Strong group of entrepreneurs on last night’s show. I am giving 3 Sharky Awards for entrepreneurial excellence and one honorable mention (first-ever!).
November 22, 2013
Sharky Awards
Rick and Melissa from Grace & Lace came into the tank with a game plan and they executed it to perfection. Their numbers looked great…..annual sales over $1 million, $300K in profits, a reasonable valuation, and very high profit margins.
Needless to say, there was lots of interest from the Sharks. There’s an unwritten rule on Shark Tank that if you get an offer that matches exactly what you asked for, you need to take it. Rick and Melissa faced that situation twice with Robert and then Mark, but the entrepreneurs took a chance and sought other offers. Robert was greatly offended by this tactic, but it worked perfectly as they landed a deal with Barbara…..the partner they wanted from the very beginning. Well played!
Cyndi and Paul from Yubo had created a customizable kids’ lunchbox. They had annual sales of $250K and had put $350K of their own money into the business. The biggest knock on them was they had agreed to pay their product designer a royalty in perpetuity. (Entrepreneurs….royalties can be a necessity in a start-up situation if you can’t pay for services, but put a time or monetary limit on the royalty payments).
Cyndi and Paul eventually made a deal with Mr. Wonderful and Robert which called for $150K investment for 20% equity which can be reduced to 10% if the $150K is repaid in 18 months.
Jenn and Kelley from Pursecase designed a fashionable “micro-purse” to carry an iPhone, cash, credit cards, etc. Lori had experience selling a similar item on QVC and so a deal with Lori was a no-brainer. They will do well together.
Sharky Honorable Mention….Joe from Chocomize did not get an investment in his customizable chocolate bar company (market size too small), but he did himself proud. Mr. Wonderful tried to hire him away to start “Mr. Wonderful’s Chocolate Bars”, but Joe showed class and loyalty by immediately rejecting this idea. Joe is a good man.
Update: Drop Stop, a Season 4 Gold Sharky winner, has increased their sales to over $5 million. Lori Greiner is doing an outstanding job bringing he entrepreneurs to the next level. Keep up the good work Lori!
