Shark Tank USA Season 16 Episode 03

Shark Tank Season 16 has returned with an exciting new episode. Shark Tank Season 16 Episode 3 features innovative ideas and enthusiastic entrepreneurs, who are eager to take their businesses to the next level. This episode of Shark Tank includes four impressive pitches from talented and determined entrepreneurs who presented their businesses to the sharks. Entrepreneurs negotiated and persuaded sharks to secure the best deals for bringing their ideas to big markets. In this article, we’ll talk about every pitch and how they presented their business to get the funding.

This season, the lineup of judges for Shark Tank features:

Mark Cuban:  Owner of Dallas Mavericks and the author of How to win at the Sport of Business 

Daymond John: Founder, President, and Chief executive officer of FUBU

Lori Greiner: Known for the QVC show Clever & Unique Creations 

Kevin O'Leary: Founder of O'Leary Ventures

Kendra Scott (Guest Judge): Owner of Kendra Scott, a jewellery brand

Contestant No. 1 of Shark Tank: YardSale

The show started with an innovative pitch by Kelly and Christina from San Francisco, California. They were the co-founder of Yardsale. The duo was there to seek $200k for 10% stakes.

What does YardSale do?

YardSale sells ski poles made of clever design and great style for the everyday needs of skiers. Their ski poles have magnetic poles and baskets which makes it easier to carry them on lifts and for walking. Buyers can customize their ski poles according to size and colour. It is a lifestyle brand that is working to improve the ski gear for the ski community.

What did the shark say?

Shark Lori didn’t like the name of the company. She believed that the name had negative and incorrect connotations and did not reflect the premium quality and innovative new items of the brand. She opted out of the deal by saying that she is not a skier and does not have a passion for it either. She liked the entrepreneurs but didn’t feel like investing in a business for which she didn’t have a passion.

Shark Daymond liked the unique name of the business; he said a unique name helps to stand out in the market. Daymond expressed that he is part of the snowboard community and doesn’t like skiing at all, so he withdrew from the deal.

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Shark Cuban said that he never did skiing and didn’t have any intention of starting it. He opted out of the deal as he didn’t have passion for the idea.

Shark Kendra liked everything about the business but was hesitant as the business was pretty young.

The duo proposed a new offer for $200k for 5% stakes and $5 royalty on each unit until the investor recoups their initial investment.

Shark Kevin offered a deal for $200k for 20% with his hand in distribution to help the business get into distribution of the product.

Shark Kendra joined in the discussion and offered the deal for the same offer and promised to elevate the business with the distribution of the wholesale market as she has expertise in it.

Kevin changed him to counter Kendra’s with 15% sakes with a $3 royalty per unit until he recoups the $400k investment, which is twice his investment.

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The duo negotiated the offer for an 8% stake and a $5 royalty for each unit until the investor recoups $300k. Kevin didn’t like the deal, so they offered the same deal to Shark Kendra.

Shark Kendra negotiated the deal for 10%.

The duo proposed the offer of $250k for 10% equity with a $5 royalty on each unit and cracked the deal to join hands with the Shark Kendra Scott.

Contestant No. 2 of Shark Tank USA: Kobeesco

The next pitch in line was from a young entrepreneur named Kobe Harris. He is the founder of Kobeesco. He was there to seek $300k for 6% equity.

What does Kobeesco do?

Kobbesco sells 100% natural skin care products. The company sells organic and sustainable products with eco-friendly packaging.  Kobeesco’s primary product is lip balm which is made of beeswax, coconut oil, sunflower seed oil and mango butter. Their lip balm locks moisture and is non-toxic. Kobeesco's product line also includes lotion bars, lip scrubs, cuticle butter, and hand salves.

What did the shark say?

Kendra opted out of the deal as she doesn’t have expertise in the segment but she liked the passion and spirit of young entrepreneurs.

Shark Kevin offered a deal of $300k for 20% and promised to help with getting retail distribution partners to elevate the business.

Shark Lori said the product of Kobeesco has a lot of competition in the market, and it doesn’t stand between the already existing similar product brands. She opted out by saying that it would not be a great investment for her.

