Made for Kids, By a Kid: Le-Glue

Authored by: Ian Gyan

Children usually seek out the guidance of a trusted adult to solve their problems. But sometimes they don’t, sometimes the adults don’t even notice the problem. So when they’ve broken their toys and made a mess, what is a child to do?

Tripp Phillips has the answer. He showed The Sharks why you should never send a man to do a boy’s job. On episode 1 of Season 10, the enthusiastic 12-year old entrepreneur, along with his sister, Ally, and father, Lee, walked into the Shark Tank looking for an investment for his product, Le-Glue.

Le-Glue is a non-permanent, non-toxic adhesive used to secure Lego and other children’s building blocks together. It dissolves in water, so kids can use it repeatedly on their toys. During his witty presentation, Tripp revealed his frustration over never being able to play with the toys he built before they fell apart. This was the reason he and his father created Le-Glue, and luckily, it solved two issues. Children could build and play with their Lego, and adults wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally stepping on their children’s toys.

The young entrepreneur confidently requested $80,000 in exchange for 15% of the company, an ask so favorable that The Sharks didn’t bother commenting on the company’s valuation. The product’s value was clear, and Tripp had the numbers, accolades and vision to back it up. Over its lifetime, Le-Glue had sold over $125,000 worth of product and was already secured by a utility patent, making Tripp one of the youngest patent holders in U.S. History! His clever goal was to partner with various toy brick manufacturers, negotiate a license agreement, and get Le-Glue included in all of their toy kits. But what truly made The Sharks perk up was the impressive margin between the 43 cents it cost to make Le-Glue and the $8.99 (now $5.99) price it was being sold for on his website.

Hearing these numbers, it’s no surprise that some of The Sharks decided to jump into the frey. Kevin wasted no time, offering to provide an $80k investment in exchange for 50% of licensing royalties until he recouped his initial investment, after which, a partnership in perpetuity would be established where Kevin had a 20% stake. Kevin further sweetened the deal by basing his shares on the condition that he could successfully negotiate a licensing agreement. Knowing a great deal when he saw one, Jamie Siminoff, the former contestant turned Shark, commended Kevin on his “wonderful” offer before backing out.

Daymond, however, stepped forward to outbid Kevin with a simpler offer of $80k in exchange for 25% of the company. At this point, Lori could see that either deal would lead Tripp and his family to success, so she decided to not get her fins wet this round and also backed out. Mark soon followed suit and backed out as well, saying that he couldn’t provide an offer better than the two that were already laid out.

Le-Glue was nicely positioned to jump to the next level, but instead of immediately giving in to either offer, Tripp made Daymond a savvy counteroffer. He set his new ask at $80k in exchange for 20%, but Daymond wasn’t impressed and stuck to his original offer, as he was already asking well below his usual 33% stake. With three Sharks out and two great offers floating in front of him, Tripp was left to make a choice. After a nervous moment of silence and quick word in his father’s ear, he announced to Mr. O’Leary that he’d like to do business.

Kevin O'Leary: New Year's Resolutions

With the New Year just around the corner, many of us are already wondering what 2015 has in store for us. While it is certainly important to come up with your own New Year's Resolutions, Mr. Wonderful has been gracious enough to share (on LinkedIn) some of his advice for gaining more financial freedom in the upcoming year. Enjoy!

The New Year is almost here and you know what that means. A brand new set of financial challenges. In this economy, those challenges can seem bewildering. Thankfully, I can help you navigate those perilous waters so that you and your family hold on to as much as possible of that most precious of commodities: Money! Here are three New Year’s resolutions that will move you and your family further along the path to financial freedom.

1. Summarize All Your Spending

You already know how important it is to set aside some of your income - even if you start small - to invest and put to work towards building your wealth. But it's also easy to get tempted to spend more than you should. That's why you need discipline - and a great way to build discipline it is to prepare a monthly summary of all of your spending.

I’m not talking about your monthly bank statement (though you should pay attention to that, too). I want you to track all your spending so that you can better evaluate your decisions about your cash. Plenty of tools can help you, from a pen and paper to spreadsheets or smartphone apps.

Once you start seeing these lists of where your precious money is going, you'll be amazed at how quickly you start thinking twice before spending what you should be investing.

2. Get More Yield from Your Assets

My mother taught me about the importance of limiting risk when it comes to money. One of the ways I do that is by prioritizing reliable, income-producing investments - the kind that pay regular dividends, interest or distributions. (Your financial adviser can tell you more about the pros and cons).

One of the great things about this strategy is that you don't need to worry as much about day-to-day stock price movements. But the best part is the feeling of knowing that your investments are regularly generating cash.

3. Make Sure Your Kids Know How to Manage Their Money

There's nothing like family to help motivate people when it comes to being smart with money. It makes sense - you're more driven to save and invest when you know that your savings will help your kids and grandkids – not just yourself. And you'll be more careful about big risks when you know that a bad decision can affect your family.

So, just as my mother taught me about money when I was young, I have done the same for my kids.

If you haven't done the same yet, get started this year. It's easier than you think - start by talking about money in general, so it's not a taboo subject. Have some conversations about the importance of saving over the long term. We all feel a responsibility to our families and there’s no reason that shouldn't include financial literacy.

Get Started

These three New Year’s resolutions are simple, but powerful. If you follow them, you’ll be surprised at how much you save for yourself and your family. They’re also easy to follow, so you have no excuse not to take these steps. You’ll thank me later.

[None of this content should be construed as investment advice, especially as they relate to any financial products I may represent. Investors should speak with their financial advisers for any investment advice and to discuss the risks of investing to any financial product. This represents my personal opinions and should be enjoyed as such.]