@ Teddy Needs A Bath

Nicole Townend came into the Tank seeking a $50,000 investment in exchange for a 10% stake in her company, Teddy Needs A Bath. Just like it sounds, Teddy Needs A Bath is laundry bag geared specifically for stuffed animals. When stuffed animals are put directly into a washing machine the eyes get scratched and seams bust, and this laundry bag prevents that from happening.

Although Nicole's claim was that this is the first washer and dryer bag for stuffed animals, Lori Greiner noted that there are bags on the market that are made of cotton and are just like this one. I have seen such bags as well, and it just gets me wondering what exactly is the proprietary value of the Teddy Needs A Bath bag.

As far as her numbers are concerned, the margins seem pretty good with an overseas production cost of $2.25 per bag and a retail price of $14.99. Still, she only made $12,000 in six months, which is not horrible for a start-up company but not anything special either. What I found interesting which I was surprised none of the Sharks mentioned was how she was turning this product into a brand. She wrote a book and is selling fun-flavored dryer sheets such as Strawberry Cotton Candy, all as part of the Teddy Needs A Bath brand. As Daymond pointed out, the dryer sheets seemed like a home-run much more than the laundry bags, but this didn't seem to keep him, Robert, or Lori interested in the deal. However, Kevin O'Leary and Mark Cuban were both interested, and for pretty much the same reason. As a kid, Kevin was allergic to house-dust and was never able to figure out why. Similarly, Mark Cuban's kids have allergy problems and he'll do anything in his power to alleviate their suffering. So it seems that while making a wise investment in certainly a priority for the Sharks, sometimes even Kevin will make an investment because he can relate to the need of a certain "problem-solver" product. Kevin's original offer was $50,000 for 50% plus 10% of sales each month until his money is made back when it would drop to 5% of sales forever, but then changed it to 30% with the royalty ending once his money is returned. Mark's offer was $100,000 for 40%, which was then brought down to 30% plus 10% of sales until he recoups his investment. Nicole accepted Mark's offer, and as Mark replied, "done, done, and done". Kevin on the other hand, was left holding the adorable white teddy bear which he said will have to die because he didn't get the deal. I think he just wants revenge on it for causing him to sneeze a lot as a child. Overall Performance: 6