Entrepreneurs on TV: What do you think?

[FishBowl]

I have noted recently the number of entrepreneur/business related TV programmes being shown - take High Street Dreams and Junior Apprentice as examples.

What do you think of these programmes and the way they portray entrepreneurship? Do you think they give people a realistic view of what is involved in setting up and running a business?

How do you think appearance on these programmes affects the businesses themselves? Do they do better or worse because of it? How do you think programmes like these compare to the business 'webumentary' at www.inafishbowl.com? Can any medium ever truly show every aspect of business in it's transparency?

[guidemesingapore]

I don't think these shows harm entrepreneurship in any way. The only negative i see is many of the shows do not genuinely portray what actually is required for entrepreneurs to truly start a company from scratch and make it a success.

[Lambo]

they dont really focus on starting up companies, but more activities that established companies usually partake in. Apprentice is usually about big budget marketing activities that companies need. Dragons den and shark tank are interesting as they are based on pitches which are always key for new companies

[Will Hoffmann]

They give nothing like an accurate representation of the 'real' business world.

What they do is motivate, inspire and encourage. People feel energised when they watch shows like Dragons Den. This gets more people into the world of business and makes Britain a more competitive force in the world of commerce.

So in terms of accuracy = 1/10

In terms of the good they do = 10/10

[FishBowl]

Some really good points there I think.

Though I agree with a lot of what you have said, I am inclined to think the programmes at least offer valuable advice to those taking part. Take, for example, our newest Expert in inafishbowl.com, Claire Young. She was a finalist in the 2008 Apprentice, and is now running her own business and offers some really good advice to our Fishbowl businesses.

Further to this, we have Ben Way of Secret Millionaire and Rachel Elnaugh of Dragons' Den, both of whom offer some really valuable suggestions, as well as Imran Hakim who featured in Dragons' Den pitching his idea "iTeddy".

Is it possible, then, that these programmes, at the very least, give budding entrepreneurs opportunities to go further?

Also, consider the businesses featured on programmes such as The Apprentice, in terms of the shops the contestants go into to ask for discounts or the places they go to sell their goods - all good publicity for those businesses too.