'Blue Collar Backers': New Discovery Show Takes on a Different Kind of Investor

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Getting a little tired of Shark Tank? I am too. After 7 seasons, it's time for something new. But never fear, Discovery has a new show called Blue Collar Backers for people like us, and it's premiering Friday August 26th.

Blue Collar Backers is a reality show in the same vein as Shark Tank, but with a major twist: instead of jet-setting investors in suits from the coasts, the protagonists here are rural, blue collar guys in jeans.

These guys don't back iPhone app startups or biotechs -- they back breweries, food trucks, and construction businesses. And yet, they've made just as much as many of the MBAs you'll find in Silicon Valley.

According to cast member Ron Douglas, the show follows him as well as builders Brian Stark and Wes James, food truck mogul Cameron Davies, and serial entrepreneurs Cain and Cam Roberds.

Instead of taking place in a New York studio, the show takes place mostly in the South, in cities such as Phoenix, San Antonio, and Biloxi (Mississippi, for all you geography-challenged people like me).

These guys are old-school businessmen. They don't believe in backing businesses with no business model, and they generally don't invest in ideas without revenue. In the show, you see them backing traditional companies with well-established business models and revenue streams.

Here's a quick clip:

Another difference between the Blue Collar Backers and standard venture capitalists is that the blue collar investors are intricately involved in the day to day operations of the businesses that they put money in.

Not only do they do help with management, they also get their hands dirty doing jobs like construction, repairs, and demolition alongside the business owners.

In one segment, for instance, Ron Douglas decides to invest in a bike shop that was destroyed by burglars. For ~50% of the short term earnings, he does everything from planning to helping build the bikes.

He even helps paint the building.

Here are some clips of the other investors -- Davies, Stark and James, and the Roberds:

Blue Collar Backers offers a much-needed twist on current investor shows, and I for one expect it to be a hit on the level of History Channel's Pawn Stars (which, by the way, is produced by the same people).

Be sure to watch Friday the 26th at 10PM ET.

Wanna read more on this? Check these out: RIP Mike and Edd? Edd China Announces He's Leaving 'Wheeler Dealers' (more); Ron Douglas: Who is this 'Blue Collar Backers' Millionaire in Overalls? (more).