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Mom-of-three brought a box of memories to ‘Shark Tank’ — and walked out with $400K after sparking bidding war

This ‘Shark Tank’ contestant's emotional keepsake trunk sparked a valid bidding war, and Mark Cuban played a nasty game

Although ‘Shark Tank’ showcases the best products, it is also an extremely competitive show that makes the judges fight over products. With their unbelievable offers, the Sharks are often seen trying their best to impress the contestants. A similar event was seen in 'Shark Tank' Season 16 when Lindsay Mullenger appeared on the business reality show with her pitch, Petite Keep. The company is known to create custom keepsake trunks that hold the important items in life, preserving memories. 

Looking at the pitch, the Sharks were seen impressed, following which Kevin O’Leary came forth with his offer. However, in an interesting turn of events, his opportunity was snatched by Mark Cuban. When Mulleger stepped on the show, she not only brought a business idea but a product that was a blend of emotions and nostalgia. She had a very intelligent solution for many families who wished to collect memorabilia, moving ahead in life. Her business, Petite Keep, created beautiful, handcrafted trunks designed, in which one could preserve life’s most special and important moments. Be it a girl's wedding memories or the baby clothes, Petite Keep was ready for everything, to keep them safe for the long run. 

In her pitch, Mullenger asked for $400,000 in exchange for 5% of her company. Looking at the importance of her product and the way her idea could grow in the future, the Sharks planned to invest in it, with O’Leary offering her $400,000. The Shark has, however, increased the equity to 20%. Back then, he also planned to share this offer with guest star Jamie Lima, with each of the investors willing to take a 10%  equity of the company. However, then came Cuban, who had a surprise offer. He, along with Barbara Corcoran, jumped in to offer $400,000 for 15% equity. The two Sharks even tagged Lima along with them, mentioning that they would split the share equally. This was exactly when Cuban and Corcoran stole the deal from O’Leary, as per Fandomwire.

As per the outlet, since the time the company received the heavy investment, it has continued to grow rapidly. Soon in the future, the business also launched Mini Classic Trunk, along with Quick Ship Baby Trunks and Petite Pouches. These are all assembled and designed in St. Louis. Coming to the sales, it went from $110,000 in 2020 to $5 million in 2023. In 2024, the business had already done $4.5 million in sales and is expected to hit the $10 million mark towards the end of 2025. 

For Cuban, it was in his top 5 most underrated investments on ‘Shark Tank.’ The Shark has invested about $33 million in deals. It is crucial to know that most of the investments have grabbed massive spotlight. Among the list of products in which Cuban invested are Tipsy Elves, known for its wild Christmas sweaters, Rugged Maniac, an obstacle course race company, Wicked Good Cupcakes, famous for cupcake jars, and GrooveBook, an app that turned phone photos into monthly books.