Narrator: Tonight
on "Shark t*nk"...
We had a passion
for creating something
that was really good-tasting.
Yeah, but the dish
that's missing here
is the Nothing Burger 'cause
that's what your sales are.
So, Sharks, you end up with
artwork that looks like this.
[ Sharks exclaim, laugh ]
Nice.
Imagine if every time
you went to the doctor,
they couldn't understand
a single word you said.
You know, none of the [bleep]
you're saying is adding up.
I'd like to award
my golden ticket
to one of my favorite
sharks, and it says "royalty."
Whoa! Not so fast.
Greiner: Don't even hesitate.
No! Do it, do it!
Yes or no?
Mic drop!
O'Leary: Whoa!
♪♪
Narrator: First into the
t*nk is a healthier version
of a nostalgic childhood treat.
♪♪
Hi, Sharks. I'm
Zach. And I'm Delisa.
And we're the
husband-and-wife team of...
Funky Mello! Funky Mello!
We're from Austin, Texas,
and we're seeking $50,000
for 15% of our company.
Sharks, do you remember the
magic of marshmallows growing up?
Like roasting on a campfire,
or melting in your hot cocoa?
Or exploding in a microwave?
[ Both laugh ]
Marshmallows make us happy,
but the traditional
ingredients do not.
Like gelatin, which
is made from...
boiled skin, tendons, and
ligaments from cows and pigs.
Ew. Yuck. I know.
That's why we created
a cleaner marshmallow...
Funky Mello! Funky Mello!
The world's first plant-based
refrigerated marshmallow cream.
Mic drop.
Ah!
Funky Mello makes
delicious marshmallow cream
that is gluten-free,
top-eight-allergy-free,
and delicious.
I think I said that already.
You did, but let
me say it again...
They are de-lic-ious. Mic drop.
[ Laughter ]
Funky Mello is super versatile.
Liven up your coffee. Ooh!
Add it as a fruit dip. Ahh!
Or top the perfect
ice cream sundae.
[ Chuckles ] Mic drop.
[ Laughter ]
But, Sharks, we couldn't
call it Funky Mello
without making some
funky flavors like...
Vivacious Vanilla.
Satisfying Strawberry.
Or Creamy Cookie.
I think that calls
for one more...
Sharks, I'm all
out of mics to drop,
so let's pick up a spoon and
enjoy some light and creamy...
deliciously rich
marshmallow cream.
Let's go. Get ready
for a game changer...
with Funky Mello! Funky Mello!
Greiner: Good job.
This looks really good.
Thank you. Thank you.
All right. You want to tell
us what we're eating here?
Absolutely. So, in front of you,
you have our core
flavors of Funky Mello
marshmallow cream... vanilla,
strawberry, and
cookies and cream,
paired with some goodies.
Okay. Oh, my God.
Ooh.
So, Sharks, while
you're enjoying this...
The plain, original,
whatever, this is wonderful.
Thank you. Thank you.
And while you're enjoying
this, the key ingredient
that we're using, it's
aquafaba or chickpea liquid.
Really? We're both
vegan, gluten-free.
Is that your number-one
ingredient or that's...
That's the second ingredient.
The number one is still sugar.
It has sugar. There's
per tablespoon,
which is a serving.
So how many calories is that?
tablespoon? That's not bad.
It's light and fluffy.
How do the calories compare
to a normal marshmallow cream?
The normal
marshmallow is about 60
to 70 calories per serving.
This is absolutely amazing.
Listen, I think this is
very... A lot of innovation.
That peanut butter
marshmallow tastes incredible.
I've never had that.
Parents are very concerned
about just feeding a ton
of marshmallows to kids,
even though they're
really part of, you know,
growing up and
s'morks and all...
Whatever they're called...
over the campfire. S'mores.
S'mores. S'morks!
You're close.
What do they call it?
S'mores, right? S'mores.
- S'mores.
- S'mores.
Tell me about the use case.
The number-one way
people use our cream
is actually with coffee
as a coffee creamer.
This goes into coffee? Really?
It does. One spoon
of it goes into coffee,
and people actually
enjoy using it like that.
Otherwise, as a fruit
dip. Does it dissolve?
It does. It does.
It also creates a
nice little froth on top,
like an instant latte.
What about with hot chocolate?
Beautiful hot chocolate.
Absolutely hot chocolate.
Okay. What are your sales?
So, we were able
to cross $100,000
in sales last year.
For the 12 months
of last year? Yes, sir.
Okay. How much
did you make or lose?
We lost $7K.
And that was just
us two bootstrapping.
That was our first
full year of retail.
That's cool. No, that's cool.
And what about this
year, year-to-date?
$40,000. We're on track to make
$200,000 at the
end of this year.
- Yes.
- Okay.
And how much cash
do you have in the bank?
$50,000.
Okay. Where did that come from?
That came from
friends and family.
And have you put any
money into the business?
We have. I have, yes.
How much? I put in 30
grand of my own funds.
Good for you. So
now tell us about you.
I have a background
in marketing.
I come from the tech world.
Zach has a background
in pharmaceutical sales.
We both have a lot
of dietary restrictions.
I went to the
hospital a few times
because I didn't know what was
going on with my gut in my body.
It wound up being just certain
foods that I was allergic to.
It was from corn, it was
from soy, it was from gluten.
So we just came
together. We just...
We had a passion
for creating something
that was really
good-tasting for the world,
something that was very
nostalgic to our childhood.
And there are no clean,
tasty, versatile marshmallows
that are out there.
