Even Lori screamed 'Ew' — but Kevin O’Leary couldn’t resist investing in this gross-out ‘Shark Tank’ pitch
Out of all the craziest products that entrepreneurs bring on the ‘Shark Tank’ stage, this pimple-popping toy could easily rank among the top three. But one thing that’s even crazier is that ‘Shark’ Kevin O’Leary invested in this business. Founder Bill Pierce, his wife Summer, and his cousin Kayla Roof came seeking $250K in exchange for 10% of their company, Pop It Pal. “Millions of people worldwide love popping zits, and pimple popping has gone viral, with thousands of videos being viewed every day,” Bill explained. Throughout the pitch, many of the panelists looked grossed out from their descriptions. Since popping pimples has “nasty side effects” like causing germs and scars in the skin.
They came up with a toy that can give a “simulation” of pimple popping. It includes 16 “ready-made pimples,” which, when squeezed, squirt “pus.” Although it looked gross as a pus-like substance popped out of the tiny pores on the show, the founders revealed that the substance is made from natural oils and beeswax. They insisted that pimple squeezing is a bad habit, it works as a stress reliever. But through the Pop It Pal toy, users can “get that extreme satisfaction that comes when popping a pimple.”
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The company also sells “pus” in tubes that can be refilled into the toys once the toy runs out of the liquid. “Okay, let's let's let's rewind a little bit. This is a placebo for actually popping your own pimple,” judge Rohan Oza clarified. “It's to get the sensation of I feel like popping a pimple on a Tuesday afternoon, voila, that's the pop,” he jokingly added. When the judges asked what inspired them to start this company, the husband and wife revealed that they were brainstorming start-up ideas on a random drive, and they always enjoyed watching pimple-popping videos.
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That’s how they landed on the idea behind their company. Mark Cuban laughed throughout the pitch and couldn’t take the idea seriously. The backstory doubled the craziness for him. The co-founders said they were projecting $940,000 in sales for 2018, which left Kevin O’Leary intrigued. The investor, also known as Mr. Wonderful, is known for being blunt to founders and investing in businesses that have profit. In short, he’s all about the numbers! he offered $250,000 for 5% equity and a $1.50 royalty per unit until he recoups $750,000.
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He also added a condition that got his fellow ‘Sharks’ grossed out! “I'd like to see the pus be multiple colors, so I can add blood to it and other things,” he said, which prompted Lori Greiner to scream, “Ew!” O’Leary kept insisting that he would like to have “different pusses” while popping the toy. To convince the entrepreneurs that he’s the right person to invest in the company. I'm the only one with creativity that can actually structure things like this,” he said. “They're all confused about this,” O’Leary said, mocking his fellow ‘Sharks.’ Although Cuban also offered a $250,000 deal for a 25 percent stake in the company, they ultimately went with O’Leary’s offer.
