Tonight Barbara Corcoran was replaced by QVC product creator Lori Greiner. Other sharks include: Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Damond John and Robert Herjavec.

Don’t forget to check out our previous Shark Tank recaps.

Pitch #1 – Duality Cosmetics

First up into the Shark Tank was Barbara Lampugnale seeking $50k for 20% equity in Duality Cosmetics. Basically her product is an all-in-one nail polish bottle.  Instead of having a bottle of nail polish, bottle of nail polish remover and a nail file, Barbara’s product combines them all into one unit. She makes the bottles for $3/each and sells them for $15. Barbara has invested $300k of her own money into the company.

Lori made an offer of $50k for 51% of Duality Cosmetics. Kevin came back with $50k for 40%. Kevin and Lori went back and forth about why each offer is better than the other. Damond enters the conversation with, “a piggy bank with 2 coins in it makes a lot more noise than a full piggy bank”. Lori counters with the same offer as Kevin at $50k for 40% and Barbara accepts the offer.

Update – Talbott Teas

Last season Kevin signed a deal with the founders of gourmet tea company Talbott Teas. The update explains that the deal actually went through with Kevin, Damond and Barbara. The company was bought by Jamba Juice and the teas will be in Jamba Juice stores later this year.

Pitch #2 – Debbie Brooks Handbags

Up next into the tank were husband and wife Paul D’Auriac and Debbie Brooks pitching for $540k for 20% of Debbie Brooks Handbags. Basically the product line was a set of purses and handbags that allow for magnetic faceplates to allow a woman to easily change the look of the bag. The company had $1.2 million in sales last year. Unfortunately the couple left without a deal.

Pitch #3 – Try My Tank

This one was a quick in and out no deal. Lindsay Johnson and Nicole Bilsky entered the tank seeking $57k/30% of their business Try My Tank which creates customizable tank tops for women. So the idea is that the shirt part and the straps parts of the tank top are separate and you can mix and match which shirt goes with which straps. The shirts retail for $35. Unfortunately the two entrepreneurs left without a deal.

Pitch #4 – Lollacup

Last into the Shark Tank were husband and wife Mark and Hanna Lim with their new style of sippy cup. The couple was seeking $100k for 15% of Lollacup.  Kevin O’Leary called it, “the new sippy cup”. I think it was one of the nicest looking products and packages to ever come into the Shark Tank.

Kevin made an offer of $100k for 50% but it was contingent on moving manufacturing to an offshore location to drive down the cost to produce the Lollacup. Damond comes in with the same offer as Kevin but with a contingency that they can remove their new sales rep. Mark Lim comes back at $100k for 40% and Mark Cuban seemed to accept. Damond dropped his offer to $100k for 30% but due to back-and-forth, Damond went out. Mark and Hanna accepted a deal with Mark Cuban and Robert for $100k for 40% of Lollacup.

Find more stories about: ABC, Angel Investors, Shark Tank, TV

We’ve seen tons of blog posts and meetups around the importance of design. And more recently many have spoken about how critical design is when it comes to our startups and products.

As I’ve been working on switching my food intake to a fully raw foods plan, I’ve been looking at buying some kitchen appliances. The first item I want to purchase is a blender. As I look around on internet sites and in stores at the huge variety of blenders, two brands always seem to be at the top: Vitamix and Blendtec. Both blenders cost between $350-500. Every time I see a Vitamix blender on shelves or in food videos, I’ve wondered if product design and “feeling” is really that important? For purposes of this conversation, we will assume both blenders provide the same quality blending output.

Take a look at the image on the right – that’s a Vitamix blender. To me it is amazingly ugly — it looks like it from 1950, it’s huge, it’s not appealing looking, it has clunky buttons and even the blending container is ugly. Just compare the product design of this Vitamix blender to the iPod Touch.

Even with the ugly, clunky, non-appealing design of the entire Vitamix line, their blenders are amazingly popular. Look at any of their products on Amazon and the reviews are all nearly perfect. Check out the videos you YouTube where people would rather divorce their spouse than give up their Vitamix. My nutritionist packs the Vitamix in her luggage when she travels around the country!

