Shark Tank premiered Sunday, running against NBC’s NFL “Hall of Fame Game” averaged only 4.2 million viewers. Not exactly the strongest numbers but its something to build on. (so tell your friends)
Five money hungry sharks decide weather to invest their own money into a hopeful entrepreneurs business. The Sharks of “Shark Tank” are real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, “infomercial” industry pioneer Kevin Harrington, technology innovator Robert Herjavec, fashion icon Daymond John and financial expert Kevin O’Leary.
Tod Wilson of Mr. Tod’s Pie Factory was first into the tank, he needed money to expand his business to meet demand. Although he ran a profitable retail pie business over 50% of his business came from wholesaling sweet potato pies, he had sales of over $850,000 last year. McDonald’s is interested in carrying his product in the southern states. He was asking $460,000 for a 10% stake in his business. Barbara and Daymond offered the money for 50% of his company and Tod accepted the deal.
Darrin Johnson presented his invention called Ionic Ear. He was looking for $1 million for a 15% stake in his company. The Ionic Ear is a Bluetooth device which is surgically implanted in the ear. As expected the Sharks laughed at him, and he didn’t get any investment. I actually wonder if this was a real business because I am unable to find any reference to a Darrin Johnson or a Bluetooth device called Ionic Ear anywhere online…
The next entrepreneur was Kevin Flannery who had to mortgage his house to keep his company WiSpots afloat. WiSpots is a content delivery system (advertising) which would be set up in doctors offices allowing patients to surf the net while waiting for their appointments. He was seeking $1.2 million for a 10% steak in his business. The units cost a little over $9 thousand and the sharks were positive doctors would not pay for it. They all opted out, and encouraged him to give up his business.
Next to enter the tank was Tiffany Krumins. She was looking for a $50 thousand investment for a 15% stake in her business, Emmy, an elephant that helped deliver medicine to difficult children. Tiffany was in need of mentorship, she had no patent, no mold, and nothing much more than a idea. Barbara offered Tiffany the money for a 55% stake, which she accepted.
Last was Omar Solomon and Nick Friedman with their business College Foxes Packing Boxes. They would send good-looking girls to help pack up boxes on moving day. This business was a sister business to College Hunks Hauling Junk which sent guys to help move. Omar and Nick were only offering an investment in College Foxes Moving Boxes but the sharks wanted both. Omar and Nick asked for $1 milling for a 10% stake in both business. No one was interested, Robert counted with $250 thousand for a 10% take in College Hunks Hauling Junk and a 50% stake in College Foxes Packing Boxes. The guys were not interested.
Next week the Sharks hear a pitch from Mark Furigay an inner-city schoolteacher who has a unique way to get kids to learn. Sensing that a gourmet food business is about to make it big, Susan Knapp the owner watches as the Sharks fight it out for a piece of her business. Also, the Sharks are so impressed with a life-saving idea that an astonishing one million dollar offer is made. Will this headstrong entrepreneur accept the offer or will his ego stand in the way?
Tags: ABC, Barbara Corcoran, College Foxes, Daymond John, economy, Funding, Ionic ear, Kevin Harrington, kevin O'Leary, Mark Burnett, Mr. Tod's, Recap, Robert Herjavec, shark tank, Sharks, Tiffany Krumins, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, WiSpots
[...] In The Shark Tank has a good recap of the first episode of the The Shark Tank: [...]
I believe Barbara actually DID offer Tiffany the money she wanted, but Barabara wanted a 55% stake in the company. Tiffany eventually accepted. Great show. Can’t wait to see the next one.
I would encourage everybody to take a look at http://www.wispots.com. The Sharks were way off base and didn’t take the time to listen to what WiSpots really is. The representation of what we offer and what the cost to physicians is was completely misrepresented or misunderstood because I didn’t get a chance to clarify. My “swim with the Sharks” stung a bit as I was not allowed to clarify the Sharks misconception but the American people got it. I am very happy I didn’t give up as the Sharks suggested. I am so thankful to Mark Burnett productions and ABC for giving me this shot! Keep your eyes out for WiSpots, big things are happening.
Respectfully,
Not Chum
I agree with Kevin. The Sharks were totally clueless. Has anyone heard of Phreesia – it’s the same exact concept as Wiispots and is raking in millions of dollars annually (of course, I wonder if there are intellectual property issues). The problem was in the presentation – it should have led with the revenue model and then gotten into the execution. If it’s a media and data analysis play – like Phreesia – then there is no reason why to charge docs $9k. I think those two things completely derailed the pitch. It’s all about the data…not killing time.
Ok – read your writing before you hit publish…there are more grammatical errors in this than the myspace page of a 12 year old!!
I agree with Half a brain!! Even if he read it – he’d still hit send! He is either ignorant or just doesn’t care. I don’t know which is worse!!
Oh please. Sure, the grammar could have been checked, but it doesn’t bother me as much as it would have had it been in all caps or lower case. And Half a brain, maybe you could have spelled “MySpace” in proper camel case and properly hyphenated “12-year-old.”
Kudos to the creator of this blog. I always make sure to catch the repeats on Hulu. I did mention to my cousin (who I also ended up introducing the show to) that it’s like American Inventor. Anyone remember the Bladder Buddy?
Apparently this show is the American equivalent of the Japanese show, “Dragons’ Den.”
Don’t let these guys rip you off! Last nights episode showed just what a couple of these huys are made of. They are looking to put your hard work in there pockets and leave you holding nothing.
When is the last time anyone in the USA won a case against the so-called US Patent Office. It is a privately owned company, not owned or operated in the United States. Is anyone surprised they never get anywhere with their ideas. The whole thing is a fraud.
Dear “Clueless Rosemary”
Patent office is located in Alexandria, Virginia and is run by the Dept. of Commerce.
I saw this show for the first time tonight. It was So Good!!!! Finally something in reality TV that’s not mindless and boring. I can’t wait to see the next, the next, and the following shows. I’ve always dreamed of coming up with an idea that the public could really use and that I can make lots of money from. Seeing this show has inspired me to put more emphasis into that dream yet it’s given me pointers as what to do once I invent the invention of all inventions. Please, never cancel this show or at least not let the sharks get bored before they get a chance to critique my multi-million dollar idea. Do you have suggestions to links I could research concerning patents and how they are obtained as well as sights that can produce prototypes for the idea I have in mind?
How long do you think Shark Tank will keep its strong ratings? Seems every show is getting better, but what do you think the public is saying about it? Thanks.
Also, I agree with Kevin above. The Sharks were mislead. Wispots is an up and coming product we see in the mass media sooner than later.