Insights Discovered

Every Friday night at 9 p.m. you will find me sitting comfortably on my sofa eagerly awaiting the next episode of one of my favorite TV shows – “Shark Tank”. What intrigues me most with this show is the Sharks’ ability to, within minutes, tell entrepreneurs exactly what is wrong or right with their business. Sadly, for many they hear what is wrong. Almost every time, the very first question out of a Shark is “What are your sales?” If the numbers they share tell the story of a company on the rise, growing at a reasonable, if not accelerated pace, then the Sharks will start to circle the entrepreneur with interest.

Regardless of the state of the economy, “free” is and always will be good. Who doesn’t want help for their business at no cost? Previous options included reluctant friends and family members or possibly interns that may work for free. Within the last decade or so a new source of budget-friendly labor has emerged — the public at large. With the advent of the Internet, compounded by the introduction and immense popularity of social media, crowdsourcing has become a go-to resource for companies to address a variety of needs, from advertising to graphic design and product development.