"Passion about a very narrow field" — When Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec shared how he measured pitches

Robert Herjavec, the Shark Tank investor, shared the key element that he looked for when analyzing a pitch on the show. Many entrepreneurs who present their companies and businesses often believe that their ideas, confidence, or sales numbers will bag them a deal; however, Robert says that he looked for a deeper passion in their minds about the field of industry they are in.

His philosophy states that success does not come from general enthusiasm towards a goal but through unwavering dedication to mastering a niche. This approach is different from what the business owners usually believe about learning a broader skillset or a diverse range of topics that could be advantageous.

While talking about his mindset in question on Shark Tank, Robert sat down for an interview with Fast Company and revealed what he thought of. He says that these views are completely different from what fellow investor Mark Cuban thinks and they often have arguments about it at lunch.

Explaining his idea, Robert said,

"Their passion. Mark Cuban completely disagrees with me on this—we have horrible arguments at lunch about it. For me, it's passion about a very narrow field. People misunderstand and think, Oh, I have to be passionate, I have to be excitable. I say, no—you have to be passionate about one thing. Be great at one thing. The world will reward your knowledge in a very narrow field."

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Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec shared his views on measuring potential in pitches

Further talking about his idealogy, Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec gives an example of athlete Tom Brady, who is a legendary NFL quarterback. He says that Tom gets paid to throw the ball and nothing else, and thus, he has mastered that aspect of the sport. However, if he does something else, people will be worried.

In the business world, this means that an entrepreneur should excel in one area of the field rather than trying to dip their knees into various ones. Founders who have just started their business might find themselves being stretched too thin if they try to do everything under the sun.

On the other side, if the same entrepreneur decides to refine and dominate a single line of work, they are more likely to excel in the same.

Explaining, Robert says,

"The analogy I always use is Tom Brady. I love NFL football—Tom Brady gets paid $25 million a year to throw the ball. He doesn’t get paid to block. He doesn’t get paid to tackle. In fact, when he does those things, people freak out. Be like Tom Brady."

He added,

"Be world-class at one thing. Forget your weaknesses—because someone else will eat your lunch in the areas you’re not good at."

Robert's rule is pretty simple. While other investors on Shark Tank try to analyze various aspects of a business, such as finances, scalability, and market potential, before making an offer, Robert looks for mastery of their niche.

This is what sets them apart in Robert's eyes, and he says that the ones who enter with enthusiasm but lack knowledge will be eaten "at lunch" by people who know everything and are passionate about their line of work.

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Shark Tank season 16 episodes are released weekly on ABC at 8:00 pm Eastern Time on Fridays. They are later available to watch on Hulu.