Young entrepreneur turned college dream into ‘Shark Tank’ deal — then got ghosted by the Shark who said yes
Megan Cummins appeared on 'Shark Tank' Season 3, pitching her business, You Smell Soap. While her product impressed other investors on the show, the soap company owner eventually went ahead with Robert Herjavec’s offer. However, what seemed to be a dream opportunity soon turned into a long nightmare. According to a report by Fandomwire, Herjavec didn’t follow up for six months after sealing the deal with Cummins.
The entrepreneur entered ‘Shark Tank’ with the same dreams and hopes as other successful contestants on the show. With high hopes, she asked for $55,000 in exchange for 20% of her company. At the time, Mark Cuban was interested in her product and had made her an offer. However, Herjavec soon jumped in with a better deal. He offered Cummins more money, along with a salary, which seemed lucrative and prompted her to accept his offer instead of Cuban's. According to Looper, Herjavec promised Cummins an additional $50,000 annual salary while increasing the ownership to 30%.
It seemed that at first, Herjavec appreciated Cummins' efforts, but the following months had the contestant in a difficult situation. Talking to the outlet, Cummins mentioned, "I always felt like Robert [Herjavec] was the nice one of the group, since that's how they portray him on the show," further adding, “It was naïve of me." The entrepreneur also spoke to CNET, informing the publication that she had desperately tried to get in touch with Herjavec following her appearance on the business reality show. However, her efforts to reach out were in vain, and she was eventually ghosted.
As months passed, Herjavec got back in touch, but with a new offer. This time, he was asking for 50% of the business for the same investment. Left with no choice, Cummins had to walk away from the deal. Fortunately, shortly after, an undisclosed investor stepped in to help her with the business. Unfortunately, all these efforts to save the company were of no use —You Smell Soap shut down in 2016.
But Cummins’ passion for business continued to drive her. Although her previous venture—which was initially a college project that was later turned into a growing soap brand—could not succeed, she later launched a fashion jewelry company called Sparklepop. Following this, she started to run Megan Cummins Designs, a contract design firm. Apart from that, she is passionate about the care and safety of animals, and through her Etsy shop, Downloads that Donate, she raises money for no-kill shelters.
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Coming back to Herjavec, Cummins was not the only contestant who had to face such difficulties after appearing on ‘Shark Tank.’ Herjavec has also backed out of deals with companies such as AquaVault and Zero Pollution Motors, according to Fandomwire. He also has the lowest follow-through rates compared to his fellow investors. The outlet also notes that he often either backs out of deals later or changes his offer entirely, which significantly affects small businesses as they heavily rely on fast funding, and such delays can get them in hot water.