Mark Burnett, producer of Survivor and The Apprentice, says he knows a little about pitching ideas and selling.

Early in his adult life, he bought T-shirts with factory defects and unloaded them at Venice Beach in Los Angeles. Before he became a TV mogul, he tried to sell his ideas to network executives who had other things on their minds. Sometimes, they'd interrupt him and take a phone call. "It doesn't happen so much now," he confided at a press conference at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood.

Now Burnett has a new show with other people doing the pitching. In Shark Tank, which premieres Sunday on ABC, a half dozen or so would-be entrepreneurs each week try to interest a panel of five "sharks," multimillionaire business tycoons.

The aspiring business people are willing to trade a stake in their company for a capital infusion. Some don't get a nibble; others won't give up as big a piece of their business as a shark wants. At other times, a deal is made on the spot. On rare occasion, a bidding war erupts among the sharks.

Unlike Survivor, Burnett didn't come up with this idea. He adapted it from a similar show devised by Nippon Television Network in Japan. The show, "Dragon's Den," also is seen in Canada and Britain. In fact, two of the five Shark Tank judges were on the Canadian panel.

Burnett says he is a risk-taker by nature and wishes he had a seat among the sharks. Who would he invest with? Perhaps the guy who figured out a way to recycle used chopsticks and turn them into wine holders, lamp shades and fruit bowls.

Know who else would be a good shark? Donald Trump, said Burnett, "because he's very competitive." However, Trump's contract with NBC's The Apprentice precludes his appearing on another network.

Burnett, who will spend the rest of the week in an undisclosed location that will be the site of the upcoming 20th season of Survivor, made a fortune on his TV shows. At the same time, he said, if he hears of a good investment opportunity outside of show biz, he's all over it.

That's why Burnett has a 25 percent stake in TrueCookPlus, software that adjusts heating in a microwave oven according to a food code and your home's altitude. The TV producer wasn't the only one impressed with this innovation. Last February's issue of "Consumer Reports" singled it out as a key feature in its top-rated Kenmore model.

Hmmm. Think of it. TV programming and microwave ovens, all in one department. Wouldn't that be a good idea for a situation comedy?

Barry Garron is a freelance writer and TV critic who has covered the industry for more than 25 years for The Hollywood Reporter and The Kansas City Star. You can contact him at tv.critic@yahoo.com.