Who Are the New Guest Sharks on Season 13 of ‘Shark Tank’?
Back in August, ABC announced the four new guest Sharks joining Season 13 of Shark Tank, which premieres on October 8. Actor and comedian Kevin Hart will enter the tank this season with Emma Grede, Nirav Tolia, and Peter Jones to help budding entrepreneurs boost their businesses.
Below, get to know the new guest Sharks before they appear alongside longtime Sharks Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, and Kevin O’Leary.
Kevin Hart
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While actor and comedian Kevin Hart is well-known for his numerous television and film credits, including Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, The Secret Life of Pets, and Fatherhood, he has experience in the business world as the founder of the venture capital firm Hartbeat Ventures, making investments in several media, lifestyle, and technology companies. In March 2021, Hart invested in the sports nutrition company Nutrabolt, along with signing on as a brand ambassador.
He hopes that his business ventures will inspire more Black people to succeed in the industry. “When you talk about us as Black men, we don’t get the world of business and money taught to us,” he stated in an interview with CNBC. “It’s something that has to be figured out. It’s not in our public school systems. It’s not in our neighborhoods. Financial education just isn’t given to us.”
Emma Grede
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Emma Grede has worked with the Kardashians on several business ventures. She is the CEO and co-founder of Khloé Kardashian’s size-inclusive clothing brand, Good American, and co-founded the shapewear brand SKIMS with Kim Kardashian. Grede also serves as a Board Member and Ambassador for the feminist non-profit Women for Women International.
In an interview with Elle, she spoke about the challenges of celebrity brands, stating, “Not all famous people can sell stuff.” She continued, “A lot of it is about authenticity and alignment. When you have a brand that has a set of beliefs and a purpose, you can’t just stick that together with somebody that can’t authentically back up that message. And I don’t mean someone who can speak that message, because anyone can learn lines, it’s really about your history and how people perceive you.”
Nirav Tolia
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Nirav Tolia is a co-founder of the social media app Nextdoor, which allows users to connect with people in their neighborhoods to share local information, buy and sell items, and build a strong community. Having previously worked at Yahoo Inc., Benchmark, and Shopping.com, Tolia served as Nextdoor’s CEO upon its launch in 2011, stepping down in 2018. The app is currently available in 11 countries with 275,000 users worldwide.
In an interview with Vox, the Stanford alum talked about how Nextdoor is unlike other social media platforms, stating, “Nextdoor is not about self-expression. Nextdoor is about utility. It’s about coming together with your neighbors to make the neighborhood better for everyone.
Peter Jones
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As the last remaining original panelist of Shark Tank’s predecessor show Dragon’s Den, British entrepreneur Peter Jones will travel across the pond to help American businesspeople make it big. Jones owns a variety of businesses, spanning from publishing to toys to telecommunications, and founded the Peter Jones Foundation in 2005. In 2013, he committed to helping British small businesses by relaunching 36 Jessops photography stores across England.
When asked what he loves most about his role as a Dragon, he told BBC, “It’s the opportunity to invest in small to medium sized businesses giving somebody that ultimate break and at the same time being able to help grow that business into something really exciting.
Shark Tank, Season 13 Premiere, Friday, October 8, 8/9c, ABC