Then there’s the Blendtec – also an amazingly popular machine. You probably know the Blendtec machines from their popular “will it blend” Youtube series. The reviews on Amazon for their blenders are also very close to perfect. To me the Blendtec machine looks way more appealing. The machine on the right has a digital keypad, a digital timer, a more refined design. The Blendtec also has a jar that fits under a counter and just looks more modern. I don’t think it is “apple-level design” but certainly is a nicer looking machine than the beast above.

It’s easy to say that a blender doesn’t need good design and a “feeling”. But the more I am getting into this new healthy lifestyle, the more it seems everyone uses their blenders more than just once a day.

I guess Vitamix doesn’t need to look at creating a modern design with “feeling” if their current units keep selling like hotcakes. But I wonder how many more blenders they would sell if they created a blender that has the power of their current models with a design that is more appealing. Or maybe instead of entering the TV market, Apple could create the iBlend?

I haven’t decided on a blender yet but I am leaning heavily towards the Blendtec because of the “feeling”. So maybe the answer to the title of the post is yes, for me product design always matters.

Find more stories about: Apple, Blendtec, design, products, Vitamix

Featured Jobs:

• Chief Operating Officer at Indochino Apparel
• Director of Software Engineering at Bloom Health
• Software Designer at Viddler

More Jobs:

• Senior Web Software Engineer at Kareo
• Front End Developer at Soli
• Senior Software Engineer at OkCupid Labs
• Software Engineer at Causes

Employers – Join other top companies on the CN Job Board. Post your jobs today – only $10!

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Whenever I take a look at the main feed on Facebook, it’s mostly content imported from Twitter. I’ve written about this before and wish that Facebook allowed you to turn off certain sites from displaying in your feed (e.g Twitter, pinterest, etc.).

(As an aside, I have noticed that techies seem to like and share content a LOT less than people in other demographics.)

So why I am using Facebook more often than I ever have? Simple, the people that I am now interested in following and interacting with are on Facebook and don’t use the other networks, Twitter and Google+, as often or at all.

Some of you know that I am working on my health in a big way and I have been studying and researching all sorts of health and fitness topics across the web and in print. Most of the people and brands I want to interact with have popular Facebook pages. For example, my nutritionist has a very popular Facebook page and she does a good job of interacting with the people who like and comment on her content.

Whether I am looking to interact with people around a Vitamix blender, a Breville juicer or why candida is bad for you, there are pages on Facebook with people who are willing to reply and provide feedback when needed. What’s great is that unlike Twitter where you just talk to talk, on Facebook you expect to have a conversation.

The only area I’ve noticed so far that needs serious work is the search function and specifically with regards to Facebook Groups. Here is a sample of the search results for the term “fitness” – notice that every single result is exactly the same – and it is like this on every page of the results. I want to join groups but where do I even begin when every single one looks identical?!? Groups search should function in a similar fashion to how Meetup.com works.

If I was in a management position at Facebook, I would certainly be asking why we haven’t created a YouTube competitor. So many of the health brands have tons of videos and they all live on YouTube yet the brand uses Facebook to promote their messaging.

It will be interesting to see if Google+ can draw more normals (both people and brands) into their network. I haven’t seen the health and fitness brands pushing their G+ pages (if they even have them).

Side note: if you are interested in health and fitness topics, please consider joining my email newsletter. The newsletter contains lots of interesting topics I come across and my personal, exclusive smoothie recipes.

Find more stories about: Facebook, fitness, social media, Social Networking

The news is behind the times.

Look at the bottom graph of the top picture. Relative to Twitter, there’s been virtually no news pickup of Tumblr.  It’s a flat blue line.  On the other hand, search volume shows that Tumblr’s been a “thing,” relative to Twitter, for almost two years. The news is two years behind.

The second picture is Tumblr v. Instagram.  Outside of the sale, Tumblr’s been crushing Instagram on search volume — steeper slope and everything.  And yet, until the sale, both “news” graphs were relatively flat. Instagram spiked — but only after the sale.

