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'Shark Tank': The Real Elf bags $125K deal with Barbara Corcoran, fans dub it 'lamest pitch'

From the pitch to the business model, fans felt that The Real Elf was 'lame'

The Sharks never hold back when it comes to criticizing a pitch or calling out a bad idea. So, when Tommy Holl, the founder of 'The Real Elf' not only pitched for his service of getting pictures clicked with him known as "Elfie" or getting a personalized video message from him for the holidays known as "Elf Gram", fans were genuinely surprised to see his pitch getting a deal.

Clad in a bright red onesie, and a festive hat, Tommy was dressed like a life-sized elf. He explained how his friends often commented about his striking resemblance to an elf. So one Christmas, Tommy decided to dress up as an elf and clicked a picture of himself and sent it out as a Christmas card. It was an instant hit, and his friends began requesting him for the same every year. This gave Tommy an idea to start The Real Elf, and charge his customers a small amount to click a selfie with him called Elfie or get video messages from him. He further expanded his business model by appearing at corporate events, parties, etc. The Sharks- Mark Cuban. Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, and Barbara Corcoran, were thoroughly amused by Tommy's pitch and business model.

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Although all the Sharks sat out of making a deal with him for various reasons ranging from the business model being very seasonal, to The Real Elf being Tommy's part-time gig instead of a full-time thing. But Barbara surprised everybody by making an offer to Tommy in the eleventh hour just as he was preparing to leave the tank. Tommy came in seeking $125,000 for 25% stake in his business. But Barbara demanded for a 35% stake in the business and asked for a portion of the profits to be donated to a Cancer charity organization of Tommy's choice. While Tommy and Barbara seemed happy with the deal, fans however weren't very impressed. From the pitch to the business model, fans felt that The Real Elf was "lame".

A fan tweeted, "#SharkTank I cannot believe the Selfie concept got a deal!." "This is 100% the LAMEST pitch I have ever seen on #SharkTank. He's just a life size Elf on the Shelf.," wrote a fan. Another fan added, "$50 dollars to do a video oh hell no!! #SharkTank."

Another fan wondered, "Ummm can’t we all just use elf Snapchat filters? #sElfie #therealelf #SharkTank." "An elf who takes pictures of you? #SharkTank," expressed a fan. "Can you imagine getting an elf video from Tommy? #SharkTank," seconded a fan. "Wait…so the elf sends vids of himself to your friends and family? #SharkTank," commented an amused fan.

'Shark Tank' Season 13 airs every Friday at 8/7c on ABC.

Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.