How Amazon's Shark Tank Competitor Could Be The Better Deal For Businesses

Amazon has revealed its new streaming venture, and this one borrows the concept of "Shark Tank" with some in-house e-commerce perks of its own. The show — titled "Buy It Now" and hosted by comedian JB Smoove — will have contestants pitching their products to a rotating team of celebrity entrepreneur panelists such as Academy Award-winner Gwyneth Paltrow, actor Anthony Anderson, and skating legend Tony Hawk.

The show will also feature Amazon executives as well as Ring founder Jamie Siminoff. Notably, Siminoff pitched the idea of DoorBot, touted as the world's first WiFi video doorbell, on "Shark Tank" in 2013 but left the show empty-handed without agreeing a deal with any sharks. Following this appearance as a contestant, Siminoff transformed his invention into Ring, and sold the company to Amazon for over $1 billion, before returning to "Shark Tank" as a guest judge.

However, Amazon's show has a lot more going for it than an obvious "Shark Tank" resemblance and a permanent entrepreneur-judge in Siminoff. Despite the shared concept, "Buy It Now" will put pitchers in front of an audience of 100 potential customers, and only after getting a positive interest will they reach the panelists, with one entrepreneur per episode winning a sum of $20,000 to support their business idea.

And that's not all. Successful products pitched on "Buy It Now" will find a home on Amazon's giant marketplace. In fact, these products will have their own dedicated microsite on Amazon's exclusive "Buy It Now" Store.

"Shark Tank" continues to be the go-to platform for ideas that need fat investment and exposure, but whether a product deserves a chance on the show, or just rejection, depends solely on how a certain judge sees it and perceives its likelihood of success. And, Siminoff's journey with Doorbot on "Shark Tank" and his eventual roaring success with Ring is not the only example of a product that went on to be successful after a deal wasn't closed. 

A product's true litmus test is a real buyer, or in the case of "Buy It Now," no less than 100 potential customers. The contestants start by pitching their ideas to an audience within a 90-second window, where they get a realistic view of their product's chances of success and gauge the interest in it. If a product fails at that crucial stage, well, maybe it's time for a rethink.

However, assuming the idea passes the audience stage, based on its utility and sticker price, then it goes to the panel of celebrity investors and Amazon executives.

A healthy few products that make a splash on "Shark Tank" often go down the route of ignominy. An entrepreneur often pours their heart and soul into their products, with little reward. The truth is, even the best ideas can flop without the right marketing know-how or resources. It's a hard pill to swallow, and "Shark Tank" products often find themselves swimming in the market with more established brands possessing massive marketing budgets and expertise.

If an entrepreneur can't properly gauge who they're selling to and how to reach them, the product might never find its audience. Pricing is another tricky beast, and then we have the question of solid financial planning. Running out of cash is a quick way to sink any business, no matter how promising the product appears to be. Poor execution at customer service or operations management can also be routes to failure. The presence of Amazon, and seasoned executives who possess a know-how of handling products, should help to solve these problems.

Of course, exposure via one of the world's biggest streaming platforms and an exclusive hawking spot on the largest e-commerce marketplace out there solves the marketing and ad expenditure problem to a large extent, something "Shark Tank" never offered. According to Nielsen, TV and digital video offer the biggest marketing benefits from a return-on-investment perspective, so there's that advantage. Plus, Amazon's logistics and billing systems ease other key hurdles for pitching entrepreneurs.

Amazon's "Buy It Now" offers a direct window to 100 potential customers who can give instant feedback on whether they'd buy a certain product at a chosen price. This is truly valuable. It's akin to a real-time, small-scale test of how much people actually want something, which is essentially a way of saying that Amazon's show senses the market demand on the spot for any aspiring product — and the genius dreaming of building an empire off the back of it. 

The first three episodes of "Buy It Now" drop on Prime Video, October 30. Subsequent episodes will be available each Wednesday. The show will have a total of 13 episodes and concludes in January next year. Starting October 31, each Thursday, a companion podcast show featuring Siminoff will also be aired, diving deep into the products appearing on the show, contestant experiences, and good old business punditry from experts.