Television’s most famous tank has a new shark. “Shark Tank,” the pitch competition TV series, just announced the addition of Michael Rubin to the series’ lineup.
Today, he heads Fanatics, the sportswear company with $8 billion in annual revenue and more than 18,000 employees. But his backstory reveals a Biz Kid through and though.
After starting a ski tuning service at a teenager, Michael was only 15 when he had amassed enough money to buy his first Porsche. He bought one, despite the fact that he wasn’t even old enough to drive it. His ski tuning business turned into a full-fledged ski shop – until the ski shop hit a rough patch. Soon, Michael had more inventory than he could sell. He hit the yellow pages, attempting to get rid of the excess. That exercise taught him a difficult lesson about the opportunities hidden behind the misfortunes of other businesses.
Eventually, the closeout business became his bread and butter. In the years that followed, he followed a series of lucky steppingstones into e-commerce, an acquisition by eBay, and a subsequent acquisition of Fanatics.
A winding road led Michael Rubin from a ski tuning business to one of the most famous boardrooms in all the world.
Wish you could have a piece of the action? If you’re a high schooler, perhaps you can. Shark Tank made a call for entries of high school students age 13+ to enter their social media contest:
“Visit @SharkTankABC on Instagram and comment with your answer to this question with the hashtag #SharkTankSchoolSweepstakes for a chance to win a video chat with a Shark, Shark Tank gear, or the Grand Prize trip to the Shark Tank set.”
The winner snags a 3-day/2-night trip with up to three guests to Los Angeles for a taping of the show and a meet-and-greet with the Sharks. If you win, can we tag along?