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Tired of accommodating a lack of bathroom counter space, Massachusetts native, Melissa Clayton, created The Matte. A compact and foldable surface, The Matte easily installs across any small bathroom sink to maximize storage space and create a working area to temporarily store makeup, haircare products, and other supplies. Because of its sleek product design, The Matte can be easily packed away when not in use and quickly deployed when it is needed.

Seeking $100,000 in exchange for 20% equity, Melissa is hoping to partner with a Shark that will help her craft and deploy a marketing strategy to increase her sales. Currently, the only marketing that is done for The Matte is by word of mouth, influencers, and organic searching. While this has been a successful strategy, selling $20,000 of product in the 30 days prior to filming, Melissa knows that a clear marketing strategy is necessary for the company to be truly successful.

Unfortunately, most of the Sharks did not see the value in The Matte. They struggled to grasp the concept of the market size and they didn’t believe that the product is truly something that is needed. They also felt that the name did not do a good enough job of educating customers on its function and purpose. Lori Greiner, however, did see the value of The Matte and was interested in investing, but needed to make sure the deal would allow her to be paid for her time investment into the company. Lori offered to invest $100,000 in exchange for 33.3% equity in The Matte. Because she will need to put so much effort into growing the company, Lori was not willing to exchange counteroffers with Melissa. Melissa accepted Lori’s partnership offer.

If you were Melissa, would have given up that much equity in your business? If you were a Shark, would you have invested in The Matte? Start a dialog in the comments below!

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