Source: Pretty Padded Room

In mid-February, Bea Arthur appeared on ABC’s investment and invention driven television show Shark Tank. She presented to the judges with confidence, delivering a memorable pitch that revealed the makings of her online therapy counseling service Pretty Padded Room — “A nice place to go crazy.” Although small, Arthur’s business was already running and successful before the show.

At the time of taping — last September — Arthur considered the not-bitten pitch to be a sorely missed opportunity. Nonetheless, Pretty Padded Room has since experienced beneficial adjustments. The most helpful advice received from the judges, Arthur said, was to find a business partner — and fast.

“I realized that I couldn’t build a business while I was running the business. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, you get bogged down by the day-to-day operations, “ Arthur admitted.

“At the time I had eight people working for me and 40 clients per month. Working from home on my futon full-time took all of my time. I wasn’t in the mindset to be doing the things I needed to do to get to the next level.”

Though a partnership between Arthur and an investor on the show didn’t materialize, she’s found other investors and currently owns 84 percent of the business.

“Since that time a lot has changed in how I operate my business. At the time I was really bummed out. I really felt like I had it and they would like it,” Arthur said. “I got tripped up on a couple of questions. I do feel like had I given them the answers they wanted, I could have gotten a deal.”

The Birth of Pretty Padded Room

Arthur thought up the idea of Pretty Padded Room in 2010, after her first venture Me Time failed. While a graduate psychology student at Columbia University, Arthur often babysat to earn extra money. Considering the moms that got very little time off — and to themselves — she launched a social site for mothers who maybe wanted to chat with other adults and moms alike.

“At the time I was 25 and didn’t have any kids so here I was telling these women they had a need. It was nice in theory, but what I found out later was that if I was a stay-at-home mom and had an hour free, I’d want to take a nap or go hang out with other moms,” Arthur added. “I wasn’t my target market. With this business I am my target market.”

Arthur discovered that therapy was her forte while working in real estate. Fairly different than her time prior spent as a domestic violence counselor — in real estate Arthur learned that beyond her job she enjoyed engaging with clients. That’s when, in 2006, she decided to go back to school to earn a Masters and EdM in Counseling Psychology.

“In having a lot of clients I just realized that I wanted to talk more to people. I was really curious about human behavior and the human condition,” She said.

Following the fall of Me Time, Arthur became depressed. Despite being a therapist herself, she strayed away from getting help because of two issues: the first, she didn’t want friends to know what she was going through; two she couldn’t afford continual therapy sessions.

Reshaping the Accessibility of Sanity

“I said if I’m a believer of this and can’t afford it, some of our clients must feel this way too. I felt like there was a big disconnect in this really necessary and valuable service and what people thought about it — and what they were able to get out of it,” Arthur said.

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It’s been almost 20 years since Daymond John founded the game-changing fashion line Fubu, and the man is still doing his thing. Currently, you can see John on the reality show Shark Tank, judging and guiding the business dreams of prospective entrepreneurs.  The Atlanta Post caught up with the author, investor, media personality and entrepreneur at the Reality Rocks event in Los Angeles. Check out what he had to say about his current endeavors.

(NY Times) — An entrepreneur’s first pitch meeting with venture capitalists is many things — risky, nerve-wracking, potentially lucrative if the idea sells. But is it good television? Daymond John hopes so. He’s a co-star of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” a reality show that is giving venture capital the “American Idol” treatment. In each episode, a handful of entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas — which range from magnetic collar stays to single-serving wine containers — to a panel of angel investors, or “sharks,” who decide whether or not to back the start-ups with their own cash in exchange for stakes in the businesses. The series, produced by Mark Burnett, is based on “Dragons’ Den,” a British series that was first broadcast in 2005.

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