So we started making
this stuff from scratch,
started doing Rice Krispie
Treats at farmers markets,
and then we ended
up doing a cream,
and cream, we didn't realize,
was going to be
kind of our salvation.
That's when, in our first
full year of focusing last year,
we got to Whole
Foods, we got to Sprouts,
kept going from there.
We're in 20 stores right now.
We were in 200 stores last year.
That's because we had a
Sprouts rollout with them
just for the holidays.
Hold on, but if
you're in 20 stores,
$40,000 year-to-date is
extraordinarily respectable.
It means like you're
moving a lot of volume.
Thank you. We do a lot of demos.
The beauty of the demo
is, people are gonna
love you and love this, right?
How are you doing when you're
not necessarily in the stores
that you had done the demos?
So, our velocity is usually
nine units per store per week,
Mm-hmm. Which is really awesome.
That's really
high, actually. It is.
- Nice.
- Wow.
Break down the numbers for
me. What are your margins?
Cost to make is $2.
We sell it for $4, and
then, in store, it's $6.99.
Have you thought
of other products
beyond this marshmallow cream?
Yeah. Can you make a physical
marshmallow using this approach?
We can't.
We have also tried to
maybe make, like, a...
Like, granola or,
like, crispy treat
'cause it dehydrates
really well.
So the fact that we
make this cream,
we're the only ones in the
world that make a cream like this.
We can take this cream and
make other products from it.
Zach and Delisa,
I'm still very stunned
by your per-store performance.
I want to make
sure I understand it.
If you have directionally
$40,000 year-to-date,
you have 20
stores that you're in,
and even you
had like four items.
It's like you've gotten
$150 year-to-date
per store, per
item, directionally.
That's very respectable.
That was the numbers that Kind
was posting when he was like,
starting to do what he did.
Yeah, that's why I'll
give you $50,000 for 15%.
Wow.
Okay. $50,000 for 15%.
I wanted to do it. It's what
you came in asking for.
I wanted to do it, David.
Don't even hesitate.
Get him in and sign
it. Do it, do it, do it!
So let me clear
the deck a little bit.
No, you just got an
offer! Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Thank you,
Daymond, for that offer.
Thank you so much. I just
want to say thank you for that.
It was exactly what
you came in asking for.
Well... Wait. Really.
That's as good
as it's going to get.
I... I do... Yes or no?
[ Chuckles ]
I would not hesitate.
Honestly.
♪♪
Okay. Yes.
Yes, yes. Yeah!
Daniel was breathing
down my neck.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
Good job!
This is good!
This is really good.
Appreciate you guys.
- Mic drop.
- Mic drop.
[ Laughter ]
Almost forgot. Thank you, guys.
Congrats, guys.
Good job.
[ Both laugh ]
Daymond gave us the
offer that we came here for,
which is awesome.
We also heard, like,
some other Sharks talk up,
so we just wanted to make
sure we were giving everyone
a fair sh*t.
But, you know, we got exactly
what we were asking for,
so we took it. Yeah.
And I'm here today to explain
the Ionic Ear
investment opportunity.
What we have developed
is a implantable
Bluetooth technology.
Where are you implanting this?
Into a... Into another device?
What do you
implanting this into?
No, it's actually
going into your ear.
[ Chuckles ]
Here is the surgery location.
The surgery location?
My God.
What I thought of
immediately was,
"Who in the world
would go to surgery
to place anything in their
head, near their brain?"
I mean, that made
absolutely no sense.
We're going to
operate on people.
Yes, we are.
We're going to
stick something in
near their brain.
No, no, no, no. We may not...
There's a fine line between
genius and Hannibal Lecter.
So I decided that I was not
going to invest in the company.
He's so far ahead of his time.
Thank God I won't be
alive when his time comes.
Yeah.
♪♪
Narrator: Next up is a
business modernizing healthcare.
♪♪
Hi. I'm Ben.
I'm Daniella. And I'm Anya,
and we're seeking $250K
for 2.5% of our company.
Oh, uh...
Sharks, imagine if every
time you went to the doctor,
no matter how much you
tried to explain your pain,
they couldn't understand
a single word you said,
and, further, put you
through outdated medical tests
that you did not agree to.
And what if the only way
to take your temperature
was by asking you to bend over?
This is exactly what
going to the vet is like
for the 150 million dogs
and cats nationwide.
As a former
veterinary assistant,
I hated this part of the visit
because it's just
so traumatizing
for everyone involved.
That's why we need...
Mella Pet Care. Mella
Pet Care. Mella Pet Care.
The ecosystem of connected
healthcare devices for pets.
Our first product, the Mella
Pro Smart Thermometer,
uses machine
learning to accurately
take your pet's temperature,
painlessly placing
it under the fore leg.
[ Laughter ]
Dogs and cats around
the world will thank you.
And since the data is
automatically recorded
on your device,
you can update
your vet in real time
or export it to them before
your next appointment.
And since a pet
at a healthy weight
lives, on average,
two years longer,
our Biggie Body condition
scale is the first of its kind
to monitor both weight
and body-fat percentage.
Because we know having
the weight conversation
is hard for pets, too.
And we're not stopping there.
We have several
innovations in development
to create a world
where pets live longer,
healthier lives
with their humans.
Paws up! Fins up, Sharks!
Who's ready to chase
the future of pet care with
Mella Pet Care! Mella
Pet Care! Mella Pet Care!
[ Chuckles ]
Couple quick questions.
Daniel, I know you
have a burning question.
