Shark Tank episode aired May 24, 2013

This Shark Tank episode featured two contestants worthy of Sharky Awards for entrepreneurial excellence and two who were eaten alive by the Sharks and will receive the dreaded Shark Chum Award.

Platinum Sharky…..Doug from the The Gameface company 

Doug has created the next generation of face paints for parties, football games etc. Think of it as Face Paint 2.0. This patented product allows users to peel off their face paint after the game or party. The Sharks loved it……so much that they made Doug a million dollar offer!

I thought Doug made a big mistake when he told the Sharks he wanted an investment of $15oK PLUS a guaranteed salary of $100K per year for three years. Investors don’t like the idea of the founder making that kind of money while the annual sales are only $102K (his last year’s sales). That didn’t seem to bother Mark and Lori who made the million dollar offer.They eventually struck a deal that included a salary of $80K for three years.

Gold Sharky Award…..Megan from Hot Tot

Megan’s company created hair care products for kids. She gave an excellent presentation and secured an investment from Mark Cuban. She was very composed and confident. I found it interesting that she didn’t have a background in chemistry or manufacturing but had a thorough understanding of her marketplace and why Mom’s would buy her product.

This demonstrates the fact that when starting a business, it’s critical to understand the customer and the marketplace…..not necessarily how to build the product (another example…… I started a software company and ran it for 28 years without writing a single line of code).

Shark Chum Awards…….Dan and Brant from ARKEG created  a product that was part game console and part keg. It looked like a prop from the movie Animal House. They sold each unit for $4000. I would suggest buying a tablet computer and a case of beer and saving yourself $3500.

Dan from Dura-TENT gave an awful presentation (talked a lot about bug poop), made a crucial Math error (I know I told you I sold 50K units but it was really only 35K), had a terrible name for his product (didn’t describe the product or the benefit of using it), and  was fittingly offered a horrible deal. At least he was smart enough to reject it.