'Shark Tank': A look at pitches that were a dud on the show but became raging success outside of the tank
The entrepreneurs who walk into 'Shark Tank' come with high hopes of wowing the investors (sharks), and hopefully raising some money for their business. The sharks – Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, and Rebert Herjavec, take their own sweet time to dissect the pitch presented by the hopeful entrepreneur, before deciding on whether they should invest their money in the business or not.
While the sharks have over the years have reportedly invested over $100 million into various businesses pitched on the show, there are quite a few entrepreneurs who unfortunately either failed to impress the sharks or secure the funds from sharks, but still managed to become a raging success. 'Shark Tank' has proved to be not only a perfect platform for pitching and capital for unique business ventures but also a great platform for getting the word out about your products or services. So, although the below-listed entrepreneurs failed to raise money from sharks, they however benefitted immensely from the exposure that the show provided to them, which turned them into millionaires!
Chef Big Shake
Mark Cuban has over the years invested in several businesses pitched on the show, and made a lot of money. However, the 'Dallas Mavericks' owner to date regrets not biting into one particular pitch. Back in 2011, Shawn Davis came on the show and pitched for his specialty seafood burger business. Davis asked for $200,000 for a 25% equity stake of the company. After his daughter turned to vegetarianism, Davis realized that there was immense potential in the vegetarian market for foods with a seafood base instead of traditional meat sources, and he wanted to tap into it. Unfortunately for Davis, although all the sharks (except for Barbara) loved his burgers, they thought that his business venture was very risky and decided to pass on it.
But things turned around for Davis after his appearance on 'Shark Tank'. Davis's product- Chef Big Shake caught angel investors' eyes, who offered him $500,000. Soon the company grew from $30,000 in sales to a projected $5 million in just a year. In an interview, Mark admitted that he regretted not investing in Chef Big Shake.
Copa Di Vino
James Martin, the CEO and founder of Copa Di Vino, an individually packaged wine by the glass, appeared on 'Shark Tank' not once but twice, unfortunately, he went back both the times empty-handed, but fortunately found success outside the show. Martin first appeared on Season 2, when he came in with a pitch for $600,000 and offering a 20% stake in his business. Aside from Kevin, all the other sharks passed on the opportunity. Kevin found the idea of packaging wine by glass interesting, so he offered the requested $600,000, but in exchange for a 51 percent stake in the company. Martin wasn't happy with the offer, so he turned down the deal and walked away.
But his appearance on the show worked in the company's favor, as they made a record $5 million in sales that year. Copa Di Vino began growing at a great pace, so the producers reached out to him and asked him to come back on the show again. So, in 2012, Martin once again came into the tank, but this time with the hopes of raising $300,000 for further expanding his business. Unfortunately for Martin, his return to the show wasn't well-received by the sharks, who felt that he was being arrogant. So, yet again, Martin left empty-handed. Despite not raising any capital from the show, his business managed to thrive, just based on his appearance. According to estimates, Cop Di Vino sold 48 million glasses of wine and hit $250 million in revenue!
Rocketbook
When Joe Lemay and Jake Epstein, the CEO and co-founders of the reusable notebook – Roketbook came on the show during Season 8, the sharks were far from impressed with the duo's pitch. They all roasted the entrepreneurs for their idea of producing a reusable book that needed a microwave to wipe clean the contents of it, and reuse it again. Kevin openly wondered the point of making a product like that, as there would be no returning customers for it. After plenty of criticism and harsh judgment, the entrepreneurs went back without the $400,000 they were seeking as capital. But after the episode aired, over 500,000 Rocketbooks were sold by major retailers and the company hit $10 million in sales. It also became a top-selling notebook on Amazon.
'Shark Tank' Season 12 premiers on Friday, October 16 at 8/7c only on ABC.