Original subtitles

10

10 y

10 yea

10 years

10 years i

10 years in

10 years in th

10 years in the

10 years in the ma

10 years in the maki

10 years in the making

10 years in the making.

10 years in the making. Yo

10 years in the making. You'

10 years in the making. You're

10 years in the making. You're r

10 years in the making. You're rea

10 years in the making. You're ready

10 years in the making. You're ready.

Narrator: "Shark Tank" is for anyone who dares to dream.

I've seen all my clients go out

and make millions of dollars, and I'm like, man,

I should do that myself.

The risk takers.

I've put in almost $1 million.

-Oh! -Whoa!

We decided to sell our house.

We moved into a camper.

We lived in a camper for two years.

Herjavec: Are you kidding? Narrator: The innovators.

It's really cool.

The pioneers, the doers.

This will be a generation-defining game.

Narrator: And those with zero quit.

[ Crying ] I've brought this to almost $5 million in sales.

I know I come off as maybe a kind of unassuming guy,

but I'm an animal.

[ Laughter ] I get stuff done.

I love that entrepreneurial drive and I live it every day.

Narrator: This season we have exciting new guest Sharks.

Todd Graves,

the founder of fast-dining phenomenon Raising Cane's.

Jamie Kern Lima,

creator of smash-hit makeup brand IT Cosmetics,

which sold to L'Oreal for $1.2 billion.

And tonight,

venture capitalist and limited partner of the Atlanta Falcons

Rashaun Williams joins the Tank.

I was an early investor in Coinbase,

Robinhood, Ring, Casper.

If I invest in this, this thing is going to catch fire.

O'Leary: The power of the Tank is to take the story

and amplify it geometrically.

Narrator: Some will stumble.

This was a failure.

But failures can be the seeds of your success.

Narrator: Some will soar.

I actually quit my job last week.

Wow!

How good did that feel? It felt good.

That's the American dream.

I want to get a deal! I don't want to mess around.

You're in the Shark Tank. We care if you can make money.

Money! Yes!

Narrator: A brand-new season begins now.

We are not leaving the Tank without a deal! Yes!

You kidding me right now?!

That was exhilarating! Boom!

Whoo! You better watch out, buddy,

'cause the teeth are coming out.

Why are we wasting our time?

You have no idea what you're doing!

You're so mean, Kevin.

What other country can you build what you've built?

America is still the best country in the world.

I think you've got the whole package.

This could be our biggest deal ever.

Whoo! It should be painful.

We made it all the way to "Shark Tank"!

-Yeah, baby! -Oh!

We're gonna take you to the moon.

Wow!

♪♪

Narrator: First in the Tank is a healthier way

to take the edge off.

♪♪

Hello, Sharks.

I'm Megan Klein from Miami, Florida.

Yeah! I'm seeking $500,000

for 5% of my company, Little Saints.

Sharks, very far from a teetotaler,

I have always loved a good cocktail.

Back when I was a lawyer, I was your classic

"work hard, play hard."

During the day I exercised,

ate healthy, and worked really hard, and at night,

I rewarded myself with cocktails.

I always loved drinking and socializing,

but after a while it really started

to make me feel terrible.

But I'm a partier. I never wanted to stop drinking.

I just wanted to drink something that was better than alcohol.

And that's why I created Little Saints,

non-alcoholic cocktails and spirits

fueled by functional mushrooms,

so that I didn't have to choose between having fun

and feeling good.

And that's why I modeled Little Saints

after my favorite cocktails,

like Espresso Martini and Spicy Margarita,

which are beloved by even the most discerning bartenders

for their sophisticated taste and smell.

Little Saints are sugar free, only five calories per serving,

and boosted by functional mushrooms

like reishi and lion's mane.

So, which one of you Sharks wants to join me on my mission

to radically transform the way that we drink

with Little Saints?

Whoo! Alright, let's drink.

So on your left, the shortest glass,

that is our number-one top-selling can.

That's a Paloma.

This is actually pretty good.

That is very good.

Greiner: Yeah, it is good. It's tasty.

Klein: We use two different kinds of mushrooms

that make you feel something.

The mushroom in the Paloma that you just drank

and in that espresso martini, that's a reishi mushroom.

If you have a whole can of that,

it'll give you that, like, "take the edge off" feeling.

It's especially pronounced if you have like, a stressful day. Ooh!

John: Okay. Ah, eww!

Greiner: I know, Mark, I'm having...

That's not my kind of taste.

Yeah, it's not mine either.

I love it. I love it. Yeah.

I already knew I was going to.

These are non-psychedelic mushrooms.

Thank you very much.

They are non-psychedelic mushrooms.

They do not get you high.

O'Leary: Megan, I am a member of the mushroom community

and I invest in it.

Lion's mane has really taken off lately. He actually is serious this time.

Non-psychedelic,

but a lot of very interesting medicinal metrics around it.

Tell us about the business

because you're saying this thing is worth $10 million.

Absolutely.

How many of these drinks have you had before you got out here?

[ Laughter ]

Klein: Kevin, I'm going to tell you about the sales,

but I would love to tell you about my story first.

So I graduated from college and law school with honors.

I practiced as an attorney in New York --

Good for you. ...before I pivoted into pursuing my dream

of becoming an entrepreneur.

So this is not my first rodeo.

I ran a hydroponic basil farm. I love that.

