This episode featured one superstar entrepreneur. He was the obvious winner of tonite’s Sharky Award for entrepreneurial excellence.
Sharky Award
January 31, 2014
Bruno from Cycloramic ended up getting a valuation twice what he originally asked for. He had developed a fascinating smart phone app that had the Sharks buzzing.
His app took a 360 degree picture using a smart phone. The app did this by sensing the vibration of the phone and then creating a vibration that allowed the phone to continue rotating when placed on a smooth surface. The phone then took multiple pictures when rotating and edited them together to produce a panoramic view.
The technology created a feeding frenzy among the Sharks. Bruno ended up getting a $500K investment for 15% equity from Mark and Lori. This was a great deal for Bruno….he actually was offered $1 million for 30% by Mark but turned it down because he didn’t need the money immediately (or at least he never told the Sharks why he needed it), and he wanted to minimize the equity he gave away.
He did this while gaining two great partners……Lori and Mark. I think Mark will help him navigate the tricky waters that a software company faces.
Shark Chum Awards…..Chris and Tiffany from Cow Wow Cereal Milk sold flavored milk that tasted like cereal milk left in the bottom of the bowl after the cereal is eaten. Their product and presentation just didn’t get the Sharks excited (no snap, crackle, or pop!). Even new Shark Steve Tisch, who said he loved to eat cereal, couldn’t get excited about the taste.
Joan and Julia from The Cookie Dough Café did manage to get a deal from Steve and Lori. This was surprising because they had miniscule sales ($24K) and hadn’t really gotten beyond the proof of concept stage. BTW, Steve Tisch has an interesting diet, given his love of cereal milk and cookie dough…..I’m surprised he’s so thin!
Terry from Nexersys had a great product but valued his company at $20 million (4.7X Revenues) with $4.2 million in sales and $7.5 million in debt. He had sold much of the company to 60 previous investors. Given his debt, and the potential complications and risk of bankruptcy, the Sharks had zero interest in his company.
TimMcEneny 