I always seem to look forward to Shark Tank on NBC. There's something intriguing about a set of uber-investors vying to invest in regular people with great ideas. I think one great aspect of the show is that it gives potential and current entrepreneurs without business educations a view into how businesses are assessed and valued.

I had some background in valuation going into my private equity project in Afghanistan because it was covered in my MBA curriculum. But it always surprised me how traditional valuation translated to emerging (or rather, war-zone) markets, and the super high discount rates they required! It was generally my responsibility to explain this to Afghan entrepreneurs who had virtually no idea what I was talking about. But that was the fun, right?