I then started a national plant-based

salad dressing and dip brand.

Got my Kellogg MBA

while I was running the plant-based foods brand. Wow.

So, anyways, I had savings, and so that's why

I started Little Saints on my own.

How much did you put in?

I put in $1 million overall.

Whoa! Wow!

You're all in on that. Hey!

Hello! Okay.

And then I raised $2.2 million

in outside capital.

What valuation? $6 million.

And then the last one was $9 million.

Okay. But that was in October 2023.

We've grown 600% since then.

So, 600% is how much?

So we've done $5 million in the last 12 months.

O'Leary: In sales? Really?

Klein: In sales. Yeah.

Tell us, do you have any debt on this company?

We have a line of credit.

How much?

We have a $650,000 line and I have 500 drawn on it.

I have -- I'll just tell you, I have $200,000 in the bank,

and I have $600,000 in receivables.

O'Leary: $200,000 cash. You're cutting it close then right now.

We're only burning $30,000 a month.

So what did you spend the money on, then? Well...

Marketing. Story or...?

She's gonna tell us a story. Listen, I made a lot of mistakes

before we figured out how to get it right.

We realized that, like, the only way

to reach the people that actually wanted

the non-alcoholic drinks was to just pivot

and become a D-to-C company, and that's what we did.

So 2022, when we only did $500,000 in sales,

we lost $1.1 million.

Okay. Okay, so that was a disaster area.

And then 2024, we have done $4 million in sales,

and we have only lost, like, almost $160,000.

A little less than $160,000. There we go. Yeah.

What's your best seller?

The St. Ember, the bottled spirit.

John: And how much does it sell for?

The bottled spirit sells for $49.99.

Damn! Whoa!

Greiner: And what does it cost you to make?

It costs $7, and with shipping, all the fulfillment cost,

boxes, all that stuff, it costs $23.

So do you know what your CAC is and your ROAS?

Yeah, of course. Our CAC is $42.

That's a Kellogg MBA right here you're talking to.

$42 in CAC. Klein: $42, and our ROAS is above 2.5 for the year.

And then the long-term value of that customer is about 160.

So you have a four times LTV to CAC, which is amazing.

When do you see cash flow break even?

Probably Q4-- This month.

Hey! You got it. Yeah.

Look, I know the space very well.

I know this industry.

And what I know better than this industry is a good founder

when I see one -- I think you're a great founder.

I'm not even worried about whatever ask,

you're going to give me a very straight answer.

You pivoted. You figured out DTC.

Love it.

The traction you have is amazing.

The industry is amazing.

So, what I would like to do,

I will give you your $500,000.

I want 10%.

Cuban: Hello.

That's one times my actual sales in the past year,

and I just hit profitability in the past quarter.

Thank you for the offer. Mm-hmm. I love it.

I think it's a great deal. It's a $5 million valuation.

Would you be willing to...

What -- What --

I wouldn't have to raise again

if you gave me $500,000 for 5% of my company

and I had access to a $2 million line of credit,

for which I would, of course, pay you interest.

But that's not what he wants.

I know. That's my counter.

[ Laughter ]

You're asking for more and you're giving me less.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: All Sharks are still in.

Rashaun has offered $500,000 for 10% of Megan's

nonalcoholic cocktail company, Little Saints.

But she has countered with a bigger ask

than what she initially offered.

You thought you were gonna come in here

and we're just going to be just giving you

exactly what you want?

No, she wants more now, too.

O'Leary: I just want to point something out.

There's investment,

and then there's "Shark Tank" investment,

with the aura of "Shark Tank"

and the 100 million eyeballs in syndication.

You think that's free?

Listen, first of all, I love the kind of woman

that when her feet hit the ground in the morning,

the competition says, "Oh, crap, she's up."

Okay?

And you're that kind of woman, I think.

-Mm-hmm. -Thank you.

But I can't really participate in the drink so much.

I don't really do sour drinks.

I can't really eat citrusy things.

When I do a deal,

I want to have the passion for the person, which I have here,

but I need to have the passion for the product too

and participate in it.

I wish you really good luck, but I have to be out.

Thank you, Lori.

Your valuation is way too high.

I think that is my biggest challenge

because you're finding growth, and I love it.

But it's just not for me. I'm out.

Thank you. But it tastes good.

Cuban: Yeah, Megan, here, I just don't do medicinals

because there's just no barriers to entry other than

how much capital you invest to market it,

and there's always going to be somebody willing to spend more.

Mark, may I interrupt you really quick? Sure.

I just want to make sure that -- it's not a medicinal.

There's no -- The mushrooms in here are FDA GRAS.

No, I get that, right.

It's just people who are buying it

aren't buying it to drink it like water.

So for those reasons, I'm out.

But congratulations on what you've accomplished.

I think it's great.

O'Leary: Megan, great presentation.

I know the category 'cause I'm in the wine business.

I actually had an offer for you,

but it's pointless at this point

because you're having a hard time at 10%.

I was going to do it for 15%

because I have millions of followers that buy my wine,

and so many of them are going into that journey

of looking for alternatives for alcohol.

What if I went in with Rashaun and we said,

look, we'll both come in, but we want 15%.

Williams: Yeah, I'll do that.

And you get two Sharks and the whole machine

we both have.

Megan, I'm on a winning streak in beverages.

That's why I'm so confident about this.

