Inspired by painful grooming fails, 'Shark Tank' father-son duo pitched a below-the-belt fix — and won big
Innovative ideas are always appreciated on ‘Shark Tank.’ Back in 2018, a creative company appeared on the business reality show with an intriguing care kit for men, Manscaped. The eyebrow-raising pitch impressed the judges so much that the entrepreneurs snagged a half-million-dollar deal from two Sharks. According to CNBC, the father-and-son duo from San Diego, California, Steve and Josh King, were seeking $500,000 for a 7% stake in their business. Manscaped offered tools and products for below-the-belt grooming and hygiene for men. A report by Shark Tank Blog suggests that the pair started their company in January 2017, with a $400,000 angel investment.
After listening to horror stories about how many of his friends had cut themselves while using the wrong tools to shave their private area, Josh came up with the idea behind their company. The grooming tools included electric trimmers, razors, and skincare products, both individually and in the kit. The pair demonstrated the tools on a shrub during their pitch, which made the panel laugh out loud. However, it also held their attention long enough to warrant a significant investment. Mark Cuban asked guest Shark, NBA icon Charles Barkley, “All of America, and the world, wants to know: Charles, do you manscape?”
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Barkley replied, “Not a day in my life.” However, Robert Herjavec admitted that he was a fan of the process. “I do manscape,” he said, adding, “I was on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and I’d get a wax and I just kind of went crazy. I manscape everywhere, and I think a lot of people do." The entrepreneurs shared with the investors that they initially struggled to promote their kits and had a hard time finding a perfect market and target audience.
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However, they switched up their strategy and started promoting Manscape with humor, sharing stories of the gruesome events that men often experience while grooming. Talking about their sales, the Kings shared that after relaunching their company in April 2017, they sold 3,000 products in 13 days. Towards the end of that year, they achieved total sales of $1.5 million. Steve told the judges, “Year to date, we’ve done $2.1 million," adding, “We would have made about $60,000 to $80,000 per month,” explaining that the revenue was reinvested into the inventory, or was used to pay advertising agencies. “On our paid media, we spend anywhere between $120,000 to $150,000,” he said.
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Kevin O’Leary didn't like the margins and opted out; Barkley soon followed suit. However, Herjavec offered them $500,000 for 35% of the business. Lori Greiner then asked the duo if women buy these kits as a gift, to which the founders responded that they have noticed a spike in women customers during the holiday season. Soon, Greiner and Cuban teamed up to offer the Kings $500,000 in exchange for 25% of the company. The duo then countered the investors with a 20% stake, which the Sharks declined. After giving it some thought, the Kings accepted Cuban and Greiner's offer.
