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These Boba tea founders were rejected by ‘Shark Tank’ — until a Marvel star gave them the shot they deserved

Twrl Boba milk tea founders had hard luck on 'Shark Tank', but things changed when this famous actor reached out

The founders of the Boba tea brand Twrl proved that opportunity comes to those who are seeking it! Olivia Chen and Pauline Ang were disheartened multiple times after not clearing the ‘Shark Tank’ audition round. Their dream of appearing on the show never came to fruition. But fate had a bigger and better plan for the aspiring entrepreneurs. The San Francisco Bay Area-based women found that opportunity after actor Simu Liu accused another Boba tea company of cultural appropriation. The ‘Shang-Chi’ actor appeared as a guest judge on ‘Dragon’s Den,’ the Canadian version of ‘Shark Tank.’

He called out the white owners of the Quebec-based bubble tea company. The company claimed to be selling bottled boba drinks, including alcoholic options and packaged products. They seemed to imply that their version was better than the traditional Bubble tea that has its roots in Taiwan. This claim deeply affected Liu as a fellow Asian. “I would be uplifting a business that is profiting off of something that feels so dear to my cultural heritage,” he told the contestants. He also called out the company owners for not mentioning anywhere in the package that they acknowledged Boba’s cultural roots.

Twrl founders resonated with Liu’s opinion and took to social media to address it. In the video, Chen revealed that as a Taiwanese American, she grew up drinking Boba, and so did her Chinese American co-founder. “When we were growing up we couldn’t find brands, products with founders who looked like us,” she added. Someone “who understood the cultural flavors and actually represented the flavor profile,” Chen explained. She further “applauded” the actor for highlighting the importance of cultural representation and calling out the cultural inappropriation that exists out there.

Chen’s video went viral and somehow reached Liu. The actor invited the Asian co-founders to send him a “pitch deck,” and they reportedly did. However, that was the last thing that any news outlet reported on the deal. It’s unclear whether or not the actor became an investor in the company. “I actually wasn’t sure it wasn’t real, to be honest,” Chen said on receiving a message from Liu, as per NBC News. “I decided I wanted to make a video because I wanted to let people know there are other alternatives out there like ourselves,” she added. Megan Ruan, as co-general partner of Gold House Ventures — a fund for startups led by founders of Asian and Pacific Islander descent – shared her take on the fiasco.

Ruan revealed why she felt offended by the ‘Dragon’s Den’ contestant’s approach to his Boba milk tea company. “He went into the business because he saw a market opportunity, which I agree with. ... But it didn’t come from a place of, ‘I really love boba tea,’” she explained. “I wish there would be an appreciation or a story or an acknowledgment,” she added. Ruan acknowledged that the most powerful marketing comes from personal stories. “Most compelling marketing is usually very personal. So, it helps when the founder or the creator of the product has genuine personal experience and can speak from that,” she added.