There was barely a breeze on the roof of the MCM studios building in Manhattan last week as six entrepreneurs graced a stage to pitch their businesses.
At one point, it was April Wachtel’s turn. She stood and made the case for her company, Cheeky Cocktails, to a judging panel that included the billionaire venture capitalist Tim Draper. Men holding TV cameras circled her as she pitched, capturing the moment live for Draper’s “Shark Tank”-style business competition show “Meet the Drapers.”
The show is entering its eighth season, with past winners including the leadership platform Balloon and the food company It’s Skinny.
After the show, Wachtel told TechCrunch the experience was a “whirlwind” and said the exposure is huge for startups like hers. Cheeky Cocktails offers a line of handcrafted cocktail mixers. She heard about the show after coming in second at another pitch competition earlier this month. A producer for “Meet the Drapers” reached out and asked if she was available to film, and less than two days later, she was pitching on the show.
“There’s no substitute for hearing a founder tell their own story,” she said. “At the end of the day, people might buy from you because they like you and then stick around because they love the product.”
Tim Draper (CENTER) with the founders who appeared on the show “Meet the Drapers.”Image Credits:”Meet the Drapers”
Last Monday, the show provided a behind-the-scenes look at how it’s made to selected media and guests. Draper told TechCrunch he wanted to offer a behind-the-scenes look at how investments are made.
His judging panel included his sister, Polly Draper, an actress best known at the moment for appearing in “Hacks.” Also on the panel were Andy Tang, a partner at Draper Associates, and Rosie Rios, who served as Treasurer of the United States from 2009 until 2016.
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The show is one of many on Draper’s newly launched television channel, DraperTV, which offers programming around business and entrepreneurship, available via streaming services like Roku. Previously, the show aired on channels like BizTV.
This season of the show travels throughout various cities in the U.S., such as Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Austin, and Detroit, tapping into local talent and highlighting different tech ecosystems. …