"It's the American Dream"— Shark Tank's Daymond John chimes in about the show's appeal

Shark Tank premiered its latest season on October 18, 2024, delighting reality TV fans. The show allows new entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to investors, known as Sharks, in hopes of securing funding. Originally launched as the American version of the British show Dragon's Den on August 9, 2009, Shark Tank has featured many products with varying levels of success in the market.

Entrepreneur Daymond John appears as one of the sharks on the show and in an October 24, 2024 interview with Variety, he talked about the show's appeal among the American audience which has helped it grow.

“There’s one thing in the world that we can all agree upon as Americans: It’s the American dream. When you stand on that carpet, it doesn’t care about your color, your race, your gender, your creed. It cares about if you will wake up before everybody and go to sleep after everybody,” stated Daymond.

Shark Tank even has successful spin-offs in different countries across the world which has followed the same concept.

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Daymond John expressed gratitude to Mark Cuban after his exit from Shark Tank

Mark Cuban recently announced his plans to quit Shark Tank after season 16. He made his first appearance in 2011 on season 2 and has since appeared in every season. Daymond chimed in with his thoughts on the matter and expressed gratitude towards the departing shark for sticking around over a decade with the production and contributing to its success.

Daymond is not worried about Shark Tank's future as he stated that the show will be around even if "Mark, Daymond, Barbara" departs. He backed his claim by pointing out the 2024 Emmy win for Outstanding Structured Reality Program. Daymond also noted that the show is not about the sharks but the people who come in hopes of fulfilling their dreams.

“Who cares about the sharks, to tell you the truth. It is really about that mom and pop who have risked every single thing in their life and they need one shot," said Daymond.

He further stated:

"It’s about that kid, that little dyslexic, brown boy named Daymond John, who never thought he would be anything…who comes up with an idea and says, ‘I’m going to find a community that I love, and I’m going to empower my community.’”

Speaking further with the publication, Daymond also highlighted the fifth annual Black Entrepreneurs Day which celebrates Black businesses and entrepreneurs. This year's BED will take place on November 22 at Atlanta’s Fox Theater.

BED has awarded grants of over $1 million to more than 40 Black-owned businesses. This year alone BED awarded a total of $100,000 in grants from Hilton, JPMorgan Chase, Constant Contact, and T-Mobile for Business and the grants will close on November 1.

Daymond highlighted that BED was launched in 2020 out of collective frustration within the Black community, particularly in response to the Black Lives Matter movement following George Floyd's murder. He recalled witnessing contrasting reactions, with peaceful protests alongside displays of anger. This experience reminded him of when he founded FUBU in 1992, believing that instead of destruction, the focus should be on building a business.

This desire to build a business and a community convinced Daymond to call over some of his friends who could talk about the ups and downs in their journey to success. Daymond has previously called notable guests like Spike Lee, Shaquille O’Neal, and Kevin Hart and this year will feature the likes of Kelly Rowland, Flavor Flav, Charlamagne tha God, Jordan Chiles, and more.

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Watch new episodes of Shark Tank on ABC on Fridays at 8/7c.1