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Two founders showed up in chicken suits on ‘Shark Tank’ — and somehow walked away with $100K deal

Dressed as chickens, these entrepreneurs pitched a cooking tool — and Kevin O’Leary took the bait.

Every year, budding entrepreneurs pull out all the stops to draw the attention of the Sharks on the ABC business program 'Shark Tank.' Sometimes, the contestants even resort to eccentric extremes while pitching their business ideas in front of the esteemed Sharks. During an episode of 'Shark Tank' Season 14, Kirk Hyust and Brian Halasinski, the founders of Turbo Trusser, came dressed up as chickens to pitch their revolutionary tool that can help people to cook juicy chicken as well as turkey. In the end, Hyust and Halasinski's outfit selection worked out well as they secured a $100,000 deal from Kevin O'Leary.

In the episode, Hyust and Halasinksi were seeking $100,000 in exchange for 10% percent in their company. At one moment, during their pitch, Halasinski asked the Sharks Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Barbara Corcoran, and O'Leary if they had ever cooked a raw chicken or turkey. When the Sharks said yes, Hyust and Halasinski presented the "Turbo Trusser," a tool that helps people to cook chicken or turkey while keeping it juicy. 

Soon after, Hyust demonstrated to the Sharks how the Turbo Trusser worked. Then, Hyust showed everyone how simple it was to truss the bird with the cooking tool and how to keep the wings and the legs close to the body. In addition to this, Hyust also revealed that the unique cooking tool was invented in the United States. When the duo asked the Sharks if they were ready to step into the poultry industry and make loads of money, O'Leary hopped out of his seat to try out the freshly cooked samples. As per Market Realist, while making his way to the table, O'Leary quipped, "I am Chef Wonderful, you know."

Following the demo, Corcoran asked Hyust and Halasinski whether the chicken was juicy because of the tool or the way they cooked it. Then, Halasinski entered the chat and shared that it was all the tool's magic. Shortly afterward, the Sharks got down to business and asked the Turbo Trusser founders about their numbers. Hyust and Halasinski disclosed that a large majority of their sales come from Amazon and their official website.

For those wondering, let us share with you that the manufacturing cost of one Turbo Trusser is $3.07, and it's sold for $14.99, which means there is a big margin of over 80%. Then, Hyust and Halasinski revealed that their company had generated more than $90,000 in gross revenue within 9 months. Along with this, the duo also shared that they receive multiple reorders from  Amazon as well as their distributors.

Herjavec was the first Shark to back out of investing in Turbo Trusser. Then, Greiner followed in Herjavec's footsteps and stated that she doesn't like to "touch a chicken," so she was out. On the other hand, Corcoran felt that the business wasn't big enough; meanwhile, Cuban had doubts about the scalability of the product, and they both dropped out. However, O'Leary showed interest in Turbo Trusser and offered a $100,000 but for a staggering 33% on top of a $1 royalty in perpetuity. Hyust and Halasinski tried to negotiate the deal, but they failed to do so, and eventually, they accepted O'Leary's deal.