We're going to get to
it, but right before we do,
Ben, kick it freestyle.
You got it, Anya.
♪ Mella Pet Care
♪ Technology,
devices, and apps ♪
♪ Promote longevity
♪ Hardware, software,
data science ♪
♪ Machine learning fuels
the home pet appliance ♪
♪ Tech gets smarter
using our algorithm ♪
♪ Not only Mella and Biggie,
but a whole ecosystem ♪
♪ Started from the bottom
♪ Slingin' Mellas
at the dog park ♪
♪ Now we're certified,
patented, and trademarked ♪
♪ Vets check vitals, now
pet parents can, too ♪
♪ Empowering pet
parents is what we do ♪
♪ Our data is interoperable,
it's meant to be shared ♪
♪ Can you tell we
came to "Shark t*nk" ♪
♪ A little overprepared?
Yep. [ Chuckles ]
Ben, do not give
up your day job.
All right.
I have a couple questions.
What's your guys relationship,
and what's your backgrounds?
So, I'm a small-town farm girl.
I had big-city dreams
to make it in business.
I moved to New York City,
created a company called Split
in the ridesharing sector,
brought Ben on as
my first employee,
sold the company, and decided
we wanted to get the
band back together again.
We love technology,
we love pets,
and so we decided
to start Mella Pet Care.
I came on a little bit later. I
was a veterinary assistant
where I was actually
poached by Mella.
Ben called me on the phone.
He said, "You have
that experience.
You have to work for us."
I said, "I want to
be a vet, but okay."
And so I joined the team.
And now actually,
instead of vet school,
I'm gonna go get my MBA
at the University of Chicago.
Um, what makes a
human thermometer
different from this one?
Yeah, a lot of pet
parents don't know when,
like, the best
temperature for their pet
or the correct temperature.
And a lot of them do
sometimes purchase $5
drugstore thermometers
that are made for humans.
Those don't work.
Yeah, it is hair, it's breed.
It's a lot of other aspects
that make dogs and cats
dogs and cats.
And so when we first
created our algorithm,
it took millions and
millions of temperature data
that took into account
everything about these pets...
Hair length, breed,
age, weight, gender.
Okay. So what are your sales?
We have sold over 2,500 devices.
Which is what revenue?
We are at about
$160,000 in revenue.
After soft-launching the product
with essentially no
marketing spend.
We are in almost
in just over a year.
And when did you launch this?
So we launched the
product in early 2022.
Are you selling
these direct-to-vet?
Is that how you're doing it now?
Yeah, we do direct-to-vet,
and then we also do
direct-to-consumer.
Let's just take the vet channel.
How are you acquiring a vet?
Trade shows, word of mouth.
Our customers are
our biggest advocates.
And what does it cost to
make, and what do you sell it for?
The Mella Pro we make for $40
and sell it for $159.
Great margins.
O'Leary: You know, we've
had many pet products in here.
And a few years ago,
Basepaws, a cat deal, was
purchased for a huge amount.
It wasn't for the test
kits. It was for the data.
Are you collecting and
aggregating the data?
We are. Of course.
So we're collecting
the first pet health
data in the home ever.
But something's missing for me.
There must be a
lot of competition.
Because you should
be selling more.
This is the first
ever thermometer
in the world to take temperature
under the fore leg
or hind leg of the pet.
We came into this space
with inherent knowledge
of technology,
building algorithms...
But come on, guys, come on.
Okay, first of all, what
you're doing is great.
I'm not saying it's not a
great opportunity for you guys.
You're replicating what's
being done for humans already.
So where I'm trying to get to,
are there other digital
thermometers for pets?
There's nothing like
what we're doing.
Nothing.
There are simple
digital thermometers,
but there's nothing that will
write back to a telehealth,
write back to a practice
management software.
And there's nothing that
will take axillary temperature
and have that modular design.
Can I ask a clarifying question?
I'm sorry to be such
a simple person.
Does that answer the question?
No.
Look, your whole
thing is built on data
and machine-learning
algorithms, which is great. Yeah.
Hey, this is a better, simple,
easier way to capture
data from your pet,
put it into a system,
easier from a pro
perspective for the veterinarian.
I get what you're trying to do.
Now, what makes
me raise the red flag is,
you've been doing
this for 14 months,
and you've sold $160,000
worth and about 2,500 units.
Now, given that you've
got a tech background,
I would've bet, if you would've
just trotted out
what you told me,
that you would've
sold a lot more units.
It's not so simple as
building the technology.
We wanted to test it
first with veterinarians,
who we built these
products for and with.
So to get it... So, for
the consumer version,
then what happened there? Yes.
We've sold about 1,600
to date for the Mella home.
That's in about the
last, um, 9 to 12 months.
What's the cost of
acquiring the next vet?
You're saying you're
just word of mouth.
You're going to trade shows.
Right now, it's
about $4 a customer.
Well, then I'm in the camp
that "Why are sales so low?"
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: All Sharks are
still in, but they are concerned
about the relatively low
sales of Mella Pet Care,
a line of innovative
health tools for pets.
I'm in the camp that "Why
are sales are so low?"
We've only soft-launched,
and we project $500K.
By the end of this year, we
plan to be cash-flow positive.
Let me just share with you.
I think this is a
better mousetrap.
Of course it's easier to put
something under the arm
from adults to babies to pets,
but it's just too soon for me.
It's just too early,
and I'm sorry.
I wish you good
luck, but I'm out.
Thank you.
So, guys, I look at it trying
to make a decision between
is this a medical-device
company or is this a data company?
