15-year-old wows ‘Shark Tank’ judges with clever paint hack — ignites a bidding war to seal $200K deal
Over the last couple of years, several young entrepreneurs have appeared on the reality show 'Shark Tank' to pitch their business ideas. During the Season 12 premiere of 'Shark Tank,' which aired in October 2020, a 15-year-old kid named Carson Grill and his father, Jason Grill, pulled out all the stops to impress the Sharks, Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Blake Mycoskie, to invest in their company, Touch Up Cup, which designs sealable cups for preserving leftover paint. In the end, Carson and his father, Jason, walked away with a deal from the ABC business program.
In the episode, the father-son duo was seeking $150,000 in exchange for 10% of their business. During their pitch, Jason said, "Sharks, just a few years back, Carson and I were doing some touch-up paint around the house with three kids, fingerprints all over the walls. Believe me, there's always touch-up to be done. Being a former Marine, Carson knows I like to run a tight ship." According to TV Insider, Carson stepped in and asked the Sharks, "The question to you, Sharks, is, does your paint closet look anything like this? If so, you have a half dozen gallon cans with just paint."
Carson further added, "We went to open just a few cans, and oh, the rust clumps and smell. We looked at each other and said, 'There has to be a better way.' So that's why I invented the patented Touch Up Cup for paint, the most innovative solution to all of your paint storage problems. It even has a stainless steel blending sphere for easy mixing. Just Shake and paint, baby. Say goodbye to rusting clumps forever. Touch Up Cup has extra threads and an airtight silicone seal to keep paint fresh for over 10 years."
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When asked about the sales of their company, Carson quipped, "We're about 70% online and 30% in retail right now. About our sales, we have done $220,000 in sales over the last two years, with $150,000 of that being over the last year and a half and $70,000 of that being this year. We've got another shipment, and we are on track to do $400,000 in sales." Eventually, two Sharks, including John and Mycoskie, showed interest in Touch Up Cup.
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At first, Mycoskie told Carson and Jason, "I would love to make you an offer. You're asking for $150,000 for 10%. I'd like to give us some more cash flows, more runway. So I'd like to do $200,000 for 25%." Soon after, John entered the chat and said, "This guy just made a better offer than I would, and I was about to give up. I was going to give $150,000 for 25%, and now he did $200,000 for 25%, so I'm forced to do $200,000 for 17.5% to cut his legs out from underneath." Ultimately, Carson and Jason accepted Mycoskie's offer, noting he seemed more invested in the business’s future.
