‘Shark Tank’ or Y Combinator? Moguls Duke It Out

By: Mike Montgomery

There’s no question that going on Shark Tank gets you plenty of attention. The reality show has attracted as many as 7 million viewers at a time who tune in to see great ideas score investments and terrible ideas slink back to the drawing board.

But should aspiring entrepreneurs really be eyeing Shark Tank as a viable way to get money?

Y Combinator’s Paul Graham says no. Last week on Twitter TWTR +11.11%, the venture capitalist called out Shark Tanktweeting: “Startups: Instead of appearing on Shark Tank, spend that energy fixing whatever makes your product so unappealing you think you need to.”

Shark Tank judge Mark Cuban, a man who never backs down from a fight, shot back with, “You mean like the sense of entitlement and arrogance they get when they become part of a YC class? It’s hard to wash out.”

 Investor Chris Sacca even jumped into the fray tweeting: “Yeah, because a free 10-minute pitch to 7 million Americans is something every startup should turn down.”

So what’s the right thing to do?

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