Shark Tank is an American reality television series that features a panel of investors called Sharks who are successful entrepreneurs, they are the ones who decide whether to invest in aspiring entrepreneurs and deal with their business that could make them tons of breads. The 2009 American business reality show is the counterpart of the international program format Dragons’ Den originated in Japan in 2001. There is also the UK counterpart of called Dragon's Den as well whose panel of investors are called Dragons.
Same premises as the U.S. version of the show, they negotiate and break deals with budding business people and pitch their ideas to investors and panels of venture capitalists to give them a chance to secure their investment and finance their propositions. A local version of the show had spread to nearly 30 countries across the globe, including one for the Arab world; some other countries aired and produced multiple local versions.
Shark Tank had successful ratings in its time slot and gathered numerous awards, achieving the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program. Here are some of the biggest and best deals Shark Tank ever pressed through the entire series.
Breathometer
In 2013, a young entrepreneur named Charles Michael Yim entered the tank and presented his product, the Breathometer; it is a device that claims to measure blood alcohol content (BAC) by attaching the widget on your smartphone and letting it do the work. Entrepreneur billionaire and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Mark Cuban, pulled a $1 million investment deal for a 30% stake with Yim.
Two weeks after the aired episode, Yim is partying in Las Vegas and on an island-hopping escapade on Necker Island with some peers; isn’t that early to count chicks from unhatched eggs? Moving on, Cuban saw his post on Instagram, nagged him about the activities, and told him that he was supposed to be working. Yim reacted and voiced his excuses; he said it was just networking for business.
LARQ
LARQ is a stainless water bottle with a self-cleaning system. It eliminates viruses, bacteria, and mold that causes foul odors through its cleverly engineered ultraviolet-C LED technology. This on-the-go water purification bottle was founded by Justin Wang and co-founder of that company.
Wang entered the Tank and made his offer of a $500,000 deal of investment and for a stake of one percent. Wang’s self-cleaning bottle came up with the final agreement of a $1.5 million investment and a 4% equity in Larq. The deal was closed by Kevin O’Leary and Lori Greiner.
XCraft
In season 6, episode 5 of Shark Tank, the XCraft was introduced. JD Claridge and Charles Manning presented it, and the jumpstart offer for their craft was around $500,000 investment, and all five Sharks shot some breaking offers. This is not always the case since ideas are rejected by the Sharks. After some negotiating and slight discussions with the duo, the panels agreed on $300,000 for a five percent equity.
They were making the counteroffer of a total of $1.5 million for a stake of 25% in the company. After their tour on the show, there’s a slight shake for the XCraft founders; this was not the end of them becoming successful. The company is still in business and is currently valued at $17 million.
Rugged Maniac
Former Lawyers Brad Scudder and Rob Dickens partnered with the company Rugged Maniac, a short obstacle course with muddy slides, tunnels, fire pits, and large scaling walls. They were sought by Shark Tank’s producers, who invited them on the show. But two lawyers turned them down and eventually agreed to take the opportunity to present their creations.
As they were in the midst of the show, right after they pitched their propositions, Mark Cuban found himself a significant investment and initially offered them $1.5 million. Both parties settled on a $1.75 million investment and a 25% stake in the company.
Ten Thirty One Production
Ten Thirty On Production was featured on season 5 of Shark Tank, which received a $2 million investment for a 20% stake. It was considered one of the biggest investments in the show's history. The production quickly spread across Los Angeles for its seasonal treats to its audience.
Melissa's biggest goal is to expand and develop her business beyond locations. Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban didn't think twice about investing in the company, for Melissa has presented its massive generating revenue each fall. Sure, this would be the world's most successful Halloween-based entertainment company.
Vengo
Vengo is a touch screen mini wall-mounted machine created by Brian Shimmerlik and Steven Bofill. They pitched $2 million for 12% of Vengo in return, but the panel said their valuation was insane and didn’t agree. Steve and Brian had already raised $3.5 million with a chocolate company, making this their justification for the high valuation.
In this case, Kevin "Mr. Wonderful' O' Leary and Lori made an offer where they would give $2 million investment as a loan for thirty-six months plus seven percent interest and three percent equity; the duo accepted the offer and went out.
Numilk
Food tech Joe Savino and Ari Tolwan stepped into the tank with a bottle of almond milk. As a food tech company made it, the product can go limitless; as they almond milk, they can do it with oats, cashew, etc. It caught the attention of Mark Cuban who followed rules to succeed, has been a vegan for years.
He was impressed and immediately made an offer of $2 million between a loan and investment funds, making it the first million as an investment with seven percent equity; the other million was a loan with three percent interest. This offer could be the best deal for Joe and Ari. They happily accepted the offer and walked away.
Zipz
Zipz is a single-serving wine with a container made from plastic stemware that has the same shape as a wine glass; it is recyclable and BPA-free. Andrew McMurray entered the tank with high hopes that the Sharks would like his innovative idea. Andrew pitched his product seeking $2.5 million for a 10% stake. Kevin O'Leary got on his feet and began throwing many questions at Andrew.
The Sharks ask how Andrew's Zipz is different from other options. Andrew batted its shelf life that Zipz could last for a year. After Kevin asked too many questions, he offered him a deal of $2.5 million for 10%.
Sources: CNBC, Bizz Bucket, Mashed