‘Shark Tank’ contestant turns late father's life-saving business idea into a reality — and lands $150K deal
In recent years, devastating wildfires have become an increasingly alarming issue around the world, making headlines a bit too often. When disaster strikes, our instincts kick in, and all we want to do is keep our families, friends, and pets out of harm’s way. In an episode of 'Shark Tank' Season 14, entrepreneur Bianca C. Wittenberg pitched her firefighting hose business, FireFighter1, in front of sharks Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, and Daniel Lubetzky. During her appearance on the show, Wittenberg sought $150,000 in exchange for 15% of her company, and left the judges impressed.
Speaking about her company, Wittenberg said, "Firefighter1 is the first affordable resource designed for pool owners to quickly access the average 25,000 gallons of cool water in seconds.” She demonstrated that in the event of a fire breaking out, you can connect the hose adapter to your pool pump, turn it on, and in a matter of seconds be able to “spray valuable pool water a distance of 40 feet at a rate of 80 gallons per minute." She claimed that in about seven minutes, you’d be able to drench the entire property.
The entrepreneur mentioned that FireFighter1 was inspired by her father, who passed away five years before the segment was filmed. Growing up in Southern California, they would experience every year, and her father came up with the idea of this product, which she later developed. Not only did it aim to help with flying embers, but it could even potentially assist firefighters. Talking about her numbers, she said, "This 50ft unit I sell for $499, it cost me about $124 to build it, and that's right now, I'm only building about 25 to 30 units out of time, so I could definitely increase my margins. The 100ft sells for $399, and it costs me around $200 to make." At that time, her company had generated $22,000 in revenue.
During the deliberations, Lubetzsky backed out by saying, "I love the space of helping people stay safe, it means a lot to me, but I feel this is not a place where I could add enormous value. So, regretfully, I'm out." O'Leary also dropped out due to the business's early stage and the challenges of achieving a substantial return, and John declined to invest in FireFighter 1 because he thought that he wouldn’t be able to bring any added value to the table.
However, Greiner saw some potential in Wittenberg's business and asked Cuban if he would be interested in a joint deal. Cuban told Wittenberg, “Some of the greatest changes, entrepreneurial changes, took time. It’s gonna take time for people to understand this. It’s gonna take time for word to get out. But the good thing about this business is there are a lot of great leverage points.” Shortly afterward, Cuban and Greiner teamed up to offer $150,000 for 25% equity. Wittenberg tried to negotiate for a better deal but when the duo refused to budge, she ultimately ended up accepting the offer. With tears in her eyes, she went on to say that she was excited to grow FireFighter1 and honor her father’s work.