If you get your revenue to $50 million,

you can sell this business for 4 to 6 times revenue.

You can get there faster with us.

It's just a choice.

What do you want to do?

I want to get the value that I've worked

and my team's really worked hard for.

And if you're going to give me a $3.5 million valuation,

I think I have to say no.

Would you do it for 10%?

Yes or no for 10?

Let me check in with my intuition for a second here,

if you guys give me a minute.

While you're checking with your intuition,

the question is,

will you get a higher valuation in the future

with one or both of us,

or a higher valuation in the future on the path

that you're going now?

Would the two of you come in

for $1 million for 10% of the company?

No. No.

Really?!

Mark, you can do it if you want.

It's just not my space, but --

That's the same valuation as 500K for 5%.

So I appreciate the math, but I like math just like you.

Cuban: But it's about the scale.

Hey, guys, it's starting to make sense to me.

I think these things are working. [ Laughter ]

We might do it for 10%.

We're not going to do it for less.

10% for $500,000. What do you want to do?

I want to say thank you very much for having me on the show.

I have so much respect for all of you,

and I'm going to decline the offer.

-Good for you. -Alright, alright.

Good for you. Yeah, Megan.!

-Good luck, Megan. -Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Klein: I'm proud of myself for sticking to my guns.

I know what my company is worth. I know what I'm worth.

Little Saints is going to be successful no matter what.

And the Sharks are going to regret not taking

my original offer.

I think she's undervaluing our value add.

She has no idea who she's competing with.

I know because I'm investing in these brands.

She thinks she's going to go out to the venture community.

and raise $25 million? By the way, tomorrow morning,

I won't even remember what she looks like.

Well, it depends on how much you drink of that.

[ Laughter ]

Williams: I would describe myself as an investor

and a financial literacy advocate.

I grew up on the South Side of Chicago.

We grew up very poor in a neighborhood

where you're watching everyone live

the American dream from afar, rampaged by drugs and gangs.

We probably got evicted every year I was in high school.

You know, you get off the bus

and you see your stuff on the curb.

But all of those things really inspired me to understand money

and understand why some people don't have these issues

and why others do.

And then what can I do to stop this from happening

to my family, but also to my entire community?

As a student,

I was probably the most serious 12-year-old

you would ever meet in your life.

I was so focused that I wouldn't let anybody

or anything distract me.

Morehouse was the only school I applied to.

I drove 714 miles on the first day

they were accepting applications.

The director of admissions,

he said, "You know, you can mail it."

I didn't want to wait. I said, "Hey, I have a 4.0.

I'm the president of this.

I'm the captain of this."

And he accepted on the spot,

but I couldn't afford to pay four years of college.

So I applied to over 100 scholarships,

and I wound up getting 17 scholarships.

After Morehouse,

I accepted my first job at Goldman Sachs

with one condition -- being able to work in

the Chicago office instead of the New York headquarters,

because I made a promise to my community

that I would come back.

The next 10 years, I started my first venture capital fund.

We were early investors in Coinbase, Robinhood,

Ring, Casper, PillPack, Dropbox, Lyft.

I manage over $1 billion in venture capital.

I'm a limited partner in the Atlanta Falcons

and I own a dozen businesses across the country.

You really turned $10 million in capital plus star power

into $100 million in 10 years.

One of the reasons I started working

with athletes and entertainers so much is

because an article was saying that 80% of athletes

were going broke within five years of retiring.

A lot of these guys are from my community,

so I'm teaching them how to source deals,

structure them, exit them.

We go through the top 20 reasons that startups fail.

We go through how to fund your startup.

I'm here to give you the answers to the test.

I teach financial literacy and help all of the kids

that I left behind

learn the things that I learned in order to make it out.

[ Laughter ]

Every level that I accomplish,

I'm trying to push that success a little further.

Another way to think about success,

my favorite way to think about it --

You ever go to a very exclusive party,

invite-only list, and people are standing around in that party

and they're not really dancing because they all belong there.

But then there's one guy drinking all the drinks

and dancing when no one else is,

who snuck in.

That's how I feel in life.

I'm not supposed to be here.

I consider that successful --

sneaking into the best party in the world.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: Next up is a business

that's making custom-fit products more accessible.

♪♪

Hi, Sharks.

My name is Matthew from Ventura, California,

and I'm the founder of TruFIT Customs.

Now, we know it's important

for Sharks to keep their teeth in their mouth.

Well, it's also important for athletes.

It's why they wear sports mouth guards.

But traditional mouthpieces are big, bulky, and uncomfortable.

They're the first thing left behind on your way to practice,

and they almost completely eliminate in-game communication.

How do we expect these boil-and-bust appliances

to fit everyone's unique dental profile?

And getting a custom-fit guard from the dentist

is expensive and such a hassle.

That's why TruFIT created a mouthpiece

athletes actually want to wear.

Each guard is made with the latest 3D print

and scan technology.

They feature shockwave-dampering

compression pads,

a sleek, slim profile,

and are cut so you can breathe and speak as clearly

as I'm talking to you now.

In fact...

I'm currently wearing one. [ Laughs ] Nice.

It's no coincidence

that over 1,000 professional athletes across the NFL,

NHL, PLL, NCAA, and UFC choose to wear TruFIT in our game.

But we don't just make the best mouthpiece in sports.

