Shark Tank with Guest Sarah Blakely

Shark Tank with Guest Sarah Blakely

Date: October 31, 2017

Salutations, Sharkthusiasts!  Another exciting episode of Shark Tank aired this past Sunday and it bore some rater interesting negotiations.


Shark Tank Recap: Season 9, Episode 6

Sharks looking to invest: Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Daymond John,, Kevin O’Leary and Guest Shark Sarah Blakely of Spanx.

Novel Effect

First up into the Shark Tank were Matt and Melissa Hammersley from Seattle Washington with Novel Effect, an app that helps liven up bedtime stories with a tech-y little twist: it uses voice recognition to add background music, sound effects and character voices in all the right places as parents read aloud.

Asking investment Terms: $500k in exchange for 10% of the company.

Product Positioning: Novel Effect is definitely a “nice to have” but focusing on the intent to bring people closer together in a hi-tech way should be a tactic that will appeal to parents and caregivers.

How we would have helped: Once Matt asserted that Novel Effect is currently in the pre-revenue stage, the sharks all seemed to take a big step back. Here at Idea Buyer, we would take that as a green light to help the Hammersley’s develop a strategy for building their customer base. Combining a well thought out marketing strategy with positive and informative PR would be the best way to simultaneously create brand recognition and build a customer base.

Shark Tank Feedback: The sharks were skeptical about Novel Effect’s business model because it relied heavily on the assumption that consumers who purchase books would be interested enough in Novel Effect to purchase it as complimentary item; this is a realistic concern, given the sharp decline in book sales.

Conclusion: Despite these objections, the Hammersley’s managed to land a pretty sweet deal-shaking hands with Lori over a $500k investment for a 15% stake. Not too shabby!

 

Father Figure

Andrew Bentley from Madison Wisconsin came to showcase Father Figure, a forward thinking line of apparel that creates paternity clothing to assist new dad’s in soothing and caring for their infants.

Asking investment terms: $80,000 for 15%

Product Positioning: Father Figure is positioned as the counterpart to maternity clothing, so initially the target market would be very wide: any man who has children.

How we would have helped: Andrews number’s are at a huge disconnect from the concept. While the product is a great idea, many parents don’t have the luxury of being able to afford a shirt that retails for $128. We would assist Andrew by doing market research and target market feedback to gain information about what the consumer would be willing to spend on such a product. With that information we would strategize a manufacturing process that would enable him to lower his retail prices to price points that might resonate more with members of his target audience.

Shark Tank Feedback & Conclusion: Unfortunately Andrew walked away with no deal but he did get a lot of advice. The sharks maintained that he was simply too early-in his process, in his design, in his market. Andrew’s biggest takeaway should focus on the need to develop his products a lot more-figuring out what makes his products necessary to drive home consumer pain points should be his next step-as well as making the price tag a little easier on the eyes!

 

Drainwig

Jennifer and Gifford from Salem Utah came next with Drainwig, a solution to the icky age old problem of clogged drains. Their five lovely long haired daughters all share one shower-leading them, out of necessity to to create the Drainwig, a small yet simple devices that catches and holds hair, making it easy to remove and dispose of.

Asking Investment Terms: $300k for 5%

Product Positioning: This is definitely the type of product that is an every-house necessity. It is doubtful that a person who enjoys pulling hair out of a drain ever existed and this product makes it an easy and fast chore for all the people who don’t enjoy it.

How we would have helped: When initially working with partner products, Idea Buyer’s goal is to set them up with the development necessary to become a fully functioning business. While Drainwig isn’t hurting for funds, the need for expertise in business knowledge, including marketing and logistics, is crucial-and those are areas that Idea Buyer excels in. We regularly negotiate with vendors, suppliers and manufacturers and would be able to help the Hammersley’s negotiate supply chain management.

Shark Tank Feedback: Jennifer and Gifford’s product is successful, evidenced by their $14.5 million in revenue. Their only conflict is not knowing enough about business to take control over their logistics.. Lori expressed her opinion that while they may need assistance with the business side, the business is doing well enough to make her confident that they could figure it out, while Mark was completely averse to the idea of investing in a company he would have to take the reins for.

Conclusion: Lori’s prowess for  marketing and infomercials put her in a position to be able to offer $300,000 for a hefty 25% stake but in the end Kevin swooped in with a counter offer of 15% for $300k.

 

Brazyn Life

Nate Lawrie and Tom Hopkins from Santa Barbara offered up for shark scrutiny a product from their line Brazyn Life that they call the Morp-the first collapsible chiropractic foam rollers. Foam rollers like Morps are designed for athletes to roll their backs on for therapeutic relief after workouts and games. Most foam rollers are large and bulky-the Morp is compact and collapsible making it easily portable.

Asking Investment Terms: $225k for 10%

How this product was positioned: Brazyn’s target market is the entirety of the very lucrative sports industry-anyone who works out or plays a sport would benefit from the Morp. Nate and Tom’s research into the industry revealed that there is nothing like their product on the market as of yet, giving them the enormous advantage of being pioneers.

How we would have helped: Again with this product it is a numbers game. We would like to see the Morp with both more efficient manufacturing numbers and a more realistic profit margin. Tackling the process of streamlining the manufacturing process to ensure that the final product is more affordable would be the most effective way to begin. Once those numbers are determined, Idea Buyer would have assisted Morp with EDI management and driven sales to online retail platforms.

Shark Tank Feedback: Kevin and Sarah were not confident that the Morp’s valuation was accurate; they both asserted concerns on price per unit. Interestingly, Mark withdrew abruptly and declined to give any reason at all.

Conclusion: Brazyn Life’s CEO’s were presented with two fantastic offers of $225k for a 20%-both offers were forged from partnerships; Lori and Sarah partnered up opposed by Kevin and Daymond. Shockingly the team managed to get both partnerships to bump up their offers an additional $250k! Tom and Nate ended up going with Lori and Sarah, likely because of Lori’s reiteration of her mastery of infomercials.

What do you think Shark Tank Fans? If it were your money, would you invest in any of these products? Why or Why not?

Idea Buyer is a new product development company that works with inventors and entrepreneurs to turn their idea into a business. Contact us today to get started!

Media contact: Tyiesha Evans tevans@ideabuyer.com, (832) 683-1527

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