Investor Barbara Corcoran said that she has learned to spot the red flags of “well-intended misrepresentations” and fancy talk during her four seasons judging startups on Shark Tank.
Corcoran talked with Henry Blogett of Business Insider about how many companies she has invested in — about 25 — and how many have worked. Here is how she evaluated the four seasons:
- Season 1: Lost money
- Season 2: Broke even
- Season 3: Made money
- Season 4: Doing very well
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
“The key is that I bought early; it takes four years for these companies to turn into moneymakers,” she said.
She said that up to a third of the deals do not close once due diligence starts.
“You find out that they are just making stuff up — the ex-husband owns the patent or sales numbers are just projections,” she said. “I call this well-intentioned misrepresentations.”