One's very valuable
to me. The other's not.
I'm putting you into the
device category right now.
I don't think you
have enough data.
You haven't proven
that it's valuable yet.
I'm sorry, guys, I'm out.
Um, my challenge is that,
Kevin actually did
really well in this space,
and he knows where,
uh, the money really is
at the end of the day,
which is the data and
everything else like that.
And sometimes I have to
take the lead of another Shark
who has had success here and say
I don't know if I can
help you in that aspect.
So good luck. I'm out.
♪♪
It's important to know
that we are building
the digital transformation
of pet health.
It is not just the thermometer
that you have in front of you.
Look, I get what
you guys are doing.
This is an ecosystem
of wellness devices.
So when we go do
our due diligence
and I start looking for
competitors, what will we find?
You will find
companies that are made
for post-operation
monitoring only in clinics
that are not wellness visit.
They're in the back office,
and they cost
thousands of dollars.
Thousands of dollars.
They're not something
that would take away...
And what about all
the... Put aside the pro.
What about on the consumer side?
There's nothing for the
consumer. Nothing, nothing.
There's no digital
thermometer that...
Nothing. We have back...
We have back orders.
We have customers who
are clamoring for our product.
Okay. I'll make
you guys an offer.
We need money to order.
I'll make you guys
an offer. Yeah. Shh!
So I'll offer you the
$250K. I want 6%.
♪♪
I saw that look. [ Chuckles ]
Your valuation got
cut from $10 million
down to $4 million
on that offer.
I'll tell you, I like you guys.
I think you guys
are very credible,
but the valuation is crazy. I
was actually going to give you
a Sharkier offer than Mark.
So I'm out.
What do you think,
guys? Yes or no?
♪♪
Just... Look, stick
to the $250,000.
We'll structure it
as advisory shares
so that you can stay
at your $10 million
for my investment.
I don't really care
what's regular shares
versus advisory shares. Okay.
So we can structure it
in whatever way works.
Of the 6%. Of the 6%.
Okay.
Are we gonna bring Cost
Plus dr*gs to pet care?
You know what? We're
working on the software right now.
We're working on it, too.
So, okay, then. There you go.
♪♪
Is that a deal?
Got a deal?
♪♪
[ Whispering indistinctly ]
Well...
Is that a yes, guys?
It's a yes! Yes. Let's go.
It's a yes. Perfect.
Thank you. Great job, guys.
I'm really excited about it.
Thanks. Yes. Thank you.
We'll make this work.
Yes. Thank you.
Congrats, guys.
Thanks, guys.
We were surprised that Mark
was willing to work with us
on our current valuation
so we don't have to undercut
any of our current investors.
We got the Shark we wanted.
And what he saw in Mella
is a huge hole in the market
that he can help
us fill together.
Narrator: In season 13,
we watched Julia
Rodgers and Sarabeth Jaffe
make a deal with Nirav
Tolia and Kevin O'Leary
for their online platform
for prenuptial
agreements, HelloPrenup.
This is how people
become millionaires.
Narrator: Let's see
what they're up to now.
Talking about your
finances with your partner
is critical for a
happy relationship.
And in this day and age,
when baby boomers are set
to transfer about $60
trillion to their children,
a prenuptial agreement is the
best way to protect that wealth.
When we went into the t*nk,
we had only generated
$20,000 in sales.
It's been two years,
and HelloPrenup
has $3 million in sales.
Today, HelloPrenup is
valued at over $22 million.
Lui: Hey, guys.
When our episode aired,
the founder of LegalZoom saw
our episode and reached out.
And we've since brought him
on our investment advisory team.
We've built a strategic
partnership with Proof,
the leading online
notarization platform.
We want to teach our students
to deliver legal services
in the 21st century.
We've also partnered
with Suffolk Law School,
the leading legal technology
law school in the country.
Integrating technology,
especially responsible use
of A.I., is so critical
in the legal space.
I love the opportunity to bring
more attorneys into the fold.
Tolia: HelloPrenup
took an industry
that people are
a little scared of,
but they've made people
realize that getting a prenup
is actually a path to a happier,
stronger, stable marriage.
This is a company that can go
to hundreds of millions of dollars
in the next few years.
Do you take this
woman to be your wife?
I was just ecstatic
when Julia and Sarabeth
brought me into HelloPrenup,
but they didn't know at the time
that I'm also a fully
ordained minister.
Today, I'm in Boston
to officiate the very first
HelloPrenup-sponsored wedding.
I pronounce you
husband and wife.
You may now kiss the bride.
Looking into the
future of the company
with the Sharks by our side,
the sky is the limit.
We know that we can take prenups
from being a taboo
to a marriage to-do.
♪♪
♪♪
Narrator: Next in the
t*nk is a tech-enabled way
to let your creativity flow.
♪♪
Hi. Sharks. I'm Sam, and
I'm from New York City.
I'm seeking $350,000
for 5% of my company.
[ Chuckles ] Whoa.
Sharks, drawing is hard.
If you've ever tried
to draw a portrait
of someone in your mind,
you probably thought it
was going to turn out like this.
[ Laughter ] O'Leary:
Oh, that's good, I like that.
Cuban: That's
actually good, yeah.
That's a good-looking guy.
Gherman: But then after hours
of hard work, you probably
looked down on your paper
and saw something that
looked a little bit more like this.
[ Laughter ]
That's actually more accurate.
It's this kind of
soul-crushing disappointment
that makes a person's
enthusiasm for art...
Art just disappear.
There you go. Oh.
