Celebrity entrepreneur sees promise in B.R. startup

QVC and HSN, the giants of TV retailing, mostly sell to women, says infomercial pioneer Kevin Harrington. But Harrington, perhaps best known for his role on ABC’s Shark Tank, says Baton Rouge’s The Outdoor Shopper has a chance to reach the largely untapped male market. “This is possibly the first effort to build a following that is going to be male-focused,” he says. Harrington currently serves as an unofficial, unpaid adviser to The Outdoor Shopper, but says one of his companies may get involved officially at some point if the local firm demonstrates that it can be a scalable enterprise. “What I’m trying to help them with is getting them to the next level,” he says. The Outdoor Shopper already has broadcast on the Pursuit Channel; founder and CEO Speed Bancroft’s goal is to establish a standalone network. The Outdoor Shopper describes itself as “the televised shopping show for the outdoor industry,” including fishing, hunting, camping, hiking and outdoor cooking products. Harrington says he has launched more than 500 products over more than 25 years, resulting in $4 billion in sales. —David Jacobs