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Dating coach explains why she passed on a 'Shark Tank' deal with Mark Cuban — and she has a point

Despite securing a $100K offer from Mark Cuban, dating coach Blaine Anderson walked away sparking opinions online

Dating coach Blaine Anderson is reflecting on her time on the ABC business program 'Shark Tank.' In October 2023, Anderson appeared on the third episode of 'Shark Tank' Season 15 to pitch Dating by Blaine, a dating company that sells online courses to help men learn about the various aspects of dating. During the episode, Anderson revealed that she founded the company in mid-2020 after losing her job during the Covid-19 pandemic and had already made over $2.2 million in sales. In addition to this, Anderson also stated that she managed to earn a profit of $500,000 on some $1 million of sales in 2022.

Then, Anderson was seeking $100k in exchange for 2% of her company, valuing it at $5 million. The esteemed sharks were captivated by Anderson's pitch, but their interest slowly faded away when the Dating by Blaine founder failed to break down the revenues generated from different products and reveal the number of classes that she's sold. Guest shark Michael Rubin backed out. On the other hand, Kevin O'Leary was keen on sealing a deal with Anderson, but she had her eyes set on Mark Cuban.

Barbara Corcoran helped Anderson reach a deal with Cuban, offering him 10% of her company for $100,000, valuing it at $1 million. Both Anderson and Cuban were happy with the terms of the deal, but ultimately, Anderson didn't close the deal with Cuban. Yes, you read that right. After the episode dropped, Anderson faced a lot of backlash for her pitch, but she defended herself and mentioned that she had the right to ask for whatever valuation she wanted for her dating company. 

Then, Anderson took to X (formerly known as Twitter) and wrote, "My performance got ROASTED on Reddit. The complaints were basically: 1. My valuation was too high, 2. I didn’t know my numbers 3. Pretty privilege drives my success." In a separate tweet, Anderson quipped, "My response to r/sharktank: 1. I can ask for any valuation I want. Suck it. 2. Confirmed, I’m not outstanding with numbers. I’m a dating coach and matchmaker, not an accountant. Who wants to hire a dating coach who’s preoccupied with margins, anyway?! 3. Pretty privilege probably helps. Deal with it."

While revealing the reason behind not sealing the deal with Cuban despite spending "tens of thousands of dollars on legal fees, plus months of my focus, hoping to make things work," Anderson shared, "Not closing the deal boiled down to: — My life is easy without outside investors — My life would be harder with outside investors It took me months to realize that, and for everyone involved’s sake, I’m sorry I didn’t see the light sooner." Along with this, Anderson also raved over Cuban and enthused, "I can't say enough good things about Mark Cuban. Mark is down to earth, easy to work with, shockingly accessible, super smart, and funny. He cares about his entrepreneurs, and I'd be glad to work with him someday."

For the unversed, let us share with you that Cuban decided to step away from 'Shark Tank' after Season 16, which ended in May 2025. While having a chat with People magazine, Cuban talked about his big decision and disclosed he wanted to spend more time with his kids. Then, Cuban said, "We always shoot in June and September, and in June, right when they're finishing school, I have to come here. When they were young, it was like, 'Okay, we're going to wait for Dad.' Now that they're teenagers, they aren't waiting for Dad at all, and in September, they've just gotten back to school. I want to be there for that."