'Shark Tank' contestants win over the judges with foam party hats and walk away with a $100K deal
'Shark Tank' judges never miss the opportunity to invest their hard-earned money in an innovative product. During an episode of 'Shark Tank' Season 12, mother-son duo Manuel Rojas and Grace Rojas presented their company, Foam Pitch Hats, in front of the esteemed Sharks Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, and Daniel Lubetzsky. Throughout their appearance on the ABC business program, Manuel and Grace rocked unique foam party hats, and all the Sharks liked their customized giant hats. In the end, Cuban and guest Shark Lubetzsky went against each other to close the deal, and eventually, Manuel and Grace bagged a multi-star deal in their kitty.
In the episode, Manuel and his mom, Grace, were seeking $100,000 in exchange for 10% of their company. During their pitch, Manuel explained, "This amazing idea started more than 15 years ago, back in Venezuela at my sister's wedding. My beautiful, genius, creative mother decided to make something fun, something different." Soon after, Grace chimed in, "I wanted to create something special for my guests, so I bought some materials and started making my first foam party hat."
Then, Manuel and Grace handed out their custom party hats to the Sharks as well. Greiner was seen wearing a jewelry box hat, O'Leary got a chef's Wonderful hat, and Cuban donned a large money bag hat. When asked about the numbers, Manuel shared that the manufacturing cost of each hat was $10, and they sold it for $45. Along with this, Manuel also shed light on how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their business, decreasing their sales by 80 percent. At the time of filming, their company had made $153,000 from sales.
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Many Sharks felt that the numbers weren't enough, and they backed out. At first, O'Leary quipped, "That service parties and weddings get 80 percent of their sales from their product line, that's the business model that works, but you don't have that model yet. It's a great business for you. It's a family business. You guys are terrific. I feel bad about saying I'm out." Shortly afterward, Cuban chimed in, "Guys, let me step in. Your biggest challenge here is that you don't know what business you're in. You think you're in the foam hat business, and you're trying to figure out how to sell more phone ads, you're in the fun business. You figured out how to sell fun when you did your viral hats, but you don't know what business you're in, so for those reasons, I'm out."
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On the other hand, Lubetzsky showed interest in the funky product and offered the entrepreneurs $100,000 for 30% equity. Then, Cuban told Manuel that it would be a mistake to quit his job at this point. As per Market Realist, Lubetzsky mocked Cuban by saying, "I love when these Sharks! They have all these comments, but they will back out." Greiner asked Lubetzsky if he would be open to a joint deal, but he declined. Greiner then asked Cuban if he was interested in a joint deal, and he replied, "Just to mess with Daniel? I will." Cuban and Greiner made an offer of $100,000 for 25% equity. At last, Manuel and Grace accepted Cuban and Greiner's offer.
