WASHINGTON — She helped build Facebook into an social media empire.
Now, Randi Zuckerberg, sister of Mark Zuckerberg, is launching a new “Shark Tank”-style TV show called “Quit Your Day Job,” which premieres Wednesday at 10 p.m. on Oxygen.
“I wish I could take credit for coming up with the idea, but they actually came to me. I’ve been doing a lot of investing in small businesses, and primarily a focus for me is investing in small businesses that are led by or founded by women. So when Oxygen came to me … I just thought well this is a fantastic way to … show America that entrepreneurs can look like anyone,” Zuckerberg tells WTOP.
Zuckerberg says she’s passionate about opening doors for more female entrepreneurs.
“In this country, for some reason … we have this idea in our mind of what an entrepreneur looks like, and I want to shake that up,” she says.
“I want to show that no matter where you come from, how much money you have, what you look like, what gender you are, if you have a great idea, you can start a business.”
The show’s first season will include eight episodes, following the journeys of various contestants.
“Some entrepreneurs will make the cut, others won’t,” she says.
So what business ideas can we expect in Season One?
“In the first episode, you’re going to see two really fantastic female entrepreneurs go back-to-back with two wild ideas,” Zuckerberg says.
“On one side, you have the Weave Scratcher Pro, which is exactly what it sounds like … On the other hand, you have Society Nine, which is kind of like a Lululemon for fighter women … If Ronda Rousey had a mainstream athletic line … Two entrepreneurs, both very passionate, very ambitious, going neck-to-neck against each other to see who’s going to get an investment from our group.”
The group features four judges, led by Zuckerberg, who not only ran marketing for Facebook but also serves as CEO of Zuckerberg Media and Editor-in-Chief of the website Dot Complicated, which is also the title of her best-selling novel about the complications of our socially-transparent world.
The second judge, Ido Leffler, has created consumer products ranging from beauty to school supplies with more than 400 items on the market, including product lines in Target and Walmart.
The third judge, Sarah Prevette, got her start in the tech world at age 15 and has since launched several schools in Canada focused on design and entrepreneurship.
And the fourth judge, Lauren Maillian, founded an award-winning winery at age 19 and has since found success in real estate and brand marketing.
“We’ve really covered every base of how we can be helpful … But entrepreneurs beware: we need to all invest, or none of us invest, so you need to wow all four of us … We’re a very strong-willed group of people, so I have to say, it’s not easy to get all of us to agree on an investment,” Zuckerberg says.
This is one of the key differences from ABC’s hit reality show “Shark Tank,” where guests must simply win over at least one of the judges to gain investment in their product.
“Quit Your Day Job” is an “all or nothing” proposition.
But the differences don’t stop there.
“Other shows that you might see, you get that 30-second elevator pitch and that’s it. That’s all you get. But we really take the opportunity to get to know the entrepreneurs,” Zuckerberg says.
“We see where they work, we meet their families, because I believe if you’re investing in an entrepreneur, you want to be in business with them for a long time. It takes more than a 30-second elevator pitch to get to know that person … You’re going to need to both wow me about your idea but also wow me as a person.”
As the show follows each contestant’s journey, surprises await to test their mettle.
“We also throw the entrepreneurs a challenge. We throw them a challenge that they’re not expecting to see how they’re going to be able to react to it,” she says.
“Do they rise to meet and exceed that challenge? I think viewers out there are going to learn a lot about what it takes to be a successful business owner.”
Fittingly, the show has also provided Zuckerberg her own challenge to rise and meet.
“What I love is, before I joined the show I mostly only looked at tech investments. That’s my background: consumer tech apps. And here I am evaluating The Weave-Scratcher Pro and Society Nine,” she says. “So it also has pushed me far outside my comfort zone.”
“Quit Your Day Job” airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on Oxygen.
Listen to the full conversation with Randi Zuckerberg below:
