I am back in the tank with one of my favorite sharks.

She says everybody. No, I really don't.

Yes you do.

I don't. I love you.

I'll believe you. I'll believe you. We were talking about our dresses. We were in the same color last year. We were in red.

Yep. We didn't plan accordingly today.

Nope. He's sitting on that big red chair sitting on what is it? $4 billion now?

Do you know how much easier it is for him to lose $500,000 than me, who's only a millionaire yet. No, come on. Mark. He's the man.

The show's been going on for so long. It's been more and more popular, I think every season.

Of course. Of course, because people become more and more intelligent. They recognize the beauty of the show and they tune in.

What do you think? That's true. And it's it's real. You you know, you never know what's going to happen. What's been like the one thing for you just over the years that's you know, most exciting, most depressing? All of them. Most most exciting for you.

Um, we'll start with most depressing. The bad news first. What do you say? Oh, when you see like we just had a pitch in here, very deserving entrepreneurs, put their heart and soul into the business. Everything they're doing right, except they didn't have a salesman in the bunch. And I would say that two out of three deals that don't get deals, they can't sell. So when I see someone who can't sell, it breaks my heart because if only they could sell, they had a great business and they could walk away with that money and yet they walk away with nothing. What's most inspirational about the show year to year to year and never changes, is actually seeing the exact same situation, but with someone who believes and can communicate it and sell you on their belief and they walk away with the money and you feel like a fairy godmother. Bam. You got the money, honey. And you just feel so happy that their dream is coming true.

I noticed every episode, you do notice if it's someone who you're not believing in, that they're selling it to you. You do call them out on it.

I call them out on it. You know what? Sometimes when I'm certain about the entrepreneur, you're absolutely right. I've lost all the money I've lost on Shark Tank has been with the wrong entrepreneur. And the wrong idea. Okay? Now, if I go with the right entrepreneur, I can even have a bad idea and make money is what I find. But you know what I always do when I'm uncertain, I think, could I put a baby in their arms, by even my children young again, and come back after a year and a year and see if they're okay. Would I trust that entrepreneur? And right away, I'm out or I'm in. It's a crazy thing. Does that make sense?

No, no, it makes sense. That kind of like comes right down to it. Because you look at the person, who they are. I saw that you that you did say like when you interview people, you you want to ask, are they happy people? Is that or do you want to hang out with out?

Well, I mean, of course, you don't want to be around them. You know what happens is happy people attract happy people. And after you start to expand your business after day one, when you hire your first hire, what's going to happen? You're going to be totally dependent on the people you hire. Do you want to hang out with unhappy people? I don't. Do you want to buy from unhappy people? I don't. Do you want to make a team of unhappy people? I don't. So, happiness is a basic. If you're going to be an entrepreneur, you just have to be gleeful, optimistic, and happy. I think so. Even stupidity is okay as long as you're happy.

Occasionally, stupidity is okay. Not not I wouldn't want to be No, no, no.

I have to tell you something. I have certain entrepreneurs making me the most money, which I would actually say they don't have a high IQ. Interesting. But you know what they have?

Who are so one of those, what are those companies?

Oh, you're saying I'm going to name those companies? No way. No how. They would never forgive me because they keep sending me the dividend checks. But I have to say, you know what they have? They're street smart. They kind of like, if you could smack them around, they're really good at bouncing around and they're almost too stupid to know that they should lay low. And so, I'm not looking for the smartest people. We just had two genius people out of the best business schools in America. Uh, and yet, they couldn't sell. They're not they weren't street smart. So, they're not going to do very well.

And one thing I think that's fascinating about you is you come from a really big family. How many how many siblings you do you have?

I have nine siblings.

Nine siblings. So did that like growing up just sort of prepare you for the business world?

It prepared me for the business world is that of my family, eight out of 10 kids are in business for themselves. Why? We didn't get enough attention from my mother and father, because it wasn't enough to go around, so we're needy. That's a good thing to be needy. We're super competitive because we always had to compete for attention and we grew up almost like being dumped into a small town with a good deal of independence within the family unit. So, a huge advantage to be one little player in a crowd, because that's what the real world is like. Nobody's out there protecting you. It's a great advantage being one of many.