‘Shark Tank’ contestant got 3 offers but picked his deal based on secret research about the Sharks
It’s not easy for budding entrepreneurs to impress the Sharks and secure a deal on 'Shark Tank.' However, Zak Jones, the founder of Permaplug, managed to convince not one, not two, but three Sharks to invest in his company. Yes, you read that right. Three Sharks- Lori Greiner, Kevin O'Leary, and Daniel Lubetzky, each offered Jones $350,000 for his permanent plug-in charger. Jones appeared well-prepared for the ABC business show. He had done thorough research beforehand, and ultimately, he ended up choosing the 'Queen of QVC' as his business partner.
On a Season 16 episode of 'Shark Tank,' Jones pitched his permanent plug-in charger to Sharks Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, O'Leary, Greiner, and Lubetsky. Permaplug is a patented charger lock that keeps devices securely plugged in. This product is the perfect solution for those who tend to lose their chargers very often in their day-to-day lives. In the episode, Jones was seeking $350,000 in exchange for 15% of his company.
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When O'Leary asked Jones about the numbers, he stated that his company had done $456,000 in year-to-date sales and $665,000 in the past 12 months. Soon after, Herjavec asked Jones how he managed to generate those numbers. Jones shared that 60% of the revenue comes from Amazon, and the rest comes from their official website. Then, O'Leary chimed in, "I want to go back to this $350,000 for 15%. What are you going to do with $350,000?" to which Jones replied, "I will use it to increase my flow. So I've got a decent amount of money in my bank."
O'Leary told Jones, "Look, I thought this was a joke. I've got to be honest with you, Zak, obviously, sales say no, and you sound very credible. Um, so here's an offer for you. I'll do the 350. I want 2 bucks a unit in royalties in perpetuity." Shortly afterward, Greiner asked Jones, "I'm curious. Who's on your team? How much? Just you," to which the latter replied, "This is all me and my wife. We have a 24-hour fulfillment promise notice. We're up till midnight packing orders."
Soon after, Lubetzsky entered the chat and asked Jones, "What's your reaction to Mr. Wonderful's not-so-wonderful offer?" In his response, Jones said, "Well, I figured, coming in here, I may get an offer something like that. I would not be open to a perpetuity deal, but I would be open to giving a royalty to anybody, for that matter." Then, Lubetsky offered Jones $350,000 for 25%. Greiner followed up with her own offer of $350,000 for 20% equity, plus a $1 royalty per unit until repayment.
In the end, Jones accepted Greiner's offer. According to Market Realist, O'Leary called out Jones for his decision by saying, "Well, no, she's not Mr wonderful," to which Jones replied, "I grew up not caring about being an athlete. I didn't look up to any athletes, I didn't look up to any actors or anything, I looked up to people like you guys. So, I know everything about all of you, and I know what you've done with companies." As per Shark Tank Blog, Jones' company, Permaplug, is currently worth $1.75 million.
