Four businesses entered the Shark Tank tonight to pitch their businesses to Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Daymond John and guest shark, Matt Higgins.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Beyond Sushi’s Expansion: Chef Guy’s pitch for Beyond Sushi underlined the growth potential of vegan cuisine, securing a joint deal with Matt Higgins and Lori Greiner for expansion into the west coast.
  2. Bundil’s Cryptocurrency Venture: Dmitri Love secured a deal with Kevin O’Leary for Bundil, an app that rounds up purchases to invest in cryptocurrency, highlighting the interest in fintech innovations.
  3. Soupergirl’s Struggle: Despite delicious samples, Soupergirl did not secure a deal due to concerns over scalability and profit margins, emphasizing the importance of financial strategy.
  4. Emotional Pitch from Cup Board Pro: The Young siblings presented Cup Board Pro, a kitchen tool developed by their late father, winning a rare combined investment from all five sharks, demonstrating the power of a compelling personal story and a solid business model.

Soupergirl Leaves The Shark Tank Empty Handed

silviarita / Pixabay

Mother and daughter Sara and Marilyn Polon entered the Shark Tank asking for $500,000 in exchange for a 10% stake in their company, Soupergirl. Soupergirl makes hand-crafted, plant-based healthy soups. What began as a small, local business in Washington D.C. has grown significantly, and they are now sold in 50 natural food stores, 20 box food stores, and 2 retail outlets. While the Sharks enjoy the soup samples they taste, they are immediately worried about the very low profit margins the company is experiencing. Even though the company is valued at around $5 million, the Sharks doubt they could recoup their investment with such low margins.

The Sharks give Sara advice on how to grow her soup business, which she currently makes in small batches by hand. However, Sara is reluctant to use co-packing because she worries about losing quality and maintaining the kosher status of her product. In the end, the Sharks decide to pass on Souper Girl due to the low profit margins.

Bundil Makes a Deal with Kevin O’Leary

BenjaminNelan / Pixabay

The next business into the tank is a very new company that just launched. Bundil is a mobile software solution that allows you to invest in cryptocurrency on a micro level. This app would track and learn users spending habits and in-turn move spare change from everyday purchases into a cryptocurrency investment of your choice. Bundil is seeking $100,000 for 10% in the company.

When asked how to explain cryptocurrency, Dmitri Love, founder of Bundil describes it as a cross between traditional money and stocks. It is like money because it can be used to purchase services and goods, and also like stocks because the value of the currency fluctuates.

The product is in a minimum viable product stage. The software and app platforms are currently in development, but due to the “set it and forget it” mentality around investments, some of the Sharks feel that this may be a worthwhile business investment. One point of concern for Kevin O’Leary is that 80% of micro-investment companies fail in 3 years due to the volatility of the market and unrealistic expectations around the cost of new customer acquisition. Kevin feels like this is something that he would be able to help Bundil with, as he currently has businesses in this area. He offers $100,000 for a 50% partnership in the company. Dmitri accepts Kevin O’Leary’s offer.

Beyond Sushi Secures a Deal With Both Matt Higgins and Lori Greiner

Free-Photos / Pixabay

Chef Guy enters the Shark Tank looking for a $1.5 million investment in exchange for 25% of his west coast business and 5% of his east coast business. This NYC based vegan company is well established in the northeast and is looking to expand to the west coast. The company has an extensive vegan menu including salads, wraps, dumplings and sushi rolls. The restaurants are mostly grab-and-go casual dining and the company is projected to reach $5.6 million in sales for 2018.

This business immediately appeals to guest Shark, Matt Higgins, as he had additional businesses in this playing field and he feels that he can grow Beyond Sushi and get them not only on the west coast but also into places such as airports across the country. Matt is concerned by the misalignment of the amount of ownership in what’s already successful on the east coast and what has yet to be proven on the west coast. Matt Higgins and Lori Greiner both feel that Beyond Sushi could be just as popular or even more popular on the west coast due to the growth of the vegan movement in that area.

In a rare move, Matt and Lori partner up to deliver an offer to Chef Guy and Beyond Sushi. The pair offers $1.5 million for a 30% partnership in west coast operations and a 15% partnership in east coast operations. Chef Guy agrees to their deal and is in business with Matt and Lori.

niekverlaan / Pixabay

Cup Board Pro Secures a Rare Deal With All 5 Sharks

In one of the most emotional segments to ever air on Shark Tank, siblings Christian, Keira and Kaley Young ask the Sharks to consider a $100,000 investment for a 10% share in their company, Cup Board Pro. The Cup Board Pro was developed by their late father, Keith Young, who was a firehouse chef for the NYC firefighters and a two-time champion on “Chopped.” Keith began developing and prototyping this product many years ago but decided to take a break from development when his wife was diagnosed with and ultimately passed away from breast cancer.

Keith took care of his three children but never stopped dreaming about the success of his product. After getting his initial order for 2,000 units in inventory, Keith developed cancer as a result of the dust he breathed in during the clean-up of 9/11. Keith passed away three months ago before he could fulfill his dream of pitching this product in the Shark Tank. His children presented the product in the tank and his audition tape from before his passing was aired.

The product currently does hold several patents, and the Young family is looking to use this investment to renew their tooling, increase inventory, and invest in marketing and advertising. In a rare moment, the Sharks ask the Young children to step out of the Tank to give them a moment to discuss their proposal. When they are asked to come back into the tank, the Sharks surprise the Young siblings with their proposal.

The Sharks collectively offer $100,000 for 20% ownership in their company. This allows each shark to invest$20,000 and their individual areas of expertise to help grow Cup Board Pro. The Sharks will take all of their profits and will contribute those funds to a charity that Keith Young supported for his fellow fireman with cancer. The children are moved by the act of kindness of the Sharks and quickly accept their deal.

3 Key Business Take-A-Ways

  1. “Perfection is the enemy of profitability” – Mark Cuban
  2. When preparing for a sales pitch, practice, practice, and practice again.
  3. Business requires humility. If you’re not willing to listen to people who have succeeded before you, you’re setting yourself up for failure. – Daymond John

What did you think of the deals that The Sharks made on tonight’s episode? Which featured business most appealed to you?

Shark Tank airs on Sundays at 9:00 PM EST on ABC.