Alashe Nelson founder of EZ VIP came to The Shark Tank seeking $150,000 for 15%.  EZ VIP is an OpenTable for NightLife which allows user to purchase bottle service, a VIP table, etc via their technology.  Their value proposition is access and convenience.  Mark Cuban initially opted out because he wasn’t sure he could get into this business.  Kevin O’Leary also quickly opted out.

Robert Herjavec offered $75,000 if Daymond John got in.  Daymond John said he’d put in $75,000 along with Herjavec but wanted 45%.  Alashe said it was not enough and countered with 18% for $150,000.  Daymond said he’d sweeten the deal by putting recording artist Pit Bull in as a brand ambassador.  At this point, Mark Cuban re-entered saying he’d do a deal with Daymond John if Robert gets cut out.

Robert Herjavec got pretty upset about this, but Cuban responded he simply didn’t care and said it was personal.  Herjavec said he was sick of Cuban just coming in to deals like this.

Daymond John said he will cut out Herjavec like a “scurvied dog” and went in with Mark Cuban.  At this point, Robert Herjavec and Kevin O’Leary partnered to offer $150,000 for 25% of the company.  Daymond John offered $150,000 for 30% of the company to counter and would bring an A List artist to the table.  Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec countered with $150,000 for 20%.  Barbara Corcoran who opted out said that Alashe needs to think about who he’d have fun with as an investor and therefore should kick Herjavec and O’Leary to the curve.

Ultimately, Alashe chose Cuban and John because of the brand value they could bring.

Michael Levin whose business, BusinessGhost, can help anyone become a published author was seeking $200,000 for 10% of the company on The Shark Tank. Michael Levin offers customers who want to publish a book ghostwriting service so they can use the book as a marketing tool.

Robert Herjavec didn’t understand how the business scales. They charge $35,000 to $75,000 for each ghost written book which includes 50-100 copies of their book. Daymond John asked why is he limiting the genre to business books and questioned the size of the market.

Continue reading “BusinessGhost Gets Shut Down on Shark Tank – It’s a Weightlifting Snowman” »

My Wonderful Life presented on The Shark Tank asking for $100,000 for 10% of the company. The company founded by Nancy Bush and Sue Christoff offers a website that lets people plan for their funeral while they are alive so they can be remembered and celebrated when they die in the way they want.

My Wonderful Life lets users go online and fill out a wishlist for their funeral. According to My Wonderful Life, the funeral industry is an $11 billion business. To make money, My Wonderful Life has teamed up with an insurance company and they make a lead generation fee from the insurance company for insurance policies they sell. At present, the site has 7000 users over 3 years and they’ve not grossed any revenue.

Continue reading “My Wonderful Life Dies on The Shark Tank – Doesn’t Get Investment” »

Clean Bottle owner Dave Mayer came to the Shark Tank seeking $60,000 in exchange for 5% of the company. His product was a water bottle which had a removable bottom which makes cleaning the bottle easier. Launched in May 2011, Clean Bottle sold 150,000 units grossing $750,000 since inception. Robert Herjavec thought it was a simple idea that he was surprised it had not been done before. In a surprise, Bill Walton came in as the company mascot because he is a fan of the product. Walton had no equity stake.

Daymond John offered $60,000 for 25% of the company. Dave said it only valued the company at $240,000 which was not that interesting. Kevin O’Leary offered $60,000 for no equity and wanted a royalty of $.50 per bottle sold. Dave thought taking money out of the business at this stage wasn’t prudent.

Continue reading “Clean Bottle Cleans Up on Shark Tank – Dave Mayer is a “Pig” According to Daymond John” »