"You're a unicorn" - Shark Tank's Lori Greiner on joining the show and Mark Burnett’s words to her

Shark Tank investor Lori Greiner has been on the show for over a decade. She has invested in various businesses and offered her advice and insights.

However, in a recent Instagram post, she revealed that fans had been asking her to narrate her Shark Tank journey and how she landed the role.

Lori said that she was approached by Mark Burnett, the creator and executive producer of the series. He had called her office and wanted to schedule a meeting with her in California before the show even began.

This prompted her to fly out to California and sit down with him. This made him sure that Lori would be the right role as a panelist on Shark Tank. She said,

"My office got a call from Mark Burnett's office and said, 'I'm doing this new little show it's called Shark Tank. I'd love to meet you.' So I flew out to California. I sat down with Mark. He met me. He said, 'You're a unicorn. There's nobody else out there that's done a product from soup to nuts that knows how to create it, prototype it, manufacture it, do the packaging, market it.'"

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Shark Tank investor Lori Greiner reveals her story behind getting on the show

Lori Greiner says that Mark was impressed with the hands-on experience that she had in a variety of fields. She is also quite adept at bringing the products to the market, which is appreciated.

Unlike another entrepreneur with specific skills in just one aspect of launching a business and its development, Mark pointed out that Lori has mastered the entire process - from ideation to mass production.

Pointing out what made her an ideal candidate for the show, Lori said that Mark liked how she has had a track record of successfully launching and selling innovative products. Lori currently has over 120 patents under her name and has been a creator throughout her entrepreneurial journey.

Talking about the same, she was invited to shoot the pilot for the very first season. She had flown to California for the same and shot the episode. However, something personal came up in her life shifting her out of California again. Lori said,

"He just loved that I had done it all and he said, 'Hey, I want you for the show.' So they tested me on camera and he said, 'I'd love for you to do the pilot.'

So I flew out to do the pilot. But as things happen, certain things in my life came about where I had to leave California and he kept in touch."

Mark and Lori's professional connection remained strong throughout the years even though she was not appearing on the show. Some personal challenges at the time forced her to step away from this opportunity.

Ending the video positively, the Shark Tank investor pointed out that she ended up coming back on the show just a few years later. She said,

"And then I wound up coming back on in just a couple years. And 16 years later, the rest is history."

Lori is known as the "Queen of QVC," famous for her keen eye while looking for investments. The most successful and profitable Shark Tank product, Scrub Daddy, is the one that she had invested in, which blew up and is in almost every household in America.

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