‘Shark Tank’ contestant dares judges to break his anti-theft invention — but one product flaw shut him down
It is said that necessity is the mother of all inventions. Well, for Jeff Cranny, having a strong tie-down strap became the need of the hour after his motorcycle was stolen from his truck. This ultimately led him to come up with Lockstraps, which was introduced on ‘Shark Tank’ Season 10. Seeking $200,000 for 20% equity, Cranny entered the tank. “Theft can happen to anyone anywhere at any time,” the entrepreneur stated, building intrigue amongst sharks.
The contestant then explained how rigid his product was. “Lockstraps locks it all. They have a stainless steel cable embedded inside the strap, with two durable combination locking carabiners on both ends of the straps, making them almost impossible to cut,” Cranny explained. “Sharks, we have a saying around here,” the founder stated, adding, “Lockstraps are kind of like jock straps,” which instantly made the judges raise eyebrows while laughing. Next, Cranny invited the guest shark Alex Rodriguez to try and cut his tie-down straps, handing over a bolt cutter, which was first tested on a traditional chain, instantly breaking it into a few pieces.
Cranny then asked Rodriguez to cut a traditional-style cable lock, which was cut into two as well. Soon, the entrepreneur brought in the lock strap, asking the shark to cut it anyway he wished to. But even after many tries, the Rodriguez failed to cut Lockstrap. “Why can he cut through this?” Kevin O’Leary asked. Explaining the science behind this, Cranny stated that the cable cutters are designed to cut steel. “This has steel and cloth, two different forms,” he added. Cranny explained that in the first year he earned $135,000 in revenue, while in the following year, it was $175,000. In a turn of events, Home Depot gave Cranny a huge purchase order. Unfortunately, he didn't have the funds to “do a Home Depot purchase order.”
To solve the manufacturing issue, Cranny partnered with another company. However, this move cost him a lot. The product turned out to be defective, which in turn led to a large recall. When O’Leary asked how big the order was, the contestant replied, “$1.5 million.” While these numbers impressed the sharks, Cranny’s next words had everyone in doubt. O’Leary asked how much the company sold before the recall. To which Cranny stated that he did not know the exact numbers. After a lot of back and forth, Barbara Corcoran was seen shaking her head, being hugely disappointed. Soon, Mark Cuban expressed his disinterest in the product and backed out of making any kind of investment in the company.
Following him was O’Leary, calling out the pitch for being vague and lacking information, according to Shark Tank Recap. Following the two, Barbara Corcoran, too, decided to back out, stating that she did not like the way Cranny had distanced himself when the manufacturing company made the products defective. The guest Shark and even Lori Greiner soon opted out. The contestant had to leave the show without a deal in his hand.