Chef Big Shake
Chef Big Shake, a company originally selling $30,000 worth of their shrimp burgers, is now in over 2,500 stores and selling millions of dollars worth of product. The owner of the company, Shawn Davis, spent countless hours perfecting his shrimp burgers to his daughter's liking who had begun to only eat fish. Shawn found a quick solution by creating a flavorful meal he later branded as Chef Big Shake Burgers. Sean went on Shark Tank in 2011 where all the sharks seemed to love the product, but all the investors passed up on the $200,000 deal for 25% of the company. Despite this, Angel Investors were extremely interested in investing after the episode aired, giving Shawn even more than his $200,000 investment he was originally seeking. Chef Big Shake quickly flourished and is now in thousands of grocery stores. Chef Big Shake caters to people's needs across the country and the owner Shawn is now able to spread his wholehearted message.
When I talked with one of Shawn’s associates, they explained that since the beginning of the company, Shawn was determined to succeed and their biggest strength as a company has always been catering to people's needs. After being denied in the Shark Tank, the company received overwhelming support. Chef Big Shake is now one of the companies Marc Cuban regrets not investing in. While the company didn't receive investment right away, there were many take-aways they gained from being on the show. Shawn and his partners were able to discover tools to make their business more compelling through marketing and presentation.
It is clear that the Sharks have years of experience yet their predictive measures while analyzing the Chef Big Shake company and their potential for success, may have been wrong. When coming into the tank, Shawn had a positive message behind his brand, determination, and most importantly, the Sharks seemed to love the product. The Sharks described Shawn as a “great entrepreneur,” yet it is unclear why they passed on this deal which is now worth millions.
Ring Doorbell
A company that originally started in a garage has a product now found in over 16% of Americans' houses. This product is the Ring Doorbell, previously known as DoorBot. Ring was the first Wi-Fi video doorbell which originally started being sold out of the garage of its creator, Jaime Sminoff. When he first came on Shark Tank, he asked for a $700,000 investment for 10% of the company. Jaime had received an offer while on the show yet turned it down because it was too far below his asking price. After being on the show, the company was rebranded from DoorBot to Ring Doorbell in order to give it a new look. This rebranding caught the attention of various other investors who had seen Sminoff’s product on the show. Just recently, in 2018, Ring was sold to Amazon for 1 billion dollars. At the time of the show, the Sharks had no faith in the company and didn’t see it growing in any way, which is why they turned it down. Ring is clearly an incredibly large and valuable company, so a big question I’m looking to investigate is why the Sharks turned this company down and how did Ring become so successful?
Sharks like Mark Cuban, even after the success of the business, said that he does not regret turning down the investment opportunity even though the company is now worth billions. Another Shark, Kevin O'Leary claims that when Ring came on the show, he and the other Sharks were too uneasy to invest in a business that early in the process. All claim that the way owner Jaime Sminoff presented his product was great, but they didn’t see the vision and thought Sminoff was too ambitious.
The answer to the question of why the Sharks turned down Ring is unclear. The Sharks just didn’t have the vision Sminoff did. They didn’t see a market for this unique product at the time. I believe that Ring became successful after Shark Tank due to its rebrand and determination. Shark Tank drove sales to $1 million a month and after a lot of negative feedback due to the glitches that came with DoorBot, the new and improved Ring was born. With changes in sound and picture quality, Ring’s sales skyrocketed and even Shaquille O’Neal invested in the company. As Ring kept growing, the inventor was asked back on the show to be one of the guest investors.
It is obvious that Sminoff knows a lot about the business world and his product. Ring’s success was seemingly powered by his new ideas and genuine drive for the business to succeed. His charm and social skills didn’t seem to hurt him either. While the Sharks didn’t see a market for Ring, many others did, which led it to be the billion dollar company it is today.
Kodiak Cakes
After watching countless episodes of Shark Tank, I have only bought one product I have seen pitched on the show. After viewing an episode that displayed a product called Kodiak Cakes, I later saw it at my local grocery store and had to try it. Kodiak Cakes is a health company widely known for their protein mixes of various baked goods, such as muffins, pancakes, and brownies. When the company went on Shark Tank, they asked for $500,000 in return for a 10% stake. Two Sharks countered by offering $500,000 for a 50% stake and one Shark offered the same amount of money at a 35% stake, but Joel Clark, the Kodiak Cake owner, declined these offers. He didn’t think the Sharks saw the value in his company and thought they were asking for too large of a share. After airing on Shark Tank, the company made $1 million in revenue within weeks, and they now make $100 million dollars each year.
