Guest Post: What Shark Tank Malta Really Says About The Maltese Start-Up Landscape
While watching the 42 pitches presented on Shark Tank Malta’s YouTube channel, I attempted to extract as much information as possible to assess the variety of sectors local industry is attracting and the profile of local start-up entrepreneurs.
It must be factored in that here we are watching the negotiation to acquire investment in these enterprises, and a number of entrepreneurs had been working on their concepts and businesses for an extended period of time, with some mentioning years, and others a couple of weeks.
The businesses ranged from those with just a prototype to ones already generating revenue.
The majority of the entrepreneurs were representing themselves (79%), and the remaining participants were members of teams. Women represented 26% of the contestants, men 57%, and the remaining were members of mixed teams.
Out of curiosity, I wanted to assess the factor of Maltese (57%) to non-Maltese (38%) participants, the remainder at 5% being mixed Maltese and non-Maltese teams.
It is my firm belief that the expatriate and migrant populations have a lot to contribute when it comes to the possibility of bringing novel concepts to the island.
The most popular sector was software and technology (14%), food and beverages (12%), and tourism at 12%.
On average, the participants were seeking €72,000 for 17% of their venture, at an average valuation of €534,000.
They were then countered by the ‘Sharks’ who funded 18 deals representing 43% of the total pitches.
One of the more enjoyable parts of the show, was the importance that a number of entrepreneurs placed on the social aspect of their product, and even mentioning donating part of their earnings.
A truly noble gesture, especially when factoring in that the beginning of businesses is when they are at their most vulnerable and the necessary business defences for longevity have not yet been appropriately developed.
Swimming with the Sharks
The most active investor was Mark Weingard, investing over €274,500 over 11 deals from the 18 (43%) pitches that received an investment from the sharks. He also had the most generous deal, providing a grant (with no corresponding equity stake) of €5,000 to a group of young entrepreneurs to help with the launch of their product.
Alexander Fenech held the record for the highest single investment of €200,000 for the Jigsaw Puzzle International Convention promoters. He was then the least active investor with only four other investments, totalling a further €80,000.
Michael Bonello invested the least with €123,000 over six deals. He also enjoyed encouraging the other Sharks to collaborate to co-invest in a pitch.
Christabelle Camilleri invested €173,000 over seven deals, which were all either female-led or had a woman in the team, apart from one investment.
Mark Bajada, invested the highest amount of €332,500 spread over nine deals and always had encouraging words for those that he didn’t invest in.
On average, the financed pitches had 2.11 investors split as:
- 9 pitches with 1 investor,
- 4 pitches with 2 investors,
- 2 pitches with 3 investors
- 3 pitches with 5 investors
Close to €1.2 million was committed throughout the season
Furthermore, it must be kept in mind that we are only seeing the verbal negotiated element which is broadcasted and, ultimately, the written agreements drawn up for the Shark(s) and the respective entrepreneur(s) are bound to have a number of clauses inserted into them, and some deals may not even see daylight once those clauses are factored in.
Overall, the Sharks were very understanding of the trials and tribulations of being an entrepreneur.
It is to be noted that they were a lot more encouraging than other overseas versions of Shark Tank. This could be that the local Sharks are still adapting to their role, and may not want to come across as too critical of the entrepreneurs. It will be interesting to watch their investing preferences over any forthcoming season(s).
What do you hope to see in a future season of Shark Tank Malta?