We're on a mission to bring custom fit to the people,

and that's why we're asking for $750,000

for 5% of our business. All: Oh!

Ay chihuahua caramba!

Whoo! Greiner: His mouthpiece fell out.

Where's my mouthpiece?

So, Sharks, we have some samples for you.

O'Leary: Now, Matt, when I get my grinder for sleep,

they laser my mouth to get a perfect fit.

Is that how you're doing these?

Because how are you going to get custom

unless you're getting the exact fit for each mouth?

It's a great question. So --

That's why I asked it, actually.

[ Laughs ] So, that impression kit right there

is what we use for our direct-to-consumer model.

So this is the gooey stuff you stick in your mouth.

Hall: So, what you're going to get at the dentist

is an alginate impression putty.

What we use is silicone putty.

It's easier to work with.

But there's a lot of these.

You have a ton of competition.

It seems like a solution to a nonexistent problem.

Since there's so many already in place, right?

Yeah, like, is there a reason

why you think there was a lane

that wasn't being taken by others?

We have a great hold on digital manufacturing.

We specifically know how to scale custom-fit fabrication.

So, when you say digital manufacturing,

are you talking about 3D printers

or actual robots?

The whole thing --

3D printers to the 3D scanning to CNC machining.

We can manufacture at such a high level

because we're almost like an assembly line.

When we're fabricating these,

we're able to do it at such high volumes

because it's machine to machine to machine to machine.

All this is great, but you have a hefty valuation,

so we want to hear about those hefty sales.

Yes, sir.

We started in 2022.

We did $115,000.

In 2023 we did $750,000.

-Mm. -Wow.

And then now this year we're expected to do $1.4 million.

That ain't worth $15 million.

Hm, okay. Now you have my attention.

And how much will you lose?

We will make money. Okay. Good for you.

O'Leary: Matt, you understand you're asking for close to 15x sales.

This is not realistic at all.

You know, Mr. Wonderful,

I know that you did your dissertation

on the dental industry. Yes, of course. You're right.

And you know there's those three big guys in the room

that are -- that own the entire market.

Yes. But the legal landscape has changed over the past years,

and it allowed direct-to-consumer

to enter this market, which is taking market share

from traditional medical practitioners.

How much does it cost you to make?

And tell us how much you're selling it for.

Our direct-to-consumer first-time customer is $95.

It costs us $31, including shipping.

Our CAC is $23.

We do about a four times return on ad spend.

And so even with that CAC,

we have about a 40% margin on our first-time customer.

Matt, the valuation is insane.

And it's not even like,

"almost reasonable so let's negotiate it."

I just don't see it working to the valuation.

So for those reasons amounts, I'm out.

Okay.

Listen, when a guy who just put another $3.5 billion

in his pocket said the valuation is too high,

it's really too high for me. [ Laughs ]

Meaning Mark.

So with that being said, I'm out.

Yeah. Thank you, Daymond.

Look, I'm super torn on this because on one hand,

I mentor and I work with over 100 athletes

who are not only athletes but they're investors,

and they like to get into product now.

It's this new generation of athletes.

And I'm a limited partner in the Atlanta Falcons.

So I'm into the product.

Let me ask a question.

How much have you raised?

We've raised a million total.

What valuation did they put it in at?

$7.5 million.

How many units are you going to be able to make

and ship this year?

You know, we'd probably look to do 20,000.

It's not a lot for world domination of mouth guards.

How are you going to get millions of customers

outside of the athletes?

Hall: So, let me explain that. And when?

So, this year, we have a team sales model

that's really budding.

What we do is we provide guards to all these teams.

They seed the players, the players love them.

Then we approach the players for an affiliate deal.

That's smart. No, that's smart.

It's an affiliate program, right?

Are you paying commission?

Yeah, yeah, we give them a percent of sale. O'Leary: Okay.

I love your deal. I like you.

I'm having a huge problem, like everybody else,

about your valuation.

Makes no sense at all. So, here's an offer for you.

I'll do the $750,000.

I'll drop my equity ask down to 3%.

But you're going to pay me two bucks a unit

until I get back $2,250,000.

I think that's a bad offer.

It's going to take me four years at your current rate.

But you get Mr. Wonderful.

We do one thing for you, and only one --

get your CAC way down.

I got millions of followers.

I got a massive social media network.

Say yes, and we fall in love in the denture business.

Wow, Kevin.

I will just tell you my thought.

You're doing things the right way,

but I think that your valuation is too high.

I would want to see a lot more proof

and it would take forever to get my money back.

I'm sorry. I'm out.

Listen, I'm a venture capitalist,

and there are two types of investments.

There are motorcycles and rocket ships.

So, motorcycles are common and they take regular fuel.

Rocket ships are rare.

Very few of them are made, and they take rocket fuel.

VC's sell rocket fuel. So I'm looking for rockets.

You don't have the growth rate and the amount of revenue

as a rocket, but you have the potential.

So you're trying to take advantage of that.

And I know why your valuation is $15 million.

Because someone told you

that you had to double the post-money valuation

of your previous round

like every other venture-backed company.

So I get all of that.

So I want to make you an offer.

Whoo!

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: Three Sharks are out.

Matthew has one offer on the table from Kevin

for his custom mouthguard company, TruFIT.

But Rashaun is also interested.

Just to give you one more summary of it.

