New Sharks Ready To Net The Next Big Business Idea
Entrepreneurs Maxine Horne And Nick Bell Join Shark Tank Australia.
Coming Soon To 10 And 10 Play.
It’s time to welcome two new sharks to the shiver with Maxine Horne and Nick Bell joining returning investors Davie Fogarty, Jane Lu and Robert Herjavec, in the 2024 season of Shark Tank Australia.
Queensland telco giant turned health and beauty entrepreneur, Maxine Horne, is jumping in the deep end bringing her cash and business know-how into the tank to net the next big Australian business.
Maxine’s motto of, “Think fast, run hard,” has underpinned her diverse and successful business ventures that began with a single mobile phone store on the Gold Coast and evolved into the publicly listed Vita Group, which at its peak, saw Maxine as Australia’s highest paid female CEO overseeing an enterprise spanning 165 Australian locations across five distinct business models and various industries, more than 2500 staff, and an annual revenue in excess of $875 million.
Next new Shark, Melburnian Nick Bell, has certainly got the chops for the gig because there’s nothing he likes more than building a business. And if his $500+ million net worth is anything to go by, he’s really very good at it.
Nick is a serial entrepreneur, smart tech guru, savvy investor and new age explorer with a considerable track record, helping set up more than a dozen local and global companies including investments spanning AI, longevity technologies, digital marketing and some of the world’s best apps.
From selling school lunches as a kid to selling search marketing services in his 20s, Nick is now Managing Director of the 2000-person strong digital agency group, Superist, and the man behind First Page, Removify, Super Young, Primal, Outsourcey and Trideca, to name a few.
Both Maxine and Nick will have to prove they’re not out of their depth when they enter the tank alongside our three returning Sharks who know how to sink their teeth into a business opportunity.
Returning Sharks with runs on the board are: Davie Fogarty whose success continues to soar with iconic wearable blanket The Oodie as well as mentoring 200 ecommerce brands with revenue between $1 million to $50 million; Jane Lu, the ever energetic, innovative and fiercely independent CEO of globally successful international fashion empire, Showpo, that boasts more than 3.6 million followers across social media; and the gregarious and generous OG Shark, Robert Herjavec, who has invested tens of millions across 15 seasons of Shark Tank in the US, Canada and Australia.
Michael Stanford, Head of Paramount Brand Studio said: “Shark Tank Australia is uniquely positioned in attracting a valuable audience who lean into entrepreneurship and innovation; viewers who are curious about the next big business idea and engaged by the personal stories of people having a go.
“This makes it such a fertile ground for brands to play a role, whether celebrating the next big business idea, the startup spirit or promoting how their products or services can help businesses of any size or meet a consumer need.”
Our five savvy Sharks have nothing to lose and will be circling the tank later this year ready to turn the next big Aussie idea into a profitable venture investing in the best products and businesses local entrepreneurs have to offer.
Shark Tank Australia is based on the Dragons’ Den format owned by Japan’s Nippon TV and distributed by Sony Pictures Television. It will be produced for Network 10 by SPT’s Curio Pictures.
