What Elaine Culotti Wants Viewers To Take Away From Undercover Billionaire - Exclusive

Starting a business from the ground up is a huge undertaking. There are so many aspects to consider — the market, the clientele, the demand for your products and services, merchandising, supply chain, the list really does go on. The United States prides itself on business opportunity and the creation of small businesses, but we'll be honest, the hurdles you have to jump over look never-ending. However, if creating your own business doesn't sound too daunting to you, you might want to take a couple lessons from the second season of Undercover Billionaire, where three business tycoons are challenged with creating a million dollar business with $100 in their pocket and 90 days on the clock.

The List sat down for an exclusive interview with one of the show's stars, Elaine Culotti, and picked her brain about all things business. A hugely successful designer and entrepreneur who has carved a space for herself in the construction industry (talk about female power), Culotti has spent her life charging ahead professionally. She brings an authenticity and enthusiasm to her work — so when we got the chance to ask her what viewers could learn from her season, we jumped on the opportunity. 

What does Culotti think about the show and its lessons? Could viewers actually learn about business tactics from watching? Wonder no more, here is what Elaine Culotti wants viewers to take away from her Undercover Billionaire season.

Just about every business major out there will tell you that the introductory classes in their programs are the hardest — Intro to Business, Business 101, Understanding the Job Market, Entrepreneurialism 101 — wow, we really don't miss college. But if you want a crash course on what it takes to create a business, and you want to learn from the best, you might want to tune in to Undercover Billionaire's second season. 

According to Elaine Culotti, watching the show, which is a mix of entertainment and "television as a class," is like enrolling in three university classes: Business 101, Entrepreneurialism, and a statistics course. Those three classes, as Culotti notes, would cost so much money at a top college. But watching Undercover Billionaire will cost you next to nothing. 

"You can literally watch the show and graduate from those three classes. That's the takeaway of this," Culotti told The List. What makes the show even more of a crash course, according to Culotti, is that viewers observe her while she's in the process of starting a business. As Culotti explained it, she doesn't spend time on the show spelling out what she's doing, or how, but rather informs the audience by doing. Sounds like we could all take something from the show.

The coronavirus pandemic has made it really hard for small businesses to stay afloat. We've watched as some of our favorite restaurants have gone under, even businesses that have huge clienteles have had to close. It's certainly been a time when the idea of the American dream has been challenged, but according to Elaine Culotti, Undercover Billionaire brings that sense back to the screen. 

"I would like very much that [viewers] would take away that the American pride concept is alive and well, and that we are an incredible nation," Culotti said. "We are not divided." She went on to say that the show gives viewers a real insight into the basic things that all Americans should have access to — a home, business opportunities, security — and she's determined to continue that messaging beyond Undercover Billionaire. "I'm going to work on that, teaching people about, finding who you are and what you can sell," she previewed for The List. "Who are you? What do you do best? Because that is very different than money in the bank." 

So what is it, at the end of the day, that people will truly learn from Culotti's time on Undercover Billionaire? That originality is key, and that your greatest strength comes from your own, unique perspective. "If you can't create more on you and your superpower, it makes no difference," Culotti said. 

Undercover Billionaire is now streaming on discovery+.