The Seventy2 Survival Kit

If disaster strikes, what would you need in order to survive for 72 hours?

Christian Schauf and Mike Escamilla have that all figured out.

The two entrepreneurs walked into the Shark Tank on the second episode of Season 9, to seek an investment for their product, the Seventy2, otherwise known as the world's first fully-integrated survival system. The Seventy2 is a bag packed with survival essentials including food, lights, gloves, a blanket, an air filtration mask, a water filter, and a shovel that converts into a pick-axe. The idea is for people to keep these bags in their homes (and wherever they go) so they are prepared in case of an emergency situation. And in times where hurricanes and other severe weather patterns are forcing people out of their homes, this product can literally be a life-saver.

The entrepreneurs came in seeking $100,000 in exchange for 5% of their company, which imputes a $2 million evaluation on their company. While this evaluation seems high at first glance, Christian and Mike did have numbers to show for it. After six months of business, the product has already sold $700,000 of product in 64 countries. And to get the business off the ground, they raised $400,000 through a crowdfunding campaign in just one month!

Very quickly it became obvious to the Sharks that these entrepreneurs have the tools needed to survive. But for this very reason, Mark went out because he doesn't like being "dumb money" for businesses that don't really need more than just cash. Barbara didn't seem very interested in the business from an investment standpoint, and she dropped out as well. Robert though offered a proportionate $200,000 for 10%, and gave them just a brief window of time to make a decision. And before Lori could even get her offer out on the table, the entrepreneurs used their survival instincts to act quickly and take Robert's deal.

Shark Spotlight: Sir Richard Branson

Richard Branson is a serial entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist.

He founded the Virgin Group, which has created more than 400 companies spanning travel, financial services, telecom, health & wellness, and more recently, space travel.

At the age of sixteen his first business venture was a magazine called Student. In 1970, he set up a mail-order record business. In 1971, he opened the first of a chain of Virgin record stores, later known as Virgin Megastores. Branson's Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s, as he set up Virgin Atlantic airline and expanded the Virgin Records music label. In 1999, Branson was knighted at Buckingham Palace for "services to entrepreneurship."

For his work in retail, music and transport (with interests in land, air, sea and space travel), his taste for adventure and for his humanitarian work, he became one of the most prominent figures in British culture. In 2002, he was named in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. In January 2016, Forbes listed Branson's estimated net worth at $5.2 billion.

Source: ABC.com

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Alex Rodriguez: From Baseball to the Shark Tank

Season 9 of Shark Tank features some new guest Sharks, one of which is none other than former baseball player Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod). It is becoming more and more common to see major league athletes build companies around their name, and A-Rod is one of these athletes. 

Check out this Forbes article by Ky Trang Ho which gives great insight into A-Rod's company and his winning mentality: 

This fall baseball icon Alex Rodriguez is diving into the Shark Tank -- ABC’s hit business reality show.

“I’m very proud that I’m the first Hispanic shark,” said the former Yankees slugger, known as A-Rod. “I’m the first athlete shark, which is kind of cool.” What’s really cool? You should know: A-Rod is about as big a power hitter in business as he was America’s pastime.

His A-Rod Corp holding company has a hand in auto dealerships, gyms and real estate with a payroll of about 500 employees. It’s a rare diamond in the business world considering only 0.3% of the 5.9 million U.S. companies employ more than 500 people.

A Shark Tank entrepreneur would commit a major foul in declining an offer from the three-time MVP.

His 953,000 followers on Twitter, 1 million on Instagram and 1.5 million on Facebook will score eyeballs galore for any product. He could go to bat for companies seeking deals with professional sports teams or leagues.

“The potential of one plus one equals three is always in play if you partner with me,” Rodriguez said in a recent phone interview. “I can pretty much get you wherever you need to be to either show your pitch or show your product. If you are someone who needs to get into Walmart, we’ll go out and get you a meeting with their top executives.”

Champion of the Fastest-Growing Market

No other shark could wield as much influence over the fastest growing U.S. demographic like this bilingual Dominican American. At nearly 57 million, Hispanics account for 18% of the U.S. population and are expected to more than double over the next four decades, according to Nielsen. Their buying power of $1.3 trillion eclipses the gross domestic product of Russia -- the world’s 12th largest economy. If they were a state, it would be the fourth largest behind California, Texas and New York. Hispanic buying power is projected to hit $1.7 trillion in three years.

Should Rodriguez’s girlfriend join the game, the marketing potential multiplies exponentially. Actress and pop star Jennifer Lopez sports 42.9 million Twitter followers, 68.8 million on Instagram and 42.2 million on Facebook.

In the Shark Tank, the World Series champion considers himself a rookie. He’s more focused on finding good entrepreneurs with a strong management team than striking a home run with the next fidget spinner.

“It's always been my philosophy that I invest in jockeys and not horses,” said the 14-time All-Star. “Even if that business doesn't work, this is somebody I want to be in business with and perhaps I can bring them into one of my other projects. And we can build something because I believe in people. People actually run the business. People and players actually win championships.”

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