By: David Durkee - 11th Grader at Forest Hills Central & Kent Career / Technical Center,Grand Rapids, MI
Ten years and no sales to speak of should have been a dead giveaway as to the outcome for Jason Woods, a “wantrepreneur” as he would later come to be called by Mark Cuban. Jason entered the tank seeking $250,000 for a 20% stake in his product, the Kymera Body Board. Presented to the Sharks as the world’s first electric jet-propelled body board, the Kymera Body Board combines the lightweight portability of a board and the excitement of a jet ski to revolutionize the water-sport industry. Unfortunately for Jason, the Sharks disagreed with him outright and the value he put on his business of $1.25 million.
Jason has spent the last 10 years of his life trying to perfect the Kymera Body Board, but hasn’t seemed to find the time to actually produce sales. With a speed of approximately 15 miles per hour, which Jason claims “feels a lot faster when you’re that close to the water”, and a very short usage period of 30-60 minutes at full charge, any wave of excitement that the Shark’s still harbored quickly sank when they learned the Board carried a retail price point of $2,800.
The sharks saw through this mediocre business idea almost immediately. Mark was often seen laughing his disapproval throughout the pitch, and was the first Shark to take a bite out of Jason’s idea. Although some might see Mark’s words as harsh, ultimately, he felt Jason was avoiding his questions. Lori was the next Shark to cast aside the idea, although her rejection was much less astringent than Mark’s. Before dropping out, she left Jason with some words of Shark Tank wisdom and encouraged him to keep charging ahead with his idea. Daymond was relatively quiet during Jason’s pitch, but soon joined the school of disinterested Sharks. Daymond’s last words were not filled with encouragement, voicing his opinion that the presentation of Kymera Body Board’s was “the worst pitch I’ve ever seen”. Finally, John Paul DeJoria and Kevin O’Leary dropped out, simply saying they’d rather not invest in a business with such an outrageous valuation, especially when there was no revenue to show for it.
At some point an entrepreneur must be willing to venture out beyond his comfort zone and provide the market an opportunity to prove the concept right or wrong. I really hope that Jason Woods learned a lesson in the Tank, not only from exiting the tank empty handed, but exiting out of his comfort zone with denial, drowning in frustration.
Overall Performance: Presentation: 5/50. Strategy: 5/25. Product: 15/25.
Jason has spent the last 10 years of his life trying to perfect the Kymera Body Board, but hasn’t seemed to find the time to actually produce sales.
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