And that's why I've created
my company, Da Vinci Eye.
We make augmented reality
tools for non-digital artists.
Our flagship app,
AR Art Projector,
lets anyone create amazing
artwork on any physical surface,
from as small as a cookie
to as large as a canvas
using augmented reality.
You just place your phone
over the drawing surface
and with one of
these AR markers.
Then you can look
through your phone
and see the image you want
to draw virtually projected
on your paper so
you can easily trace it.
Oh, that's so cool. Oh, my God.
Gherman: You can zoom in to draw
fine details like a magnifying glass
or compare shades and colors
to your original reference image,
which is something no
traditional drawing tool can do.
And for those of you
that want to think big,
our second app, Mural Maker,
lets you create artwork
the size of buildings
with our patent-pending
multi-device augmented
reality system.
We also have a patented
system in our apps
that turns any image into a
step-by-step drawing tutorial.
That way, you end up with
artwork that looks like this.
Wow.
Gherman: And not like
this. Chocolate thunder.
That's chocolate thunder.
[ Laughter ] Hey,
what, I-I have a stroke?
O'Leary: I like that one better.
So, Sharks, who's ready to turn
some AR into some A-R-T
and make a multi-million
dollar masterpiece
with Da Vinci Eye?
Wow, that's really cool.
There you go. Nice magic.
Thank you, thank you.
Lubetzky: Sam, are you aware
that I'm also a magician?
I am, very, very much so.
And that's why I wanted
to invite you up here
to try out Da Vinci
Eye for yourself.
Magician to magician.
Greiner: Cool.
Lubetzky: Sure. Come on up.
I'm afraid I might
disappoint you, though,
because that's not my skill
set. It's okay, it's totally fine.
We expect it,
Daniel. Don't worry.
[ Laughter ]
Oh, my Lord. O'Leary:
Now, that's nasty.
[ Laughter ]
Oh, my Lord.
Gherman: So one great thing,
like I said, is you can zoom in
to draw fine
details if you want.
Those are fine details.
Yeah, see?
Now you should be
able to see exactly,
just like you were
looking at a projector
or projection on the surface,
you should be able
to trace the outlines.
It takes a little
bit to get used to,
but usually it's
less than a minute
'cause... Yeah,
well, not in the case
of this uncoordinated guy.
Part of the reason
how this app came to be
was that all my
friends were telling me,
you have to see this movie
called "Tim's Vermeer."
It's about this guy, Tim,
who tries to recreate a
Vermeer using the tools
that artists had available to
them hundreds of years ago.
So, Vermeer, it's theorized,
used these optical devices
like the camera obscura.
And at the time when
this movie came out,
I was learning how to code.
So I thought this would
help me with my own art.
So I'm going to try
this as a fun project.
I-I just launched
it, even though
I didn't have any
idea what I was doing.
And in the first five weeks,
I had 50,000 downloads.
Good for you.
Gherman: And this
is... Greiner: Wow.
And I was like, this is amazing.
I'm totally onto something.
I can finally quit my day
job and work on this full-time,
pursue my dream of
being an entrepreneur.
And then I realized
a little bit later
that the 50,000 downloads
didn't translate into any sales,
so I was kind of right
back to where I was...
Don't you hate it
when that happens?
Gherman: I know,
right? How long...
You have to charge people
money to get money. It's so weird.
Lubetzky: Just hold one second
for the reveal. Just rip it out.
Ta-da!
John: Oh. Yeah.
That's exactly what I see
when I look in the mirror.
He looks very French. Sam. Sam.
Sam, that... that doesn't
work good for your pitch,
just so you know. Cuban: Yeah.
Sam, let's pick it up back
with the 50,000 downloads.
The light pops in your...
In your head saying,
well, this sucks. 50,000
downloads, no revenue.
And then because you're
now worth, according to you,
$350,000, 5%, 7 million bucks,
something wonderful
happened, right? Gherman: Yes.
Greiner: What? Called sales.
Sales. Yes. What...
Okay. Talk to me about that.
After I launched
the app in 2016,
I tried to get investors
onboard with me.
I knew that all I needed
was just a little bit of
money to get me started,
just so I could
work on it full-time
so I could make
this thing take off.
So, we fished so many investors.
Nothing happened.
Now we're in 2020.
Still no sales. Still no sales.
And? And then the best thing
to happen to me
was... The pandemic?
I was furloughed from
my job for three months.
And from the time that
I woke up to the time
that I went to sleep,
the only thing I did
was take the feedback that I got
from the users in the app,
I put it into the app.
But still no sales.
Oh, my God. Alright, I'm-a
sum that whole story up.
You went to three people.
No sales in five years.
Where we at now?
So now we're at about June 2020,
and we start making
real money. Alright.
How? How? All of a sudden,
so now we're selling the app.
So in 2020, we made
$450,000 in revenue.
Nice. Alright.
Alright, there you go.
So our business model
was paid social. We...
Greiner: Under a minute. So people
started downloading the paid app?
Right, 'cause they're
bored during the pandemic
and they're looking for something
to do. Yeah, creative arts.
Right? So what happened next?
So my girlfriend at the time,
she was in event management.
So there was nothing
going on with her.
And I said, I have
something really special here.
You know, maybe we
can both quit our jobs,
and we can work
on this together.
So January 2021, we both
quit our jobs, moved in together,
and now we have
this amazing company.
January 2021,
we were the number
two top paid app
on the iOS App Store. Sales.
We did $200,000 in
revenue in January.
Nice. Gherman: Thank you.
January 2022. The whole year.
Or '21? January 2021.
why do I feel like
we're pulling teeth?
So you sold how much in
How much are you going to sell in
He's gonna tell us... He's like a
magician. He wants to misdirect everything.
O'Leary: Give us the three
years. I'm gonna cut to the chase.
What are we doing?
Yeah, cut to the chase.
Get to the three years.
Get to three years.
Gherman: Alright, so right
now, 2021, we did $890,000.
Excellent. 2022, we did about
$860,000 in revenue.
And in 2023, we just
realized it's just not
a sustainable business
model to sell the app one time,
so we switched it over
to a subscription model.
So now it is $19.99 per year
for the core app, AR Art Projector,
and it's grown our
revenue from last year
about 1 1/2 to 2 times
from our sales last year.
Don't give us about. Just give us
the actual. Greiner: So you're at 1.6...
Give us the actual number.
You should be at 1.6 now.
John: Sam. Sam. Sam. Sam.
Sam. So we're on track to do...
John: The biggest challenge
is you can't answer a direct...
Don't give us the
on track. No, no, no.
The biggest problem is you
can't answer the question,
so I am out.
Oh. Oh, my Lord.
What did you do to date?
growing that much.
Are you going to make any money?
No, but based on what you
just said, you should be at 1.6
because you said
you were doubling...
We're going to be at 1.6 next
year. your sales already this year.
Okay. So, the growth
issue is the growth issue,
because it looks like
it's sort of a million to 1.6
depending on how
fast you can ramp this.
How much are you making...
Let's just use this year. Okay.
If everything goes really
well, let's say 1.2 million.
Is that real... realistic?
That's 100% realistic.
Okay. What are you
going to make, bottom line,
before you pay yourself
anything, at 1.2 million?
We're going to do
$400,000 bottom line
before we pay
ourselves everything.
And that's after you've spent
advertising acquiring customers?
Correct.
So what's your customer
acquisition cost now?
It's between 10 and 21
cents to acquire a customer,
because we've started
shifting away from paid social
and into organic social.
So with organic social,
we've been averaging
about 200,000 to 300,000...
You know, none of
this [bleep] you're saying
is adding up, right?
Because if you're
able to get a new user,
a new subscriber for
You should take every
single penny you have,
your girlfriend has,
your parents has,
and everybody else has,
and you should be able to get
so many subscribers.
It's not adding up.
I'm out.
Well, now we're
doing organic social.
So we've been really
successful with our social media.
Greiner: You know, listen.
This has really been
a very confusing pitch.
I'm very sorry. Oh, I'm sorry.
You are a nice guy.
But this went, like,
all over the place.
And I still don't really
understand what your sales
have been or what has
happened throughout the time.
And so I'm sorry. I'm out.
That's okay. Thank you.
Lubetzky: Listen, Sam.
I'm tremendously happy for you.
Thank you. Because there is
so many people in the world,
they haven't
found their passion.
It's very clear that you have.
And I think you're going
to build a good business.
Thanks. But the numbers
were very, very murky.
And for that reason, I'm out.
Well, thank you
very much, Daniel.
Look, I always respect sales.
And, you know, a million
bucks is not to be pooh-poohed.
I mean, that's pretty
impressive. But that's a projection.
You've been all over
the map on it, but...
We've done $450,000
this year to date.
But looks like in your deal
I give you the $350,000,
and then I get the
app for free, I hope.
And then I just draw pictures of
money that I don't have anymore.
Gherman: We're...
I give you the cash.
Gherman: Yes. How
do I get the cash back?
Like I said, the cash comes in
from annual reoccurring
revenue and then...
I got it. But how
do I get it back?
When... All I care
about is my $350,000.
Absolutely. So, eventually...
You should come in here
saying, "Here's how this works.
I'm taking a distribution
of $300,000 a year,
and I'll sell you X percent,
and you'll be
getting a distribution."
You make it interesting. Okay.
'Cause this is not
interesting. I'm sorry.
Well, what would... what
would make it interesting for you?
I'm out.
Well, thank you
very much, Sharks.
Sam, thank you very
much. Thank you, Sam.
Lubetzky: Thank you so
much. Take care, guys.
Cuban: Good luck, Sam.
Greiner: Bye. Good luck.
I went out there. I did my best.
I'm a little disappointed.
I wish, in hindsight,
I kept it a little bit more
simple with the numbers,
but, you know, you do
what you do under pressure.
And I think I did my best.
♪♪
Narrator: Next up
is an entrepreneur
hoping to bring an unfamiliar
cuisine to the masses.
♪♪
[Speaks Tagalog]
Sharks, or "Hello, Sharks."
My name is Jake Deleon.
I'm from the nation's
capital in Washington, D.C.,
and I'm the founder
of Fila Manila.
I am a first generation
Filipino American immigrant.
Now, in my case, that means
I was born in the Philippines
and raised in the exotic land
of New "Joisey." [Jersey]
Sharks, did you know that
Filipinos are the third largest
Asian American community?
And our cuisine is the fastest
growing in the United States,
yet there is almost
zero representation
of our delicious food
in most grocery stores.
Until today. At Fila Manila,
we're here to represent
the next generation of
Filipino American flavors.
We're starting this journey
with three award-winning
product lines inspired
by iconic Filipino flavors.
We want to bring
our delicious food
in every household in America,
and so we're seeking $250,000
in exchange for 5%
equity in my business.
Ouch. Ouch. Whoa, whoa.
