This ‘Shark Tank’ entrepreneur stood his ground, silenced Kevin O’Leary, and won over the entire panel
This entrepreneur brought a way to get rid of loose change through his invention, CoinOut. When Jeff Witten walked on the stage of ‘Shark Tank,’ he appeared like any other contestant. However, his incredible confidence set him apart. He sought $250,000 in exchange for a 7.5 percent stake in his company. “I hate loose change. It’s filthy and doesn’t fit in your wallet or your skinny jeans,” Witten said during his presentation with a dramatic flair. He pitched his solution to the problem of inconvenient, inefficient loose change.
“We are getting rid of those pesky pennies and allowing people to take full control over their money,” he added. He further explained that his technology functions as a digital wallet, allowing customers to ask retailers to “coin out” their change. Users can enter their phone numbers linked to their wallets, and voilà, the change is stored digitally. When Kevin O’Leary asked if he could pay with his wallet money, Witten confirmed that CoinOut provides that option. Cash-out options include bank transfers, Amazon gift cards, and charitable donations.
“Why are you not gonna get crushed like a cockroach in this?” O’Leary asked. “How can you possibly beat the giant payment operators long term?” he further insinuated. He continued to challenge Witten, but the entrepreneur responded with steady confidence. “No one has done this because everyone in the industry thinks cash is going away,” he claimed. "This is an effective loyalty program for the retailers," the contestant further declared.
Witten kept pitching and didn't mind the insults. At one point, even when O’Leary noted that Witten’s on-stage assistant looked at him in disbelief. The moment didn’t shake Witten’s confidence; instead, he brought up Scrub Daddy as an example that became a massive success after landing a deal with Lori Greiner. "I wanna be the next Scrub Daddy," Witten added. He certainly picked up his pace from that moment, so much so that he stopped O'Leary from interjecting. When investor Mark Cuban pointed out the flaws in his business plan, the contestant understood but didn't hesitate to counter his question. Shark Barbara Corcoran observed this and took a moment to praise the entrepreneur for his resilience. "I gotta give this kid a compliment," she said. “I don’t think I’ve seen anybody go one-on-one with the Sharks. You basically dismissed Kevin, he got reprimanded by you. You treat Mark as if he’s your equal here. Good for you,” she added.
She further assured the contestant that he's won her respect, and if this product doesn't work, he should come back. Shark Robert Herjavec was the kindest of all the Sharks and complimented the contestant's focus and business model. "The problem you are really solving is for people who don't like change," he said. He even praised the way he used cloud data to operate his product, declaring it a "clever" invention.
