong Kong.

Recalling such failed businesses, Shark Tank mentor Nick further stated:

"Oh my god I've done some shockers, but it's always the person driving the business. Yeah, the founder of founders I'm sure you can agree. Yeah, if they're an absolute muppet It's business is gonna take no matter what."

However, he stated that making money in "any industry" was possible. The required criteria for that would be to be "really good" at what you do, and being "determined" with discipline and putting in the "work," one can make money.

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Fans can follow Shark Tank investor Nick Bell via his Instagram (@nickbellau) and learn more about his latest business ventures.