@ Traditional Fisheries

Traditional Fisheries swam into the Tank seeking $225,000 in exchange for 25% equity in their business. Let's break this down.

The Problem: Lionfish have become the second most populous fish in the Atlantic Ocean over the past 20 years due to its lack of predators. The fish possesses venomous spines which serve to protect it from attackers, which allows the species to flourish without fear as they consume everything in sight from lobster larva to coral reefs. Our oceans have enough problems as it is, and this fish certainly does not seem to be helping the ecology in any way, shape, or form.

The Proposed Solution: Traditional Fisheries, in conjunction with Mexican spear fishing cooperatives, work to catch these fish one at a time. The fish has been deemed edible and supposedly tastes somewhat like Flounder, and costs consumers roughly the same amount as Sea-bass or Grouper. Promoting the consumption of these fish will increase awareness of the problem at hand and will allow the company to continue harvesting these fish and diminish their population in the Atlantic Ocean.

While it's nice to see people care for the ecology and the survival of ocean life, it's sad to see people pitch horrible ideas to investors. And in my opinion, this was a horrible idea pitched to investors. Traditional Fisheries' goal is to solve an ecological problem, as we established. They want to essentially introduce a new food into the market with the hopes that it will take off and sell enough to sustain their business and solve this problem. However what they don't realize is the cost of doing this in the first place. Educating America to eat Lionfish to help solve a problem is probably impossible. We live in a country where fast-food business franchises are too many to count and where people buy and eat what they desire in the here-and-now. We live in a country where- despite the rising rates of obesity and unhealthy living habits- we do as we please to instantly gratify ourselves in every way possible. Therefore the idea of trying to educate such a country to consume fish in order to help out the ecology is ludicrous and insane! It's hard enough getting the country to eat healthy foods to benefit themselves and their families, how much more so would it be to try and convince them to eat in order to benefit and protect ocean life.

So while the Sharks pretty much all dropped out because they felt that the educational challenge would cost a lot more than $225,000 to conquer, I believe there is a much larger challenge Traditional Fisheries face. They are living in a fantasy world where people act with the future in mind and care about the consequences of their actions. The harsh reality though is that while this is certainly something to strive for individually and collectively, America has not reached this level yet. We are still a country of people who "live the life" and seek instant gratification to appease our desires of the here-and-now. We don't go to restaurants and order food that will help the ecology, we go to restaurants and pig out on whatever we feel like eating. Many times we regret what we eat later on in the day, the year, or our lives, but like everything else we don't let that impact or decisions in the future. People do all sorts of stupid things early on in their lives only to regret them severely later on. And before this country will even begin to care about what's going on down in the deep caves of the Atlantic, they have to first change mindsets and care enough about what will go on later in their own lives. Promoting this change is therefore something that will take many years and tons and tons of money, and most definitely a lot more manpower than two men on a fishing boat. Again, while it's nice to see people care for the ecology and the survival of ocean life, it's sad to see people pitch horrible ideas to investors. Especially a fish business to Sharks. Overall Performance: 2

A Pitch to The Sharks on The View

Uncle Louis G's Pitch on The View!

Mark Cuban on The Tonight Show

Mark Cuban on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno talking about Shark Tank.

@ Black Magic IPL

By: Shaela Weeks - Junior Marketing Student at KCTC, Grand Rapids, MI

When Nick Gonzalez and Kevin Mack waltzed into the Tank with their tattoo removal light, my reaction was one of relief. Of those I know who have gotten tattoos, a substantial percent wish they had not. Neo Innovations was seeking $80,000 in exchange for 20% of their company. The product they were bringing to the Sharks was Black Magic IPL, a light system used to break up the dark pigments in tattoos without piercing or damaging the skin. This product uses intense light pulse energy to magnetically destroy the iron oxide content that is present in most tattoos. With a couple of passes of the 50 watt bulb, the tattoo begins to fade, and eventually disappears a couple weeks after treatment.

Neo Innovation partners began with the statistic that amateur tattoo artists are completing 150,000 new tattoos for customers each month, and of those, approximately 50% will suffer from “tattoo regret”. They claimed that Black Magic IPL is the solution to ending this horrible regret, and that tattoos will no longer need to be permanent. Nick then demonstrated how to use his product, moving it back and forth over his black tattoo a couple of times while the light pulsated. He demonstrated what his tattoo looked like after he had used the Black Magic IPL a couple of weeks ago. While the tattoo was spotted and slightly faded in different places, the majority of the tattoo was still there. Mack then demonstrated how a white balloon, which represented the skin, was not affected by the light device, unlike the black balloon, which represented the ink, which popped as soon as he ran the IPL over it. 

