One of the things I have delighted about in being part of Shark Tank is that we are amplifying the diversity of great innovation – that is we are demonstrating to the whole of Australia that anyone can be an innovator – whilst educating people on what it takes to build a business. Here are the behind the scenes notes from episode fourteen.

Halo Medical Devices – Digital Goniometer. I had met Haley on a number of occasions before – as a finalist of the Telstra Business Womens Awards a few years ago. Her device is impressive – a great Australian innovation. But without funding it will remain a dream. Her fund raising to date has left her with some tricky agreements but she has assured us that that has all been dealt with. The challenge is can she produce enough stock to meet demand – and grow the business to a sustainable level. Fantastic Australian design

S2B – Shower to Bath. The key selling point for this one is that you can turn a shower stall into a bath. There are ten installed but there was no prototype for us to look at. Andrew thought that there could be safety issues. One of the features sold to us we that you could walk in and walk out of the bath – so great to for the elderly. Would that mean that you walk in close the door, and wait for the water to fill…have your bath, empty the bath then wait for the water to drain before you could open the door to leave… this made me feel a little cold. (I know this picture looks bad – but that is all we had to see of it). And yes we did notice the toilet in the foreground. Fascinating that the Founder was inviting us for the ‘Australian’ rights… instantly we wondered what he was hiding. John as the expert in all things real estate wondered so would know what people are likely to pay for bath room renovations. Whilst the RRP seems expensive.. his cost to manufacture meant that there was not much margin left in the product. Argh this is back to basics…

Smudgi – Sometimes you see a product that you did not realize it was a problem until it stares you in the face – literally. There are screens everywhere in our lives – and more often that not they are grubby. Is the product solving a problem big enough to create a a business? John will be a massive customer for sure… I thought he was going to polish right through the glass – he loved it!

Piccaninny Tiny Tots – Indigenous designs on baby apparel. There was much debate about the name of the business – Steve particularly worries ‘Piccaninny’ could be considered a ‘racial slur’ – Yet this woman’s mother is an elder from Kakadu. She wants to see her family’s designs not just across Australia but around the world. The clothes are delightful.

(Note that since the filming of the program the name of the business has changed to Kakadu Tiny Tots)

Plenty of invest-able businesses tonight – is it my imagination or are the pitches getting smoother and more professional? Let’s see what happens next week.