‘Shark Tank’: Kevin & Lori Duke It Out Over a Holiday-Themed Company (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
After a week-long hiatus, Shark Tank is back and better than ever with a brand new holiday-themed episode.
Tonight, four festive businesses — Beardaments, Easy Treezy, Little Elf Gift Wrap Cutter, and Kit Lender — pitched their proposals to the sharks in hopes of landing a deal.
Easy Treezy
First up in the tank was Kurt Stange seeking 400,000 for 10% of his company Easy Treezy, the world’s most convenient Christmas tree that can be assembled and decorated in less than a minute. “With Easy Treezy, [the tree] goes down as fast as it goes up,” he explained.
But even though the company is expected to hit $2.2 million in sales this year, many of the sharks had a problem with the its expensive price point of several hundred dollars per tree.
“Nobody’s going to pay you $700 for this tree. It’s not going to happen,” Kevin O’Leary explained before going out. Lori Grenier agreed and dropped out of the running as well. Mark Cuban also went out after telling the entrepreneur he wasn’t impressed with his digital marketing plan, which only consisted of $120,000 dedicated to online ads.
Robert Herjavec took issue with the valuation. “For me to give you $400,000, I would need to own 40% of it,” he said. “If you’re willing to entertain that offer, I’m certainly willing to make it.”
Kurt countered with $400,000 for 25%, but Robert remained firm with his offer of 40%, so no deal was made in the tank.
Beardaments
Next up in the tank was Beardaments, the company that created festive ornaments to spice up a beard. Seeking $150,000 for 10%, founder Jason McOmber shared that the novelty company has had a few viral videos that have aided in their success, and are now on track to hit $600,000-$700,000 in sales this year.
“This proves that even the corniest ideas can make money if implemented correctly,” Mark said, but added that the company doesn’t necessarily need a shark in order to succeed.
Lori agreed with Mark’s sentiment. “You don’t need a shark, you have your own business going.”
Barbara also dropped out after Jason explained that he’d be interested in branching out into other holidays and events. Robert also removed himself from the running since this is only a part-time job for the entrepreneur currently.
Kevin, on the other hand, struggled with whether or not the company was too “frivolous” for him to join in. After some debating, he offered $150,000 for 25%, to which Jason accepted immediately.
Kit Lender
Seeking $200,000 for 7% equity, Forrest Shinners introduced the sharks to Kit Lender, a web rental service that ships outdoor gear and apparel directly to its customers. With Kit Lender, users can rent everything they need for outdoor sports for $30 a day wth free shipping to and from resorts and vacation rentals.
While Lori said the business was “smart,” she dropped out because it’s an “inventory nightmare.” Mark also went out, saying it’s not a fit for him right now. Barbara admitted she was fearful of how much money it would take to grow the company, so she removed herself. Kevin, too, wasn’t willing to take the journey with Forrest, despite the company proving to be a unique idea.
The last hope was Robert, who definitely seemed intrigued and even called Kit Lender a “brilliant business.” Forrest saw his interest and tried his best to sell him on his work ethic, but to no avail. Robert dropped out, saying it “didn’t feel right.”
Little Elf Gift Wrap Cutter
Brian Perla introduced the sharks to Little Elf Gift Wrap Cutter, the innovative tool used to make cutting wrapping paper easier than ever. Asking $150,000 for 15%, the sharks seemed impressed with Brian’s unique tool.
Though he was seeking $150,000 for 10%, Lori made an offer of $150,000 for 30%, since she is the Queen of QVC after all. “I feel like I’d be a great partner for you since this is visual. I think I could blow this up on QVC and also elsewhere,” she said.
Kevin also made an offer — $150,00 for 10% plus a royalty of $1 per unit until $450,000 is paid. “I will blow this up huge on Amazon,” he promised.
Lori then matched Kevin’s deal, but dropped the royalty from $1 per unit to $0.75. Kevin, not willing to let Lori win, then dropped his royalty to $0.50. Lori, once again, lowered her royalty — this time, to $0.45. This continued on and on until Brian spoke up and said he’d prefer not to have a royalty.
So Lori went back to her original offer while Kevin revised his original offer to $150,000 for 25%.
“I can sell thousands of these in minutes,” Lori pleaded, before offering a brand new deal of $150,000 for 20%.
“Lori is the best option for this,” Brian said before agreeing to her deal.
Shark Tank, Sundays, 9/8c, ABC