Why did the Sharks decide not to invest in this business? When the company came on the show, Joel was in a large amount of debt and balancing various side hustles to keep his startup in business. Despite this, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran, and Robert Herjavec all offered Joel a deal. Clearly, the Sharks saw potential in the business and liked his protein pancake mix but not enough to offer him the deal he wanted. I think the Sharks chose not to invest because of Joel's stubbornness; the Sharks wanted to invest in the company but Joel didn't like being “low balled” and walked away empty handed.
After Shark Tank, Kodiak Cakes began coming out with new products such as their Power Cups, which were appealing to many buyers, including myself. Kodiak Cakes worked its way to being the 4th largest pancake mix company in the world and makes over $54 million annually. After airing on the show, Kodiak Cakes continued their goal of making plant based and protein filled foods that still taste good and created an extensive line of products. More and more people began to consume the new products they put out and ultimately the exposure from Shark Tank saved the company. Kodiak Cakes can now be found in grocery stores across the world and are a best seller in Target. In this case, the Sharks predicted the success of Kodiak Cakes accurately, and three out of four Sharks were willing to invest. The only thing that stood in their way was the owner’s ego.
Brazi Bites
This company took a spin on a classic Latin food “Pão de Queijo” and brought them to freezers all across the world. When the founder of the company, Juena Rocha, moved to the United States, she missed her family's homemade bread and couldn't seem to find anything like it on the shelves of the local supermarkets. Thus, Brazi Bites was born. Juena and her husband Cameron began to make a gluten-free brazilian cheese bread from the comfort of their own home but quickly realized the product was too good to keep a secret from the world, and they had to showcase their food more broadly. After starting the company in 2009, Juena and Cameron went on Shark Tank looking for investments in 2015. The valuation of the company was 2 million dollars, and they were seeking 200,000 dollars for 10% of the company.
The sales pitch was extremely strong because Juena and Cameron were able to clearly explain the mission and origin of the company in a compelling manner. The Sharks loved the product and pitch-- not to mention the quality of the food, which won them over when they were able to taste the bites at the end of the company’s presentation.
Juena and Cameron came into the tank confident and prepared: they were specific with the numbers and statistics that the Sharks asked for, and they were warm and approachable. Most importantly, they were good on their feet and were able to respond to the Shark’s questions with ease.
The only thing that the Sharks were taken aback by was the fact that Juena and Cameron only owned 50% of their company, and they already had a business partner who owned the other share. Despite this, the Sharks got into an investment battle: Kevin, Lori, and Damon all gave Brazi Bites offers. In the end, Lori won the bid with an offer of 200,000 dollars for 16.5% of the company.
I think the idea of the product, packaging, and pitch all aided in the success of the company. Brazi Bites’ bright colored packaging was also bound to catch the eyes of shoppers. Unsurprisingly, after the show aired, sales skyrocketed, and the product is now found in thousands of frozen food sections across the nation.
The Bouqs Company
The owner of this artisan flower company went from being rejected by all the Sharks to, years later, collaborating with one of the Sharks on his wedding day.
The Bouqs Company is a flower company which delivers artisan bouquets from eco-friendly farms to consumers all across the nation. It is unique in its industry because it cuts out middlemen and allows flowers to be delivered directly to customers from farmers, providing a fresher product.
The company was founded in 2012 and came onto the show in 2014. When he first met the Sharks, owner John Tabis was seeking $258,000 for a 3% stake in his company. After 11 months, the company had $700,000 worth of sales, yet his pitch fell short when he told Sharks it takes six days to ship flowers to consumers. Though Tabis had a unique idea and a positive attitude, all the Sharks predicted his business would not be a success and passed on investing.
It is clear consumers saw the potential of the company because within two days of their premiere on Shark Tank, the Bouqs Company had millions of dollars worth of sales, and proved the Sharks wrong after they had said there was no market for flowers in today's day and age.
Three years later, Shark Robert Herjavec reached out to The Bouqs Company asking for their help in providing flowers for his wedding. After the collaboration, Robert realized he loved Tabis’ vision and decided to invest. With the newfound partnership, The Bouqs Company raised $24 million.
I think the reason the Bouqs Company was successful after Shark Tank was because Tabis made buying flowers a more personal experience. The company emphasized the importance of community and even worked with local florists in order to allow for a tight knit network to develop between producers and distributors. Though Tabis made it clear to the Sharks that his company utilized eco-friendly resources, I think this point was overlooked. The Bouqs Company had a big vision that allowed customers to support the environment with their purchases.
While the Sharks initially didn’t see the potential for the company, in the end, The Bouqs Company received the recognition they deserved and are continuing to grow outward from Ecuador, where the company originally started, to the U.S. and beyond.