750,000 cash-a-rino. That's a lot of money.

Yeah, yeah. 3% equity.

And two bucks a unit till I get back $2,250,000.

That's my deal.

First, don't do the royalty deal.

That's a bad deal. I would rather you take --

There's never a bad deal from Mr. Wonderful.

That's impossible.

I'd rather you take that money and reinvest it into growth.

100%. I don't want you to be profitable at all.

I don't want you increasing your expenses.

I don't want anything coming off top,

because I want you to grow that revenue

and crush all your competitors.

That's the venture way. Right?

So the first thing I want to do is I want to offer you

the $750,000.

I want to bring in 10 to 20 athletes

as brand ambassadors and/or investors.

But for that, I want 10% of the business.

The greed, the greed! I have never seen --

Cuban: That's nothing. If you say no to that...

I thought I was being generous.

Actually, that sounds smart to me.

Would you be interested in doing...

a million for 8%?

[ Groans ] You going the wrong direction here, man.

No, you're going the wrong way.

I just offered you things that are worth more than $1 million

because of my track record.

I was an early investor in Coinbase, Robinhood,

Ring, Casper, PillPack, Dropbox.

I'm literally on a winning streak.

So if I invest in this,

this thing is going to catch fire,

and you're going to raise money,

and you won't have to do anything but kick ass.

Yeah, I'm sticking to my offer, so I need an answer.

Okay. So you got two offers.

Well, we already provide to the Falcons.

So, Rashaun, I'd love to do a deal with you.

Let's go. Alright, alright, alright.

Alright. Excellent, man. Thank you.

Appreciate you. Oh, thank you.

Welcome to the family. Yeah, man.

Congrats, Matt. Congrats.

Hall: Thank you guys. Alright.

Appreciate it. Thank you.

Whoo-hoo-hoo!

Hall: This is absolutely incredible.

It gives us the opportunity

to provide to all of our customers

and really go to the next level with our custom-fit product.

So, yeah, this is...

Shark Tank's amazing.

Congratulations, man. I'm fired up about this one.

First deal. That's fantastic. Yeah.

Greiner: First deal, Rashaun! Cuban: Good job, Rashaun.

Thank you guys.

♪♪

♪♪

Narrator: Next up is a brand with a mission

to inspire cultural pride.

♪♪

Hi, my name is Sam Hyun.

And I'm Adam King.

And we're two unapologetic Asian Americans from Boston.

We're seeking $100,000 for a 15.87% stake

in our revolutionary sneaker brand.

Sharks, did you know that Asian Americans are obsessed

with sneakers

and are a huge factor in driving sneaker culture

and a significant percentage of all sneaker sales?

I'm one of those guys.

I live, breathe, and sleep sneakers.

I even slept on the street overnight

to cop a pair.

After working in the sneaker industry for 20 years,

I got so tired of hearing

that Asian Americans are "follower consumers."

And that is why we started 1587 Sneakers,

because 1587 is actually the year

that the first Asian is documented to have set foot

in what is now known as North America.

So when people say, "You're new to this country,

you're a foreigner,

go back to your country" -- What?!

We've been here 400 years!

[ Laughter ]

And so that's why we launched with the Morro Bay.

Not only is the Morro Bay a throwback

to '80s basketball sneakers,

Morro Bay is also the exact landing spot

for where that first Asian set foot in this country.

Next, we have the AP87.

This is a classic tennis silhouette

that looks great with any occasion.

All our sneakers are made with the world's greatest leather

and natural rubber,

so your sneakies will always look like a FOB --

[ Together ] Fresh out of the box.

[ Laughter ]

So, Sharks, who's ready to walk with us

and change the sneaker game forever?

Alright, love it. Love it, love it.

So, in front of you,

we have customized sneakers for each of you.

So you can smell the leather, feel the quality.

You feel the softness and the comfort.

Are you guys marketing towards Asians only

or is it just for everyone?

So, right now, we're marketing towards Asians.

One thing we're super excited about --

30% of our customers aren't Asian American.

Oh, wow. So we definitely think this has legs with everyone.

So, walk us through your business model.

You're selling direct to consumer? Correct.

Where are you sourcing the product from?

Williams: It says Italy in the tag, right? Yeah.

Italy? Yeah, it says made in Italy.

So, up until now, we did all our stuff in Italy

because they are great for small batches

and testing concepts.

This is my third sneaker startup,

so I understand the importance of having good margins.

What happened to the other two?

The first one, I was just employee number four.

We went from $800,000 to $8 million.

Then you started the next deal.

So that brand was marketed towards African Americans,

and that company was the first time for me being in charge.

And we learned -- I learned a lot on the --

So it failed miserably, is what you're saying?

[ Laughter ]

And why is this one going to work

when the other two didn't? Great question.

Because of our messaging.

Walk me through that process. I never heard of you.

Snap my fingers -- I'm Asian now.

How are you going to communicate with me?

One of our greatest assets is Sam.

So, he is actively involved in the Asian American community.

Online everywhere?

Sam, tell us about you. What do you do?

So, I was actually born in --

just outside of Boston to a single mom.

And she worked every job under the sun

trying to make things work, and it was...

You know, the American dream tells you if you come here,

you work hard, you play by the rules,

that you can achieve anything you want.

But watching her working so hard,

working three jobs and becoming a small business owner,

you just realize that that reality

wasn't the case for everybody.

