Shark Tank Recap – March 16

Below is a recap of the March 16, 2012 episode of the ABC show Shark Tank (episode 307). If you are unfamiliar with Shark Tank, the concept is simple – entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of investors and the investors have to provide at least the amount the entrepreneur is seeking for a deal to be completed.

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

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

Pitch #1 -Tower Paddleboards

Stephan Aarstol was first up into the tank with his bikini model to pitch Tower Paddleboards. Stephan was seeking $150k for 10% equity in his company. He lost himself in the pitch – luckily Damond brought him back. Tower Paddleboards is a brand of standup paddleboards. Stephan explained that his strength is internet marketing and he owns 3 out of the 4 top Google slots for “standup paddleboards”. Barbara said Stephan was the worst presenter she’s ever seen. The company has $100k sales in 4 months – all online.

Kevin O’Leary offered Stephan $150k for 50% but Stephan declined Kevin’s offer. Mark suggested that this business was setup to flip and Mark offered $150k for 30% but Mark wants first chance to invest in future companies that Stephan creates. Kevin came back with $150k for 25% and in the end Stephan accepted Mark Cuban’s offer.

Shark Tank Update – Readerest Magnetic Glasses Holder

I don’t even need to talk about the update – I wrote about it as soon as the product hit QVC!  The Readerest magnetic glasses holder signed a deal with Lori Greiner earlier this season and then the next day they were live on QVC. Read my full post about the pitch and the day on QVC.

Pitch #2 – Instant Lifts

Next up was Nick and Penelope pitching Instant Lifts which are some clear tape with a formula to suck in areas on a women’s body to make them look good. They have $75k in sales in their first 4 months of operation. The issue from the sharks is that the duo has other products they are selling that are not part of the deal and the sharks worry that there won’t be enough time to make Instant Lifts successful.

Unfortunately Nick and Penelope left the tank with no deal. At least we learned the definition of Bingo Wings from Damond!

Pitch #3 – Vinamour

Gary DeJohn was up next with the Vinamour (the name may be spelled differently as it was never displayed on the screen) – a device you put in a wine glass to make the wine taste better using aeration. The Vinamour cuts overpouring costs for restaurants. Unfortunately Gary was unable to secure a deal with the sharks. Gary said in the endcap that he plans to sell the company in a year for $40 million and come back to laugh at them.

Pitch #4 – Miso Media

Last up was Miso Media and CEO Aviv Grill. I think this is the first company in the Shark Tank with a large venture capital round already ($3 million from various investors including Google Ventures. Miso Media won the Tech Crunch Disrupt 2010 SF Audience Choice Award. The company creates iPad apps for music education. Aviv was seeking $300k for 5% of the company.

I could be wrong but it appears that the show’s taping was before the $2.4 million Miso Media raised in September.

As of the time of the show’s taping, Miso Music, the first app has 35,000 downloads and $40,000 in sales.

Kevin offered $100k for 3.3% and Robert offered $300k for 10%, Aviv countered at $300k for 7%. Mark Cuban offered $300k for 8% and Aviv accepted.