Although I was impressed with the presentation, I believe that the product has some flaws. First off, the product was designed so that the wattage was adjustable. The reason for this is because those with darker skin could and would damage their skin if the wattage was set at a level suitable for those with a complexion. I feel that an average person would have trouble understanding what wattage to set the device at, and can very easily end up harming himself. As a teenager, I can certainly say that I don’t see anyone my age researching the proper settings, and I can definitely picture several of my friends trying it out and hurting themselves. Furthermore, there didn't seem to be a concrete study or example which showed that the product actually removed the tattoo completely. To me, when attempting to secure financing to bring a product to life, proof of the concept is the most important thing to show. And not only were they lacking this, but they also admitted that it was not FDA approved! They were asking for the financial assistance so that they would be able to get FDA approval, which as they stated could run from $20,000 to $100,000! What kind of Shark would invest in an untested product which doesn't even have FDA approval?! The answer of course is a Shark looking for a lawsuit! And being that the Sharks on this panel have no desire or time to deal with tattoo litigations, Black Magic IPL received five consecutive “I’m Out’s”.

All in all, there were definitely legitimate reasons for the hesitation and eventual rejection of this product. However, to give them some credit, their numbers were pretty solid, there is consumer demand, and the market is sizable. Therefore once the FDA approval is obtained, I really believe that this product can be successful. Until then, I’ll give them an Overall Performance of a 4. 

@ SMART Wheel and The Inventioneer's

By: Kaylah Magdic – Senior at Sparta High School & Marketing Student at KCTC

My initial reaction to the Inventioneer’s and their idea of the SMART wheel was not what one would normally expect from a teenager. I actually thought the SMART wheel was a very good idea, however, as they continued to talk about their product, I felt myself starting to tune out. The Inventioneer’s is a group of six kids aged 12 to 18 that spend their free time inventing. They came into the Tank asking for $100,000 in exchange for 15% of their company and first product, the SMART wheel, which is essentially a steering wheel cover made to help solve distracted driving, especially in teenagers. The SMART wheel can detect three unsafe hand positions, and beeps and flashes red when one of these positions is detected. The SMART wheel can then instantly send a record of this information to a third party, such as parents or law enforcement, who can subsequently monitor the driver’s safety.

To kick off their pitch, the Inventioneer’s attempted to simulate an accident. In other words, they had the Sharks close their eyes and then simulated a loud bang. Although at first I didn't even realize what it was that they were trying to do, I believe they were going for an emotional fear approach which could have been much better executed. After the simulation, they cited a statistic, claiming that “18 teenagers die every day in car accidents in the US”. They then mentioned with visual proof that President Obama invited them to The White House, and that Mr. Obama said that he would purchase a SMART wheel for his daughters once they come to driving age. This endorsement was certainly good leverage and possibly the highlight of their pitch.

As a senior in high school and a teenager myself, I think the SMART wheel concept is good, but that some things need to be changed. For starters, Barbara said that they should not have the wheel report to parents when unsafe hand positions are detected. Perhaps unsurprisingly, I agree. Parents already have to deal with the stress of having their teenager on the road to begin with, and do not need to be informed every moment their teenager is doing something that some device considers to be unsafe! Additionally, it was unclear if the product features some kind of a time limit, but if it doesn’t, there definitely needs to be one. I mean what if a person is trying to change the radio station, or is looking for something at a stoplight and the beep goes off and just doesn’t stop? Frankly, I would find this quite annoying. Furthermore, I think that the lights would be very distracting during night driving. I also believe that teenagers would find methods to get around the SMART wheel technology, as they could travel in other vehicles, find a way to turn off the beeper, take the device cover off the wheel, or even tape gloves to the wheel! However, while I don’t feel so confident in the SMART wheel being used in personal vehicles at home, I do see an opportunity for the SMART wheel to be sold to driving schools in an attempt to proactively develop good driving habits in teens.   

Overall, I have to agree with one main statement made from Robert Herjavec, which is that they should sell the invention, not the product. I think the Inventioneer’s are just what their name states – inventors – and they should focus on inventing ideas to sell to other people or businesses who are more established developers. The SMART wheel is a great idea, but there are definitely a number of complications with the product. 

