FBN’s Deirdre Bolton on the Art of Elevator Pitching and Why She Likes John Oliver

Andrew KirellSep 29th, 2014, 12:27 pm

“Elevator Pitch” sounds a bit like Shark Tank except without the celebrity judges pledging money on the spot…

Yeah, it’s different because of the people who are doing this show. It’s a little less produced and the venture capitalists and angel investors who are judges for me, they do this for a living, they do it in real life every day. It’s not meant to take away from Shark Tank, but I see this as more the naked version of investment pitches. My three judges are people who actually, for their livelihood, regularly make these decisions. I like that stamp of authenticity.

Speaking of celebrity businessmen, you’re interviewing [Paypal co-founder] Peter Thiel today?

I’m excited. At this point, he’s a borderline philosopher. We will have a long-form, extended conversation about everything from chess to his new book to Star Wars. He has a lot to say about the tech community and how, [as Fortune described his words], “The amazing advances we have seen in computer science and communications have masked ominously disappointing progress in energy, transportation, biotech, disease prevention, and space travel.”

Let’s talk more broadly about your show, Risk & Reward. It’s only been on the air for six months but you’ve beaten CNBC in the demo. And recently, you had your highest rating in the key 25-54 demo ever, nearly doubling CNBC. Are you surprised by the numbers?

I’m very proud of my team and the show and my guests. I’m thrilled but because I’ve been in this business, I take it with a grain of salt. It’s a reflection of viewers appreciating this mix of what we bring — great convos, excellent strategic minds, and dose of practicality, my formula — then I am honestly really thrilled and grateful for that. We want it to be cool, fun, and interesting. If other people like what we’ve built, then I’m thrilled. Touch wood and may it continue, but I really just want to build the best show that I can and if the ratings prove it worth it, I’m thrilled.

Every day, in our meetings, we’re thinking: How can we tell this or that story in a way that’s interesting? I want basically as many viewers as possible; I want people who are professional investors who have millions of dollars of net worth to see, but I also want an artist who hasn’t thought about this before. And I want it equally understandable and interesting to both.

Who do you think is doing the best business reporting at any network?

I really respect Jo Ling Kent. She’s an up-and-comer at FBN and lead our Alibaba coverage and recently landed [Alibaba executive] Jack Ma.

And who are some of your favorite TV personalities otherwise?

I actually like John Oliver and Jon Stewart. The reason is that it’s all tongue-in-cheek, and I know it’s jokey, but here’s why: I just remember after the Dodd-Frank Act was passed [in 2010], all the lobbyists and Wall Streeters watered down that bill, and you had John Oliver coming on [The Daily Show] as the bill, dressed as roadkill, with blood and tire marks, and Stewart was like “you’re not even a bill.”

He mocked how it had been a year and the law had barely come into effect yet. And at that point in time, out of 2,337 rules put into Dodd-Frank, only a third of them put into law. So with your 2,337 rules, only a third were implemented? “You’re not even a real bill.” It’s funny, but that’s also informative. I don’t think people actually knew the facts at the time. It takes skill to communicate effectively through comedy.

And then Oliver, on his own show, made fun of every single TV news network out there, because on the eve of a major election in the world’s largest democracy, India, no one covered it. He took the entire industry to task, and he was right. I think it’s fantastic. They keep our business honest.

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