Examples:

• Starting your own business means you’ll have to swim with sharks in the corporate world.
• In the stock market, only the brave can swim with sharks and survive.
• He learned quickly that working in politics means swimming with sharks every day.
• When she joined that big law firm, she knew she’d have to swim with sharks to succeed.
• If you’re going to work in Hollywood, be ready to swim with sharks.
• New entrepreneurs often fail because they don’t realize they’re swimming with sharks.
• The fashion industry is tough — you have to swim with sharks to make it to the top.
• He’s a kind person, but he’ll need to toughen up if he wants to swim with sharks in politics.
• When the merger talks began, the small company found itself swimming with sharks.
• I admire her courage; she’s swimming with sharks and still holding her own.