Yeah.

And so I decided that I want to dedicate myself to making sure

that America lives up to the promise that it said it would.

And so for 10 years,

I spent my career in both government and advocacy work.

So during the wake of anti-Asian hate and the rise in violence,

we spoke out a lot and we made sure

that people were understanding

what my community was going through.

So do you have a wide following

on social media right now?

About 250,000 followers.

How many people follow the company's Instagram account?

Roughly 7,000.

Ugh.

Right now, your followers,

your lifestyle brand hasn't caught up to the opportunity,

but I'm still trying to figure it out.

John: Alright, how much does it cost you to make it

and how much do you sell it for?

When we built in Italy, the landed cost was $110.

Greiner: Wow. The retail was $288.

But starting in three weeks, we transferred

90% of our production to Asia.

So now the landed cost is $50,

and we're going to retail at $175.

We wanted to make sure

that we also understood our worth as a luxury brand shoe

and we price it at that point, but also within reach

and accessible to as many people as possible.

When were you guys founded?

We've only been in operation for 10 months.

And what do you project to do for revenue this year?

We're projected for $500,000 this year.

In the last 10 months, we've done $240,000.

So, have you calculated your customer acquisition cost?

Our acquisition cost is $45

and our average purchase is $170.

You guys have to really build the lifestyle part of this.

And that's also going to help you get

your customer acquisition cost down,

because right now it's too big of a percentage

of your profit margins.

Well, what do you need? What do you need?

Well, we definitely have to scale.

So that's cash. Yeah.

What else? And be able to get into retail spaces.

So we've already started.

But are you really designed for retail?

Because I mean, that's hard to sell in retail.

And you don't get your mission statement out.

Listen, I don't think this is the right business for me.

I'm really not a very good sneaker person.

I mean, I -- you know, to get on the treadmill,

but that's like it for me.

Not the right deal, though, today.

I'm sorry. I'm out.

Thank you so much. We appreciate that.

So, guys, the shoe space,

which is 80% of your sales, is incredibly competitive.

The idea of going into retail, to me, that's sheer insanity.

This isn't for me. I'm out.

Williams: Listen, in my world,

I look at how many points of failure are there between now

and where this business needs to get to.

And the ones that have like three to seven points of failure

that we can identify and mitigate and structure around,

I'm excited about those. Sure.

And for you guys, there like 25 things that need to go right.

But the most important thing for me is the lack of traction.

If you had a bigger community,

if you were viral, like how he is personally,

and you can sell them anything,

then I can see this as a lifestyle brand

and I would be more excited.

But because it's not, I'm out.

Here's where I have a bit of a challenge with it.

I've been in this business,

and when I did buy the company Etonic,

I realized so much that goes into these, this footwear.

And I don't know if I want to take that part

of the journey with you,

especially if you're going into retail,

where you'll sell out of all your 9 1/2's and 10's,

and then you have a massive amount

of inventory sitting there

that's just going to deplete your bottom line.

And those are the things you're going to have to learn

before I would be ready to invest in you.

So, good luck. Powerful idea.

I'm out. But I love these sneakers.

Yeah, guys, I disagree with Rashaun.

You don't have 25 points of failure or problems.

You just have to find your right path.

And you want to be bigger, bigger, bigger

because you want to go into retail

'cause you think that's where you're going to scale.

So you think we should focus on D-to-C?

Yes! 100%. Greiner: Yeah.

Because you have no margin in this thing.

You'll kill it. Bam, bam, bam!

You get to control your own destiny.

You need to reel it in and just follow the course

that is organic for you.

So, for those reasons, I'm out.

Awesome. Thank you.

-Good luck, guys. -Thank you, guys.

King: The advice the Sharks gave us

is really good food for thought.

We went into this to being like,

we're doing really well in D-to-C,

but we gotta get into retail.

They've raised some really good points,

like maybe you don't need retail.

So we're definitely going to take what they say and reassess.

Just like you've talked about forever.

10 years in the making. You're ready.

Just like when I was 10 years old. You're ready.

And you're awesome, and you're a Bell.

You got this.

I'm my mother's son. You're your mother's son.

Narrator: Next up is a way

to make exercising a fun social activity.

♪♪

Hi, Sharks. My name is Destin George Bell.

I'm from Austin, Texas.

I'm the founder and CEO of Card.io, a gamified fitness app,

and I am seeking $150,000 for 5% of my company.

Sharks, cardio kind of sucks.

Maybe you're a treadmill guy or girl

who doesn't love running in place,

staring out of a window or at a wall

while numbers tick up on a display.

Great time. Hamster life.

Or maybe the jump rope.

'Cause who doesn't love jumping in place,

staring at a wall, looking semi-athletic,

hopefully, as you sweat for 5 or 10 minutes,

hoping you're burning some calories.

But today I am here to do the impossible --

make cardio suck a whole lot less.

And we're doing that with Card.io,

a gamified fitness app turning your outdoor cardio

into a giant game of Turf War.

Let me show you how that works.

So, let's say you're an athletic guy like Mark,

and you decide you're going to go for a run today.

Now, of course, Mark is going to do his 4 miles.

That's pretty easy for the Cuban man.

And as you finish, you'll see

the area of town you ran through.

But Lori, always wanting to steal a deal, decides

that she wants to run that same exact area to show Mark up.

