The companies that land a deal with one or more of the show’s investors then have the chance to scale and, in some cases, become a nationally recognized brand. We looked through old episodes and asked the Sharks themselves about their most successful deals. Read on to learn about the biggest “Shark Tank” success stories so far.A sponge company has far and away become the biggest “Shark Tank” success story. Over the past three years, Scrub Daddy has brought in a total of $75 million in revenue, according to investor Lori Greiner. Greiner made a deal with its founder and CEO, Aaron Krause, in Season 4 for $200,000 in exchange for 20% equity. At that point, Krause had struggled to reach $100,000 in sales over 18 months, but Greiner saw great potential in the company’s signature offering, a proprietary smiley-faced sponge that was more durable, hygienic, and effective than a traditional one. She helped Krause expand his product line and brought them onto QVC and into stores like Bed, Bath & Beyond, where they have become bestsellers. Bombas’ founders told radio host Jason Bax that they sold $400,000 of socks in the four days after their television appearance and ended 2014 with $2 million in sales. Lani Lazzari was just 18 when she entered the tank in Season 4 to pitch her skincare company Simple Sugars. She ended up making a deal with Cuban for $100,000 in return for 33% equity.Within just 24 hours of her episode’s premiere, Lazzari’s sales jumped to $220,000 from $50,000, and she hit $1 million six weeks later. Today Simple Sugars products are in more than 700 retail locations and ship internationally.
When Robert Herjavec invested $100,000 for 10% of Evan Mendelsohn and Nick Morton’s ugly Christmas-sweater company in Season 4, it could seem to viewers that he was betting on a fleeting fad. It turned out, though, to be his most profitable “Shark Tank” investment, he told Business Insider.In Season 5, Charles Yim got a five-Shark deal for Breathometer, a portable Breathalyzer that works with a smartphone. Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond John, Herjavec, and Greiner got in on a $650,000 deal for 30% of the company.Al “Bubba” Baker, 1978 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, secured a deal with John in Season 5 for $300,000 in exchange for 30% equity in and licensing rights to his company, Bubba’s-Q Boneless Ribs. Tracey Noonan and Danielle Vilagie are a mother-daughter duo from Boston with a company that makes cupcakes in a jar. In Season 4, they made a deal with O’Leary in which he invested $75,000 for royalties instead of equity. He made $1 from every cupcake sold until he made his money back, and then began receiving 50 cents per cupcake sold. Cuban and Herjavec split a $1.2 million investment for 10% equity in Diana and Josh Harbour’s online women’s fashion retailer The Red Dress Boutique in Season 6, with Cuban taking the lead advisory role. In Season 6, Bombas cofounders gave John a 17.5% stake in their company for $200,000. It is an online-only athletic sock company that donates a pair of socks to a homeless shelter for every pair sold. Husband-and-wife team Brian and Julie Whiteman came into the tank in Season 3 to present GrooveBook, a digital-photo subscription service. For $2.99 a month, users get a bound book of high-resolution photos they took with their smartphones. The founders made a deal with Cuban and O’Leary for $150,000 in exchange for 80% of licensing profits, with O’Leary taking the lead advisory role. Cousins Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis shipped lobster from their home state of Maine to their new home in California and started a high-end food truck named Cousins Maine Lobster, which became known for its lobster rolls. The cousins made a deal with Corcoran for $55,000 in exchange for 15% of their company in Season 4. Herjavec invested $350,000 for 10% of Max Gunawan’s foldable, magnetic-lamp company Lumio in Season 6 after calling him “possibly the best entrepreneur” he had seen so far on the show. Rick Hopper essentially handed the reins of ReadeRest over to Greiner when he agreed to a $150,000 investment in exchange for 65% of the company in Season 3, but it turned his little one-man show into a huge success. The product, a magnetic clip that holds eyeglasses in place on a shirt, regularly sells out on QVC. Readerest says it’s made $13 million in revenue in the three years following the “Shark Tank” appearance.
No comments:
Post a Comment