Shark Cuban said that he does not have expertise in the domain of the business and he cannot add any value to it.

Shark Daymond liked the spirit and appreciated the confidence of the entrepreneur. But he opted out of the deal by saying that he was not the ideal business for him to invest in.

Kobe negotiated the deal with Shark Kevin by saying that if he just wanted to raise funding for his startup, then he could have done it by taking a loan, but he needed guidance and expertise in retail distribution of the company.

 Kevin said he could help him, but he would stick to his initial offer. The founder tried to persuade him, but he didn’t want to lose 20% of the company at such an initial stage, so he declined the offer to save his business. He said he understand his business and cannot damage it by losing a heft percentage of stakes early on in the business.

Contestant no. 3 of Shark Tank: Sugardoh

Next in line for the pitch was Aliyah Marandiz from Austin, Texas. She was there to seek $500k for 5% stakes in the company.

What does Sugardoh do?

Sugardoh sells alternatives for painful hair removal from waxing, as waxing isn’t just painful but also damages the skin. Sugardoh manufactures sugar wax which helps in painless hair removal with the exfoliation of the skin. Their product is compostable and sustainable. The business is doing great but is in debt of 1.5 million as its end-to-end cost doesn’t meet the expenses of the business, and the founder is losing money because of it.

What did the shark say?

Kendra said that she relates to Aliyah's situation as she made similar mistakes in the initial phase of her jewellery business. Kendra expressed that she had been in debt since early on, but she rescued herself and made it to where she is.

She wished the same to the founder of Sugardoh and opted out by saying the segment of the business was out of her line of expertise.

Shark Kevin, Daymond and Cuban also withdrew from the deal for the same reason, and they couldn’t wrap their head around the amount of debt Aliyah was in.

Aliyah tried to convince the shark by saying she would love to join hands with the sharks, as she is in a critical situation and need their guidance to get out of it.

Shark Lori said the segment of the business is competitive and opted out of the deal. Aliyah was disappointed but was motivated to get her business Sugardoh out of debt to make it profitable.

Contestant no. 4 of shark Tank: Doatnut

The next and final pitch of episode 3 of season sixteen was from Kimy from Ocean Side, California. She was there to seek $100k for 10% equity.

 What does Doatnut do?

Doatnut sells sugar-free, dairy-free and gluten-free donuts. Their donut recipe consists of only five ingredients: groats, sweet potato sugar, monk fruit, baking powder and egg whites. It also contains 2gm of fibre and only 90 calories. Kimy home mills fresh groats to make oat flour and ship the freshly made donuts.

What did Sharks say?

Sharks loved the quality and taste of the donuts. Shark Kevin suggested Kimy to increase the price of the Donut to $4.99 as the ingredients used in the recipe were not only of great quality but also pass the health matrices.

Kevin further said that Kimy has a great product but does not have a business plan to scale it on a high level. He said investors need the return on the investment plans, but she doesn’t have it.

Shark Daymond opted out as he doesn’t have expertise in the business segment.

Shark Kendra appreciated the zeal of the founder as she also started from one store in Texas. She wished Kimy well and opted out of the deal by saying that she didn’t have expertise in the particular domain and didn’t know how to add value to scale it on a large level.

Shark Cuban and Lori showed deep interest in the business as the donut are not only delicious but also have great quality ingredients and are absolutely healthy. Shark Lori shared that she hasn’t had any donuts in the past 20 years and she would love to see the business grow. Shark Cuban and Lori combined offered the deal for $150k for 30% equity, which is 15% for each.

Kimy negotiated for $200k for 20% equity. Sharks countered the offer for $200k for 30% equity and joined hands with Kimy.

Conclusion

Shark Tank USA’s Episode 3 of season 16 was amazing. Viewers got to see interesting startups from different states in the USA. Sharks joined hands with interesting ideas as well as smart entrepreneurs. 2 out of 4 contestants got the deals. Sadly, they got back home with some enlightening advice and motivation to grow their business and develop and improve it further. The Episode 3 was a great one. Now everyone is eagerly waiting for Episode 4 of Shark Tank USA season 16 episode 4.

Read More: Shark Tank USA S16 Ep02