On Wednesday, October 16 the Sharks are back in the tank, and hungrier than ever to make some major deals.
When Shark Tank Australia returns, five of our best business brains are back, putting their own money on the table as Aussie entrepreneurs hope to be the next 'big thing'.
This year, Robert Herjavec, Jane Lu, and Davie Fogarty are joined by two brand-new Sharks, Maxine Horne and Nick Bell, both of who bring a lifetime of knowledge to the lineup.
Meet the new Sharks joining Shark Tank Australia:
Maxine Horne
A self-made Retail Queen and a Business Hall of Fame Inductee, Maxine's empire began with a shop at the Gold Coast's Pacific Fair shopping centre. Two decades later, that first Fone Zone shop became Vita Group, with more than 1600 staff and annual revenue in excess of $ 700 million.
The self-made multi-millionaire was at one time Australia’s highest-paid female CEO, and over the ears has earned the 2006 QBR Businesswoman of the Year, 2014 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Northern Region), and Courier Mail Business Person of the Year in 2019.
In 2021, following the sale of Vita and its subsidiaries, Maxine moved on from her role as Vita’s Chief Executive Officer & subsequent Non-Executive Director to pursue other activities continuing her personal and professional growth. And now she’s ready to invest in new Australian businesses and she has the time, she has the energy, and she has the millions to give fellow Sharks Robert, Jane, Davie, and Nick a run for their money.
Nick Bell
Melbournian Nick Bell is a serial entrepreneur. He has turned $300 in start-up capital into $300 million and has been listed on the Australian Financial Review Young Rich List for five years straight. He’s established or helped set up more than a dozen companies, including a digital advertising agency that he sold for $39 million in 2017. It was a deal that put him on the Young Rich List with wealth last valued at $274 million. He’s grown that wealth considerably since then.
Today, he’s the Managing Director of the 2000-person strong digital agency group Superist and the man behind WME Group, First Page, Mooning, Primal, Appscore, and Removify -- to name a few.
Recent investments range from AI products and services to Longevity tech -- he seriously intends to live an active life to 150 years old and is spending millions on this personal project.
Nick also appeared on Celebrity Apprentice, as well as the recent series Do You Want To Live Forever? where he documented his controversial gene therapy journey, in the quest for longevity.
The new season of Shark Tank Australia premieres Wednesday, 16 October at 8.30 pm, and will continue Wednesdays at 7.30 pm on 10 and 10 Play.