Overall Performance: 7

@ Gotta Have S'more

S’muffin Crazy 

By: Kirk Helferich, Marketing Instructor, Grand Rapids, MI

Carmin Linder doesn’t enjoy camping, but that didn’t stop her from creating a company that put a twist on the delicious dessert, known to seasoned campers as the S’more. Linder created the S’muffin, essentially a S’more made into a mini muffin, and entered the Shark Tank hoping for a little S’more money to expand her business. 

As a seasonal camper myself, and one who enjoys a messy S’more cooked over a toasty fire, I found myself wondering how the S’muffin could possibly take the place of not only the S’more, but more so, the outdoor environment that is essential to the creation and enjoyment of a quality S’more.

Willing to part with 25% equity and asking for an investment of $75,000 seemed like a fair request given sales over the past 2 ½ years of $250,000. The product is sold primarily in the Los Angeles market with 75% of sales coming direct or online, and a small percentage being sold in specialty stores. Wanting to share her treats with a much larger population seemed logical, but as the discussion progressed, the extremely high shipping costs associated with the strategy of going nationwide became a major investment hurdle.

With a cost of $9.34 per dozen to produce, and a selling price of $29.95 for that same dozen, it just didn’t seem possible that cost to ship was averaging $54 alone. Using a quote from Mr. Wonderful provided a great, although somewhat sarcastic lesson on Opportunity Cost. “You FedEx these across the Country or you send your kids to college!” Perhaps this was our hint at the domino effect to come, as one by one the Sharks considered the investment potential and choose to keep their money safely in their pocket.

When looked at from an investment standpoint, I think you have to consider that it has been successful in the large market of Los Angeles, and although I’m not one of them, there is a small but healthy market of affluent consumers that will certainly pay to indulge in high quality desserts for special occasions. A browse through the company website: http://gottahavesmore.com is worth your time, as Carmin Linder has a great story which details her efforts to appear before the Sharks. Details which start with eight hours in line with the hope of producers hearing her one minute pitch. 

While the story Carmin tells concludes in her hope that we will one day see her updated success story on an episode of Shark Tank, I am left with a bit of a different conclusion. I thought it might be worthwhile to see what it would cost to have a dozen S’muffins waiting on my doorstep this weekend. With pickup eliminated as an option, given my location in Michigan, I was left with only one choice, and that was 2^nd day air at a cost of $35. So with shipping costs higher than the cost of the product, I abandoned my cart, and concluded that my next S’more would be produced and consumed in the same manner as it always has been, on the shores of Lake Michigan with family and friends at my favorite campsite. Overall Performance: 6

@ HoodiePillow

I'm not gonna lie. My first reaction of this strange-looking product was probably the same as yours. It wasn't a "why didn't I think of that" moment, rather a "why would someone think of that" moment. But five minutes later when they unveiled their "newer product", the Travel HoodiePillow, I stared in amazement and jealousy wishing I had in fact been the one who thought of it.

Rebecca Rescate is the first entrepreneur to appear twice on Shark Tank with two different products. In Season 2 she partnered with Kevin Harrington (CEO of TVGoods and Chairman of As Seen On Tv) on her cat potty-training kit company called CitiKitty. Now, after reaching sales of almost $5 million with CitiKitty, Rebecca has partnered up with another entrepreneur to bring the HoodiePillow to market. Without going into too much detail about the negotiations, HoodiePillow struck a deal with Robert Herjavec and are ready to reach the masses with their products. The more brilliant of their two products is certainly the Travel HoodiePillow, as it is definitely something any frequent flyer will purchase. It provides a dark, private setting, and the chilled feeling of wearing a hoodie sweatshirt. I absolutely see the potential for this product in retail, catalog, and infomercial, and would be completely surprised if it isn't successful.

But I have one striking question that I would like to know the answer to. That is, if CitiKitty is so successful thanks to Kevin Harrington and his ability to market any problem-solving product, why didn't Rebecca just give him a call and ask him to invest in this product also and continue working his magic? Unless she did and there's something she isn't telling us? I don't know the answer to this, but I think I know why she chose to revisit Shark Tank regardless of her existing connection with Kevin Harrington. It's simply because she is smart and cunning. She knows that Shark Tank is what made her rich from CitiKitty, as it brought thousands of customers to her website and nationalized her brand. And this was her intention with presenting HoodiePillow as well. Whether she actually needed the money or not, I would say her primary purpose for coming onto the show a second time was to build the same level of awareness she got from her first company. Therefore for all we know she could have spoken to Kevin Harrington and he could have been her ticket to getting on the show a second time. I am not positive, but I think this is a good guess as to what happened. And if I am correct, then congratulations to Rebecca for pulling this off! Overall Performance: 8