Shark Tank is the American television adaptation of the Dragon's Den business format.
The programme premiered on ABC in August 2009. Entrepreneurs present businesses or product ideas to a panel of wealthy investors, known as Sharks, seeking funding in exchange for an ownership stake. The format is based on the Japanese programme Money Tigers, which also inspired Dragon's Den.
Although Shark Tank and Dragon's Den share the same basic premise, their investor panels and episode histories are different. The word “Sharks” is the American show's distinctive term, while the UK programme uses “Dragons”. Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John and Lori Greiner are among the best-known Shark Tank investors. The British series began several years earlier, premiering in 2005, while the American version helped popularise the format with a large US audience.