Now, who wants to join
us at the kitchen table
and help bring delicious
and profitable representation
of a delicious food and culture
to the rest of the
country? Thank you.
I prepared a full-course
Filipino meal for you
using all of the Fila
Manila products.
For starters, we have our
banana ketchup served with fries.
Now, banana ketchup is a
nostalgic Filipino condiment
made from bananas, not tomatoes,
so it's half the calories...
Wow, that's really good.
Deleon: half the sugar... Wow.
Deleon: and half the
carbs of tomato ketchup.
Mmm. I like that spice in it.
Now, for our two entrees,
we have our chicken adobo.
Adobo is the unofficial
national dish of the Philippines.
A really delicious, umami,
savory, flavor bursting treat.
Super tasty. Oh,
wow. This is great.
Our second entree
is our kare-kare,
and we prepared it with shrimp.
Kare-kare is kind of
the Filipino variation
of a peanut sauce. Greiner: Wow.
The... Going back
to the Filipino adobo
because it's really
good. Yes. Thank you.
It's phenomenal. What
happened before...
Like, you obviously added
these chives and the rice.
Other than that, is this
straight out of the pot?
Do you just heat it
up and put it here?
Deleon: Yeah, for
sure. So... With chicken.
With shredded chicken, right?
The adobo and the kare-kare
are actually cooking sauces.
So how you enjoy it,
you just add your protein
and your veggies
of choice, simmer it,
and you have an instant
meal solution at home.
And lastly, we, for dessert
we have our ube spread.
Now, ube is a purple yam
indigenous to the Philippines,
so we combine it with
coconut for a delicious,
tropical, luxurious treat.
Cuban: It's pretty good!
Wow. This stuff is amazing.
The kare-kare is delicious.
You're valuing your
business at $5 million.
That's because you
have a lot of sales, right?
Well, let me tell you
a bit about the journey
so far, and my
journey, yeah? So...
That's not always a
good answer. [ Laughter ]
When I ask you about
sales. Tell us about you.
Deleon: Hear me out, hear me
out, please. Tell us about you.
So, my earliest memory
in the food business
was helping my mom make
Filipino delicacies in the kitchen.
We would then resell
them to friends and family
for extra income.
I say life is ironic
because I end up working
for big food as a career.
So I enjoyed career with
Procter & Gamble and Starbucks
building billion-dollar brands.
But with most
crazy entrepreneurs,
I love to build,
I love to create,
and I love food. And when
the lockdowns happened,
I saw an article that talked
in some areas of the U.S.,
fighting on the front lines
of COVID were Filipino.
And that was a
mind-blowing moment for me.
That's where I came
upon all these findings
about this lack of
representation in the market,
despite this growing
trend of Filipino flavors.
So during that period,
in true immigrant grit,
I used my stimulus check,
and I built the first
prototypes of Fila Manila.
So November 2020, we
launched into retail in my first store.
First revenue for Fila
Manila was $6,000.
And 20... Wait, you
went from 50 to 400?
Yes.
I need to start
writing this crap down.
And year to date?
Okay. Year to date,
we're about 150,
but I can explain, and
we'll probably close the year
about $800,000.
The big why? Everything
was in 12-ounce glass jars.
Oh. Heavy. Glass
was very expensive.
With the change to
these non-glass formats,
we moved our margin
overnight to about 55% in general.
So what do they cost?
What do you sell them for
and what do they
cost you to make?
The pouches, we
make it for about $1.60.
We sell it for $3.33, and
it retails for about $5.99.
Wow. Jake, even if I...
Like, I really am
excited about this.
Even if I trust that you're
going to get to $800,000,
you're at $150,000 to date.
You're imputing a valuation
of $5 million in your company.
It's... It's very rich.
Deleon: How I did my
valuation is that, you know,
we're the first mover
in this space right now.
Filipino is the fastest
growing cuisine in the US.
Fila Manila is actually
leading all of that growth.
We have 96% market share.
Where Filipino cuisine
is today is where
Korean and Japanese
cuisine... Well, Jacob,
let me push back a bit here.
Let's put all this
in context, right?
So the real question becomes
where are you selling it?
'Cause selling at a retail
is very limiting for you,
because it's hard
to convey on shelf
unless there's a very large
Filipino community,
right? Community, yeah.
So, how many stores
are you in right now,
and what percentage
of your sales are online?
Deleon: Yeah, for sure. So,
we started off in Whole Foods,
one store. They expanded
us into one region,
and the product was
doing well enough
that they expand
us into four regions...
Really? This month.
For last year, 90% of
our sales were retail,
of that came from Amazon.
The dish that's missing
here is the Nothing Burger
'cause that's what
your sales are.
It's not worth $5 million.
And you've got 150K
in sales. I mean...
We had $400,000
in sales last year.
Yeah, but that's...
That's worse!
That's worse. Think about
it. You're going down, not up.
Well, Kevin, this year is a
transition year because we're
moving away from glass into...
Yeah, but that's what everybody says.
"It's a transition year." Look,
I'm okay with transition years.
Every one of us had
that roller coaster ride.
John: Maybe he's
raised capital already.
Are you... You have
any other investors?
We've raised about $900,000.
Oh! Oh!
You raised $900,000
at what valuation?
The latest valuation
was at $8 million.
How much? $8
million? $8 million, yes.
$8 million. You can't...
Don't give him a
hard time about that.
Deleon: Listen, listen.
So... I'm not. So he's actually
giving us a break
at this moment.
Everything's down around these
days. I know this is a Shark t*nk.