The third one show something different: Tumblr v. Pinterest.  Similar slopes, with Pinterest perhaps a bit steeper but with less staying power, it seems. The news noticed it… which underscores how invisible Tumblr is to them. But why’d they notice Pinterest? I have a few theories, none of which are flattering to the news industry.

Fascinating. And amazing.

Find more stories about: Dan Lewis, Pinterest, social media, tumblr, Twitter

Here’s the event overview:

Undergraduate students experienced entrepreneurship first-hand, learning from some of the most successful entrepreneurs in Austin. University of Texas students from many different departments including Computer Science, Engineering and Management started companies and were assisted with a semester-long program of startup acceleration: speakers, mentors, and supervised project work. Mentors are exceptional people who have successfully started one or more companies.

Each startup will get 6 minutes on stage and then you can go and talk to them afterwards. There will be numerous other leaders from the Austin entrepreneurial community in attendance as well.

In addition to the startup presentations, Dr. James Truchard will provide the keynote discussion. Dr. Truchard is the president, CEO and co-founder of National Instruments.

Course instructor and founder/angel investor Joshua Baer has also requested help for next semester. He notes:

1. We need more mentors. Stop organizing your wine collection and get a better hobby — help young entrepreneurs!
2. We need 2 TA’s to help us run the class.
3. We need the best student entrepreneurs at UT Austin who want to get credit for working on their startup and mentored by Bob Metcalfe, myself, and many others.

I am not sure what the requirements to be a mentor are as I applied last semester but never heard back. If you are in Austin, this is a great opportunity to help students become the next great entrepreneurs!

Register here »

Find more stories about: Austin, Conferences, startups, Texas

The sharks appearing on tonight’s episode are: Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Damond John and Robert Herjavec.

(Unfortunately ABC in my area decided to once again push Shark Tank to Sunday at 1am. I had to find an online stream and missed the first pitch. I will update this post after ABC posts the episode tomorrow. I think the pitch was from a cookie/blondie company)

Don’t forget to check out our previous Shark Tank recaps.

Pitch #2 – ViewSport

Ben Wood came into the Shark seeking $50,000 for 20% equity in his company ViewSport. The company provides “sweat activated technology” which gives you “motivation through perspiration”. The idea is that as you sweat, the shirt shows you a logo. Reminds me of those tshirts and jeans in the 80s that changed colors when wet! This year they have done $140k in sales. Ben quit medical school to start ViewSport. The company is hoping to license the technology to retailers and also create other apparel.

Unfortunately the sharks weren’t interested in the tshirts or potential product expansion and Ben left with no deal.

Note: You can watch past episodes of Shark Tank here on Amazon.

Pitch #3 -Sullivan Generator

Mark Sullivan was up next with the Sullivan Generator asking for $1 million for 10% equity. Mark says he is an inventor and showed some sort of slides about water and turbines. Robert explained “we pull in water really fast, create electricity out of one side, and gold out of the other side.” Kevin asked, “so Mark how long are you visiting Earth?”

Mark explained that the sharks are the first people to see this new concept of angular momentum. The machine is 100 feet tall. Kevin said the concept is “nutbar level 6″. Unfortunately Mark left without a deal but left saying that the sharks just didn’t get it and that inventors will save America.

Shark Tank Update and SECOND PITCH!! – Copa Di Vino Wine Glasses

So far the company has gone to $5 million in sales in the first year post-Shark Tank. They are in lots of popular retailers around the country.That was the quick update but guess what…James came back to the Shark Tank to pitch again!

James Martin seeking $300k for 5% of Copa Di Vino which is a company that creates a special wine glass which is basically “wine in a glass”. Last season Kevin O’Leary was the only shark to make James an offer. Kevin’s offer last season was for the IP and patents. Damond explains that the sharks won’t be as gentle as last time.

Once again Kevin offers the same offer for $600k for 51% of the IP and patents. Barbara said that she didn’t like James then and doesn’t like him now so she was out. Damond was also out pretty quick into the televised portion of the pitch.

