"They don't have to be smart" - Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran shares the traits that make a "good entrepreneur"

Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran believes that a "good entrepreneur" doesn't have to be smart, however, they do need to have the drive to get themselves back up whenever they are faced with a problem.

When Barbara appeared on the December 15 Sprouht interview, the host remarked that over 16 seasons of Shark Tank, she had encountered countless entrepreneurs who not only presented business proposals but also what she referred to as "people proposals."

Building on that, the host asked Barbara what key characteristics or traits she looks for in a proposal that signal someone has the potential to be a successful entrepreneur.

She explained that a good entrepreneur was like a "jack-in-the-box". She added that she looked for someone who "could be smashed on the head over and over and they'd still pop back up.

Barbara added that a good entrepreneur doesn't have to be smart. She shared that some of her "biggest successes" weren't smart but were driven with the attitude of facing troubles head-on.

"They don't even have to be smart. Some of my biggest successes are not very smart. But you know, if they were smart, they'd lay low and wait till the troubles [were] over, but they are right back up [like] 'Give me more, give me more,'" the Shark Tank investor said.

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Shark Tank investor Barbara Corcoran shares how she evaluates people and entrepreneurs in everyday life

Later on in the Sprouht interview, the host drew a parallel between evaluating entrepreneurs on Shark Tank and assessing people in everyday life.

He reflected on the traits Barbara mentioned about looking for a good entrepreneur and chimed in that it could also be applied to determine whether someone is worth investing time, or energy into, regardless of they were an entrepreneur or not.

"Yes, but it's just as important in life. How I analyze people in life is I surround myself with happy people and very often I'm fooled on the front end, someone looks happy or they'd be an addition to my life. But then I find out they're energy sucker or what have you," Barbara responded.

The Shark Tank investor added that one could categorize a person based on the type of feeling they get when that person leaves the room. She explained that if a person leaves the room and she gets a "happy puff of air" then she might consider them a "nice person" whom she would want to spend time with.

However, if she gets a feeling of getting rid of that person then she might believe that they were the type of people that won't add to her life.

Barbara further noted that contestants on Shark Tank often reveal subtle hints about the type of people they are through their behavior, presentation, and interactions.

"But on Shark Tank, there's a lot of hints that people give you. When they're standing in front of you, they make eye contact or they don't. They look at you genuinely or they don't. They're full of crap or they're not. They use big words or they don't," she said.

Barbara added that she could find out more about the type of people they are by asking the contestants about their backgrounds. She noted that while sharing their background the contestants would either victimize themselves or steer away from it.

"So you want to get the guy or the gal who really is optimistic and willing to push forward and just isn't going to be held back by anything," she concluded.

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Shark Tank season 16 episodes air every Friday on ABC.