Greiner: Where I see
your biggest problem,
one, is that you did come in
asking for 5% for $250,000,
and you don't have
a lot of sales yet.
And your second biggest problem
is for people to know
what is Filipino food.
I had no idea sitting here.
And getting that out there
is going to take a tremendous
amount of time and energy.
But I don't hear you
talking about a direct plan
with how you're
going to get people
that are not the
Filipino community
to understand or
want to try Filipino food.
And unfortunately, because
I didn't hear that, I'm sorry...
Lori, before you
go out... I'm out.
Can I show you the other plan?
So the plan, we're hoping
to use the investment
to create content to
support exactly what
you're saying, showing
food... Yeah, but, see, that...
That's the worst approach.
I don't think that
there's demand there.
You're not telling us that, you
know, there's so much demand
and you had to change over,
and everything's back-ordered
and sold out. That's
not what I'm hearing.
And so for those
reasons, I'm out.
Alright, so, listen, it's
going to be hard for me to...
I got really bad
heartburn right now.
It's going to be hard for
me to have that passion,
to talk about it on
something that I just can't eat.
I wouldn't be able to
be an advocate for it
because I just can't eat it.
And unfortunately, I'm out.
It is delicious, but I'm
paying for it right now.
Okay, so, I'm just
looking at the numbers.
I'm a numbers guy.
$400,000 last year.
We're halfway through
this year. You're $150,000.
You'll be lucky
to be flat this year.
You are so not worth $5 million.
I'm sorry, my friend. I'm out.
♪♪
I think as an entrepreneur,
you are
extraordinarily credible.
I want to work with you.
The most generous
that I can get to is 20%.
I know this is going to
be a roller coaster ride,
but I'd love to
ride it with you.
Your valuation just got crushed.
That's a $1.2 million valuation.
Daniel, it's very kind of
you. I mean, what you built
with Somos is amazing
and with Kind, as well.
I'm not hearing you say
yes, and that's insane.
Yeah. What are you
waiting for? Well, Sharks,
I drew some inspiration...
Greiner: It's a dream come true.
I drew some
inspiration from Lori.
So every season, I like to
award my golden ticket...
Oh, my God. John: Oh, boy.
To one of my favorite
Sharks, and it says royalty.
John: Ah. Deleon: So, Daniel...
Did I hear royalty?
Deleon: So, to help you
mitigate some of the risks,
would you consider...
And this is open to
other Sharks, as well...
Whoa, whoa. What do you mean?
Wait a second, Daniel.
I think that says royalty. Deleon:
Daniel, would you consider,
what if I were to
give you a royalty
of something like
until you recoup
your initial investment
of $250,000? In exchange,
we could do it for 5% equity.
Jake, to put a
royalty structure in this
I think is very
unhealthy. I don't think
it's the right thing for
you. Whoa! Not so fast.
I'll tell you, I'm
interested all of a sudden.
Jake... Let me make
you another offer
that you should
consider, okay? Ready?
Narrator: Four sharks are out.
Jake has an offer on
the table from Daniel
for his Filipino food
company, Fila Manila.
But Kevin may have
changed his mind
when Jake mentioned a royalty.
Chef Wonderful is
now intrigued, okay?
I'll do that royalty
percentages,
but I want to make
back $500,000.
So I double my money,
and I'll take 10% equity.
Whoa. Why be greedy?
Jacob, you... You
opened the door.
A dung beetle
walked right in, right?
And you don't want
to answer the guy?
I'll do that deal and put...
That's what you wanted, right?
Put the power of Chef Wonderful
behind this brand. I like it.
Well, Jacob, what do you think
of that? Deleon: Kevin, thank you.
So, Kevin, thank
you. I think, you know,
this brand represents the
community where I'm from.
And, you know, as a
community, we work too hard to...
Well, I'm an honorary
Filipino. You didn't know that.
Deleon: You're an
honorary... [ Both laugh ]
So are you turning him down?
I would like to hear Daniel's
answer to my proposal.
[ Laughing ]
You're the Rodney Dangerfield
of "Shark t*nk," Kevin.
I can't do it, Jake. I
looked at the numbers.
I think I'm really stretching
with a $1.2 million evaluation.
It's assuming your last
year's sales come back,
and there's just... What I
would do is I would do it at 20%.
But I would agree with you
on setting certain
set of challenges
that if you meet
them, you get 5% back.
Is that your final offer?
That's my final offer.
Daniel, I'd be a
fool if I didn't accept.
You have a deal. Good.
Thank you so much. Oh...
Congratulations, guys.
He didn't even look at Kevin!
Greiner: Congratulations.
I like my deal better.
We're gonna change
the world together. Alright.
Look forward to working with you.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Thank you. Cuban:
Congratulations, Jacob.
[Speaks Tagalog] Sharks.
[ Speaking Tagalog ]
He showed the royalty
thing to everybody but Kevin.
[ Laughing ]
Deleon: I'm super psyched
I got a deal with Daniel.
He was the Shark
I was targeting.
And I think Daniel's
experience building Kind
is going to bring Fila
Manila where I want it to be.
I can't do it myself.
And Daniel, I...
It's just unbelievable.
Like, the perfect partner
to make it happen.
♪♪
♪♪
05x15 - Episode 15
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Shows entrepreneurs making business presentations to a panel of five venture capitalists (investors in start-ups) called "sharks" on the program, who decide whether to invest in their companies.
Shows entrepreneurs making business presentations to a panel of five venture capitalists (investors in start-ups) called "sharks" on the program, who decide whether to invest in their companies.