Diary of a CEO host and Steven.com founder Steven Bartlett took the stage at this year’s Inc. 5000 Conference and Gala, and one of the first things he discussed was his recent stint on ABC’s Shark Tank. During his debut appearance on the show, the entrepreneur partnered on a notable $200,000 investment in The Pup Stack, a weighted dog anchor with a 20-foot retractable leash.
When reflecting on his performance on Shark Tank, Bartlett revealed that he leaned on advice from tennis great Roger Federer to help him perform at a high level and shake off nerves.
The classic advice from Federer
Federer first went viral in 2024 for his commencement speech at Dartmouth University, where he revealed that he had only won about 54 percent of points in his tennis career.
“When you lose every second point, on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot,” he said to the graduates. “You teach yourself to think, ‘OK, I double-faulted. It’s only a point.’ When you’re playing a point, it has to be the most important thing in the world, and it is. But when it’s behind you, it’s behind you. This mindset is really crucial, because it frees you to fully commit to the next point and the next point after that, with intensity, clarity and focus.”
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How Bartlett applied it to Shark Tank
While speaking at the Inc. 5000 event, Bartlett said that he drew from the idea of leaving mistakes behind him when he was striving to perform on the show.
“When it comes to coming on stage at things like this, or when it comes to big moments where you need performance, like standing on the side of Shark Tank and watching—as a Brit—them all clash and realizing that you’re going to walk on their necks and you have to hold your own,” he said. “Before I go on, I remind myself to trust myself.”
He went on to explain how the mindset helped him shake off nervousness and focus on the task at hand. “No nerves,” he said. “Told myself in the trailer. Spent 15 years preparing for this, and it’s the reason why I’m here. I’m going to do a brilliant job. It’s been a massive life hack for me.”