It's turning it into a giant game of Turf War.

Think Capture the Flag,

but where the city streets, neighborhood roads,

and hiking trails are areas

that you compete to claim against other people

in your city as a team.

So, as you see here, as Lori moves to this area,

that'll actually go from Card.io green to Shark Tank blue

while tracking all of her stats.

And as you move,

you'll see that the "Shark Tank" logo will actually start

to move into the places

that the Card.io team used to have it.

Now, once Lori decides to finish up her run,

of course running a little bit faster than Mark,

she's going to finish up. [ Laughter ]

See all of her stats, and then she'll end her route.

That'll upload into our system.

She'll be able to see tracker for all the places and times

that she's run. Love that.

Now let's flash back to Mark.

He'll see that "Shark Tank" logo didn't used to be there.

And he'll go to his phone and say, "Wow,

Lori's stolen 109 blocks from my team."

He'll click on that,

see the specific areas of town that Lori went through,

how fast she went, and to get it back --

you guessed it --

he's going to have to go out there

and start hauling his butt over that way.

[ Laughs ]

Sharks, who wants to get out of the pool

and hit the streets with me and the Card.io crew?

So, how are you navigating

separating yourself from other apps?

That's where the gamification comes in, right?

Bell: Yeah. I'm glad you asked that.

So, with these other trackers,

they are focused on usually goal-oriented,

performance-based running. With our app,

we incorporate social gamification and dynamism,

where every time you go out there,

the map looks a little bit different.

It's just like a sports game.

Do I want to run the same route I did before?

I have a person on my team who ran that route.

Maybe I should go to a different part of town.

We got 22,000 users in 70 countries,

and we've had people tell us -- You do? Wow.

We do. We have 22,000 users in 70 countries.

We have 14,000 active,

400 run clubs that have signed up their groups,

and one corporate wellness pilot with Oracle.

John: Are those free downloads?

What is the revenue model after that?

Yeah, so, freemium model. We bring people in.

Again, most of you didn't know what I even meant by a turf war.

So the thing is we got to get them in,

get them to fall in love with it.

The retention rates have shown they have.

We have a 34% day-30 retention.

Are those free downloads or subscription, like...?

Just walk me through this.

Yeah. Free downloads. Free downloads. 22,000 free downloads.

And then the premium subscriptions,

which are where the revenue comes from,

is from those groups.

Like I said, it's a team-based game.

How much? Those teams -- $25 a month.

We target run clubs with organized dues and memberships.

What was your revenue last month?

Last month, $4,000. Okay.

So how are you going to get that from $4,000

to $400,000?

The biggest thing right now

is opening the doors to the places that we need to be.

We have already partnered with the San Francisco Marathon,

Austin Marathon, and the -- So, marathons.

When you say partnership... Yes.

...what does that entail?

These are run clubs that are using it as a way

to engage and track data,

which is why we've incorporated the ability to schedule events.

So you're able to schedule and say, "Hey,

we're going to go to run at Peace Park at 7 p.m."

They have the ability to have a team chat,

kudos for people to say, "Hey, nice run."

Well, that's cool right there, right?

Because -- Yeah. Exactly.

How much have you raised so far?

Started the business June 2022.

We have raised $470K as of now.

Primarily, that was from $150K in grants from Pokémon Go.

Greiner: Wow! Nice.

So, basically, I got this idea during COVID.

Like, I was broke as a joke.

I was living in my car in Austin, Texas,

trying to figure this out.

I'm not an engineer. I tried to teach myself how to.

Didn't work very well.

Wouldn't have looked as nice as it did here.

So I started DM'ing engineers. I DM'ed 400.

All of them said no, but one of them

was a founding engineer for Pokémon Go

and he loved my moxie.

He said, "I'm going to drop the CEO of Pokémon Go's email here.

Do what you want with it.

I'm not allowed to make an intro,

but I can give it to you.

Shoot your shot." So I shot him an email.

This is May of 2021. Two months later he responded.

Here's the funny part. I got on a call.

He wasn't on it.

It was three of his other people,

and they only took the call because he made them take it.

Then they said no, but I said,

"Well, I know you read them now."

So I sent them an email every week

for the next three months until eventually he said,

"Alright, kid, here's a 50K grant, get out of my inbox

and keep working on it." Whoo!

Love that. Let me just tell you, that's brilliant,

and I hate you because now everybody out there

is going to send us 600 emails a week.

Greiner: That is really amazing.

I always say the dream is free

and the hustle's sold separately.

Love it. Right?

The only problem that I have here

is that there are two things

that are not in my wheelhouse at all --

running and gaming.

I would not bring enough benefit to what you're doing.

So I'm sorry. I'm out.

That's alright. Thank you, Lori.

By the way, my mom says you're her favorite.

Aw, tell your mom I love her. But you're all her second favorite.

You're all second favorite.

How did you come up with the $3 million valuation?

150K, 5%.

I got that valuation from the fact

that investors wrote us those same terms

that we've raised on currently as of last month.

But more importantly, I'm projecting the future

of where we're going to be.

The thing you're buying today

is not going to be worth what it's worth today forever.

Everybody that's ever stood there said the same thing.

And some of them were right. And I think I'm one of them.

That's a good answer.

That's true.

Destin going for the kill.

It's not a deal for me. It's not a deal for me.

Your 4K is...

It's the beginning of proof of concept.

