Shark Tank Recap – March 23

Below is a recap of the March 23, 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.

(apologies for the delay in posting this recap, my area didn’t air the show last night so I had to wait for the web version)

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

Pitch #1 -The Ave

Nick Romero pitched his custom store seeking $125k for 15% of The Ave. Nick’s shop allows customers the ability to create custom clothing in minutes. The items include shirts, hats, sneakers in the store using images provided by customers. Nick’s printing process is patented and Nick suggests that people of all ages create products in his shop. He is looking to expand The Ave into a nationwide chain of stores. Shoes cost $28 for the shoes plus the custom printing. To-date the store generated $570k in sales and $150k in profit. The printers cost $55,000 and are patented.

Unfortunately Nick left with no deal.

Shark Tank Update – Ride On Carry On

Barbara signed a deal last season with the Ride On Carry On team. Before Shark Tank, their sales were $40k, in the six months after their episode aired, sales of the baby carrier has grown to $500k.

Pitch #2 – BarkEm’s

Blake St Clair was seeking $100k for 51% stake in Barkem’s, a mobile pet food container. Basically it’s a tv dinner for pets – Bark’ems is a way to easily feed your dog on the go. You pop the tv dinner into your bag and then when it is time to feed the dog, you pop out the Bark’ems and the dog enjoys the food. Barkem’s comes in three sizes: small, medium and large depending on the size of your dog. Mark Cuban called it a, “lunchable for dogs”. Kevin O’Leary questioned why a dog owner wouldn’t just put the food in a bag. Mark really liked the idea and could see pet food companies filling the product with food for sale. One important clarification, the deal is ONLY for the plastic case, not the food.

Unfortunately Blake left without a deal.

Pitch #3 -Brewer’s Cow

Steve Albert and his partners were seeking $125k for 15% of the Brewer’s Cow ice cream. The idea of the product is to combine beer and a premium ice cream. And in case you were wondering, the alcohol is removed during the ice cream process. Been in business for a year and sold $5,000 in ice cream after production. The team signed a small, initial deal with Whole Foods to put 50 cartons of the beercream into a store (this was a bit confusing as to the total value of the WF deal during the presentation).

Unfortunately the team left without a deal.

Pitch #4 – Go Go Gear

Go Go Gear is a product line focused on motorcycle enthusiasts. Desirée Estrada and her partner were asking for $300k investment for 15% equity. The clothing line offers fully protective gear for those who ride motorcycles and scooters.  The clothing is fashionable and not like a typical motorcycle jacket. Sales of the line last year were $172k. The team said that their plan is to enter Europe and the sharks hammered the pair of entrepreneurs that it was the absolute wrong strategy. Mark Cuban explained that you must babysit a business during the initial stages and you can’t go overseas out of the gate.

The sharks bashed the Go Go Gear team on their $2 million valuation. The two entrepreneurs came back with a new offer of $300k for 50% of Go Go Gear. The team moved the equity percentage to 65% for a $300k investment. Robert and Damond wanted to come together on a deal but at the end, Robert went out. At the last minute, Damond shook hands on a deal for $300k for 65% of the company. Pretty amazing how in under an hour, Go Go Gear moved from $300k/15% to $300k for 65%.