Kevin provides a new offer of $300k for 12%. Mark Cuban wanted to offer more money from three sharks (Kevin/Mark/Robert).  James countered at $300k for 8% of Copa Di Vino.  The three sharks countered at $600k for 30%.

After James was sitting there thinking, Mark Cuban said he is out. Robert walked out of the studio claiming that James was just wasting their time. James left the Shark Tank without a deal again.

Find more stories about: ABC, Angel Investors, Shark Tank, TV

Here are the accessories included in the QVC bundle: rotating case/stand; touch stylus; music speaker ball; ear buds; retractable audio cable; headphone splitter; screen protector with cleaning cloth; car charger; and $75 Zinio gift card.

Outside of the Zinio card (which I doubt many actually use), the other accessories look like you can grab them on eBay or at Frys/BestBuy for a few dollars. I will also bet that the hosts will never tell viewers that this is the old model.

So how much does the iPad 2 cost as “today’s special value” on QVC?

• 16gb WiFi model – $699 (DOUBLE the Apple Store price of $399)
• 16gb WiFI + 3g model – $849 (Apple Store price $529)

And on top of the price, QVC charges $15 for shipping!

Overall I generally like what QVC offers in other categories but SHAME ON YOU QVC.

When I was in college, I worked at The Wiz in NYC and early on I realized that selling the accessories was the way to make the big commission checks. Sure the IBM PS/2 computers provided a nice spiff, but the real checks came when you sold a surge protector, a mouse pad or a telephone wire to connect to a BBS. Except I never offered my customers crap, the stuff QVC jams into their package is stuff you will likely never use.

One of the ways QVC tries to justify their price is their “easy pay” plan. This payment plan takes the full amount and charges your credit card a portion each month. The television hosts explain in all caps (!) that this easy pay plan has no interest but in all reality, you are paying a premium price to get the monthly payments and in the case of the iPad 2 deal, you walk away paying a LOT more.

Before the Today’s Special Value went live tonight, the same package sold for $814.00 on the QVC website. That’s a whopping $414 over the Apple Store price!

If you want to buy an iPad 2, I suggest either buying it directly from Apple or Amazon. The issue with Amazon is that they are only selling the new iPad directly, the iPad 2 is through all third party companies. The same goes for the new iPad – Amazon is only offering it through third parties so if you need it immediately, go with the Apple Store.

Lastly, since the price difference between the iPad 2 and new iPad is so close, I very much suggest buying the newest version.

Find more stories about: Apple, Apple iPad, iPad, qvc, tablet

From my research, the most popular nationwide deal appearing on both deal services is from Vistaprint. Usually the deals vary ever so slightly. For the balance of today, there are deals running on both sites – you can see an image of each below. The Groupon Vistaprint deal is available in the Little Rock section and the LivingSocial Vistaprint deal is available in the New York section.

The deals are:

• Groupon: $17 for $70 at Vistaprint
• LivingSocial: $10 for $50 at Vistaprint

Doing some simple math on my calculator, the LS deal works out slightly better. It’s important to note that Vistaprint changes their pricing when you come in via Groupon/LS so the prices you see on the general website will be lower than from a deal voucher.

The key take away from this post is that some simple searching on both services may find you an even better deal than the one you are currently considering.

Find more stories about: daily deals, Groupon, LivingSocial, VistaPrint

Frankly I can’t figure out by the tone of the content (outside of the deals) if this could be a late April Fools joke. Groupon has created several personalities within the Kidz Club including: Glasses, Blade, FopTop, Roll, E-Male, Pyles and Swarmy.

The Kids Club features games like “help roll get his croissant back” and a word scramble. These games aren’t online, I assume you need to print out the page and give it to your kids.  There is also content including, “HELP elderly folks cross the first part of the street and then encourage them to get across the rest of the way on their own!” There is also an official Kidz Club theme song.

I don’t get all of the (probably very expensive) content Groupon creates — from this sillyness to the “extra” content they post at the bottom of their deal pages. Just post the deals and move on to posting more deals.