I don't think there's enough data

for me to pull the trigger on this.

Interesting presentation. I'm out.

The problem with this kind of business is

you are always stressed

because if you don't have critical mass,

the whole thing doesn't work.

Bell: But the thing is, the critical mass

is created through the team signing up.

It's not about competing against other teams.

It's I have a group of people

and those people are all running.

No, I get that, right? Right.

But you've got to keep enough teams,

or everybody thinks there's no app.

Right? Or that it doesn't work.

But I just don't know how I can help you scale that.

Right? I just don't see it as a fit for me, my guy.

I'm sorry. So, for those reasons, I'm out.

Alright. Thanks, Mark. Appreciate you, man.

What is really driving you to be successful right now?

What is that thing that's inside of you

that's really pushing you?

My mom is out there right now.

I used to have a really bad lisp and a stutter,

and I was a bad public speaker.

When I was 10 years old,

I was watching this show

before you were even on it, Mark.

And my mom said, "I want you to watch this show

and see how people present."

And I watched it like every Friday and Sunday

for like the first -- from like 10 to 16.

At 16 is when I first really started getting into business

and I told my mom,

"We're going to be on this show one day, Mom,

and I'm going to bring you."

She's back there waiting for me to give her a deal.

I love that. I love that.

And I'm creating generational wealth

and I want my kids to have something.

So I'm here to do that.

And I told my mom I would walk out of here with a deal.

So what do you want from me, Rashaun?

[ Laughs ] Ooh!

So, I want to go in with Daymond

because I think you're a great salesperson,

and I think you could become a good businessperson.

I think you need mentors. You need strategy.

You need access to capital.

And I've done over 100 software investments.

That's just kind of my thing.

And I really enjoy doing it.

And I enjoy mentoring young founders,

especially guys that remind me of myself,

that have that grit.

I gotta be a part of this,

and I don't care how I'm part of this.

And I love your energy.

I did the same thing. I just did it with a phone.

You know, 40 years ago, I made 50 calls a day for six months

until people picked up, and the first half of them said no.

And, you know, three months later they said,

"You're not going anywhere?" And I said nope.

And then they started to write checks

or recommend me to go other places.

So I love that.

So, one plus one equals five in this situation here.

Now, keep that in mind. Okay.

$150,000.

But we need 15%.

[ Exhales sharply ] Okay.

Why are you waiting?

How would you feel about 10%?

No, Destin! [ Laughter ]

I love it, though.

I love the guy.

No. Destin, come on, man.

No, but I love the guy's hustle.

I love it.

So I'm going to repeat, 15% for $150,000.

And you're going to get 10 more things

'cause you're going to get Daymond and I as partners.

By the way, I can hear your mother screaming,

"Take the deal, bozo!"

Yes, I can too. Take the deal.

I have one question to ask you, alright?

And I don't want the deal to be gone if I ask it.

Can I go talk to my mom?

I think you should bring your mom out.

-Bring her out! -Think she needs to hear the story.

-Can I go get her? -Yeah!

I'm gonna go get my mom. I guarantee,

she's gonna say take the deal.

Mom, come here, come here, come here, come here.

Aw, I love this guy, man.

Come on, come on. Come on. Hey, Mom.

She's actually my sister. [ Laughter ]

-Clearly. -Hey, Mom.

Mom, you heard all that, right?

Greiner: Hi, Mom! I did.

What do you think? You're right.

I was back there saying, "Boy, let's do the deal."

[ Laughter ]

Mom, talk some sense into your son.

Let's do the deal.

Rashaun, Daymond, you got a deal.

[ Cheers and applause ]

Let's go. Congratulations.

[ All exclaiming ]

How are you? This is a beautiful suit.

-Congratulations, man. -What's up, Mom?

So nice to meet you.

You have that focus, man. I love you, man.

I came here on a mission. I know you did.

And I always accomplish my mission.

I know you did, man.

[ Laughs ] Come on, man.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much!

Great job, great job. Great job.

I told you, Ma!

I told you, I'm a man of my word.

I'ma stand on business every time, man.

Every time. 10 years in the making, baby.

I planned it. 16 years old, I planned this.

Oh, my gosh.

Good one, man.

I like that kid. Cuban: That kid's awesome.

He's not playing.

Na

Narr

Narrat

Narrator

Narrator:

Narrator: Ne

Narrator: Next

Narrator: Next t

Narrator: Next tim

Narrator: Next time

Narrator: Next time on

Narrator: Next time on "

Narrator: Next time on "Sh

Narrator: Next time on "Shar

Narrator: Next time on "Shark

Narrator: Next time on "Shark Ta

Narrator: Next time on "Shark Tank

Narrator: Next time on "Shark Tank,"

Todd Graves, the founder

of fast-dining phenomenon Raising Cane's, joins the Tank.

I love that entrepreneurial drive, and I live it every day.

It's an addicting feeling you crave over and over again.

You will have a mouthwatering feast.

Let's eat. We need your help

bringing our innovative products to more customers.

Little Mr. Wonderful here's saying, "Do the deal,"

and the other guy says, "What are you, an idiot?"

Boy, you're a little frisky.

One of the most innovative things I've seen in my life.

I'm ready to go to the moon.

Bring the sales. Now you're the Sharks.

-- Captions by VITAC --

♪♪

♪♪

♪♪