Find more stories about: group buying, Groupon, kids

• 4-6 pm: social recruiting and networking
• 6-8 pm: a band will jam while attendees network over food and drinks

Over forty startups located in the Dallas area will be attending the event recruiting for over 100 positions. The organizers describe the event as, “…open to everyone that is interested in joining growing and young technology and startup companies, from recent graduates to seasoned professionals. If you are a software/hardware/network/equipment/test/QA engineer, software programmers/developer, user interface and user experience (UI/UX) specialist, web/mobile designer, system administrator, project manager, or technical designer, this is your chance for a great career move. If your speciality is sales and marketing or business development, and you want to work with the next great North Texas startup, this is your chance to get involved. If you have a passion for what you do and are looking for a fulfilling position at an exciting young company, don’t miss this event!”

As a Giants fan, I’ve been told I am banned from entering the city limits of Dallas. But for the few of you out there that aren’t Giants fans, this looks like a great opportunity to network and potentially grab a job at a Texas-based startup.

Find more stories about: jobs, startups, Texas

Featured Jobs:

• Front End Developer at Soli
• Senior Software Engineer at OkCupid Labs
• Software Engineer at Causes

More Jobs:

• Systems Analyst/Senior Systems Analyst -SharePoint Developer – ITS Application Development at Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
• Web Developer, Online Publications at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Interaction Designer, Data Visualization – News at WNYC

Employers – Join other top companies on the CN Job Board. Post your jobs today – only $10!

Find more stories about: job boards, jobs

Some of the series you can watch the first episode for free include:

• Storage Wars (Dave Hester is the man!)
• The Office UK
• Hawaii Five-O
• NCIS Season 1
• Pawn Stars
• Parking Wars (you best park correctly in Philly!)
• Shipping Wars
• Project Runway
• The A-Team Season 1 (BA!)

Amazon notes that “Instant Video” is also available on the Kindle Fire, Roku, televisions, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes.

View all of the series here.

Note: Amazon free series link is an aff link.

Find more stories about: Amazon, TV, Video

Just imagine this… you want to win a marathon – 26 miles of running, knocking people over to take their spot, hoping you can beat some guy or girl from another country and bring the belt back home to the USA. You trained, you said your prayers, you took your vitamins (brother!) and you are ready. But inevitably you will get a high number and start way back in the pack and have no real chance of making it to the finish line in first place. So instead you head to McDonalds for a 20 piece mcnugget and a large fry.

The good news is that now Amazon Local will put you in the front of the pack – for a fee of course. For just $29, Amazon Local will guarantee you get to start ahead of all of the “professional runners” in the Beantown Marathon. They note that if you pay the $29 you can, “take the last few weeks of training off and still achieve a personal best time”. Purchasing this deal gets you a 10 minute head start! That’s only $2.9 per minute!

The unfortunate thing is that at the time of this post, nearly 58,000 people have purchased the deal. So my guess is that you will be behind all of the other deal hunters but you will still get a 10 minute head start over the non-payers.

Lastly, if you finish the race on foot (you cannot take public transport!), Amazon will give you bowls of chili and beer.

I am so glad I made my purchase before they sell out! What are you waiting for?

note: obviously this is an april fools joke from amazon local!

Find more stories about: Amazon, AmazonLocal, April Fools, daily deals

You can read the full explanation about the refubished Kindle Fire devices on Amazon’s website. Here are the important bits:

Prior to sale, every pre-owned Kindle undergoes a rigorous refurbishment process including:

• Full diagnostic test
• Replacement of any defective parts identified in testing
• Thorough cleaning and inspection process
• Complete repackaging with a new box
• Most recent software version update available for the product.
• Final QA inspection before acceptance as Certified Refurbished stock.

The refurb Kindle devices have the same return policy as the new devices and come with the same warranty. You also get the free one month of Prime as well.

I have purchased multiple refurb laptops from Dell and a refurb iPod from Apple and all three devices look brand new and have been just as reliable. What I generally don’t trust refurbs from third-party companies, this Kindle deal is direct from Amazon so you know they will stand behind the device should anything go wrong.

(note: Kindle Fire link is an aff link to Amazon)

Find more stories about: Amazon, Android, Kindle, Kindle Fire, mobile, tablet