Shark Tank USA: Season 16 Episode 1

Shark Tank is back with a brand new season. This is the 16^th season of Shark Tank USA. Shark Tank is popular for entrepreneurship and investment opportunities. Several startups present their creative and innovative business ideas to a panel of judges each year and aim to secure funding.

Judges evaluate the valuation of the business and provide funding to the startups in exchange for either ownership stakes or a specific percentage of equity in the company.  The judges also provide valuable mentorship to help these startups navigate challenges they may encounter in their startup journey.

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 QVC show Clever & Unique Creations 
• Kevin O'Leary: Founder of O'Leary Ventures
• Rashaun Williams (Guest Judge): Atlanta Falcons limited partner and Venture Capitalist

Contestant 1 of Shark Tank: Little Saints

The show kicked off with Megan Klein's pitch from Miami, Florida. She is the founder of Little Saints. She is a former attorney from New York who has been on her startup journey with her former start-ups, such as Hydrophonic Basil Farm and National plant-based salad dressing and dips. She also pursued a Kellogg MBA while embarking on business ventures. She was there to seek $500K USD for 5% stakes in the company.

What does Little Saints do?

Little Saints sell non-alcoholic cocktails and spirits made from functional mushrooms like Reishi and Lion. Little saint’s drinks are sugar free and have sophisticated taste and smell. The drinks contain only 5 calories per serve and are non-psychedelic.

What did the Shark say?

Shark Rashaun Williams was impressed by both the taste and concept of Little Saints. He offered $500K for a 10% stake.

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Lori Greiner chose to withdraw from the pitch. She acknowledged the founder's passion but was not fond of citrusy flavor of the drinks. Daymond John enjoyed the drinks but felt the company's valuation was too high. Mark Cuban also opted out, as he had little interest in the startup sector.

Kevin O’Leary expressed interest in the startup. He proposed 15% equity for a $500k investment. As he owns a wine company and noticed the growing trend of people seeking alternatives to alcoholic beverages. O’Leary also suggested partnering with Rashaun Williams under the same terms of 15% for $500k. However, both sharks aimed to negotiate for 10% equity at the same investment.

Megan was hesitant and countered with a request for $1 million for 10% equity for both sharks. But the proposal didn't satisfy either Shark. Ultimately, Megan decided to decline the entire offer.

Contestant 2 of Shark Tank: TRUFIT Customs

Next pitch in line was from Matthew from Ventura, California. He is the founder of TRUFIT Customs. He was there to raise $750k for 5% equity.

What does TRUFIT Customs do?

TRUFIT Customs manufactures and sells mouthguards, which are designed to prevent grinding of teeth for athletes. TRUFIT is transforming the experience of mouthguards for athletes as traditional mouthguards are bulky and prevent athletes from communicating. And custom made mouth guards are expensive and unaffordable for many athletes. 

TRUFIT Customs mouthguards utilize the latest 3D printing and scanning technology, they feature shock wave damping compression pads and a sleek, slim profile. They are designed to allow for easy breathing and speaking.

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What did the Shark say?

Shark Cuban expressed that there is a ton of competition in the industry while Shark Rashaun said it is a solution to a non-existent problem.  Cuban found the valuation of TRUFIT insane and chose to opt-out of the deal.  Shark Daymond agreed with Cuban and withdrew from the deal.

Lori shared similar concerns about the valuation and figured would be challenging to recoup her investment. 

Kevin O’Leary proposed $750K for 3% equity, along with $2 per unit until he recouped his $250K investment. Later Rashaun said that the startup doesn’t have a great growth rate but have potential and offered $750k for 10% equity and with that offered to bring 10-15 athletes for promotion and investment. Matthew tried to negotiate the deal by offering 8%equity for $1 million. Ultimately, TRUFIT Customs joined hands with Rashaun William and successfully raised the funding.

Contestant 3 of Shark Tank: 1587 Sneakers

Next in line were Sam Hyun and Adam King from Boston, Massachusetts. They are founders of 1587 Sneakers, a revolutionary Sneaker Brand. Adam has already been on 2 other sneaker ventures and Sam is the USP of the brand as he has 250k followers on Instagram. They were seeking $100k for 15.87% stakes.

What does 1587 Sneakers do?

1587 Sneakers is a 10 months old startup, its name is inspired by the year the first Asian step foot in North America. The brand primarily targets Asian American consumers. They have launched sneaker Named “Morrow bay”, which are inspired by 80s basketball Sneakers. Their other shoes”AP87” are classic tennis Silhouettes. The startup use natural leather and rubber to craft their Sneakers.

What did the Shark say?

Lori Greiner opted out of the deal as she isn’t a sneaker head. Rashaun withdrew from the deal as he felt that the startup lacked traction and could have a bigger community, as currently it does not even have quarter of the followers as the founder Sam Hyun.

Shark Daymond found appreciated the concept but has invested in the Sneaker brand Etonic earlier. He said he is familiar with what goes into process of making the footwear and pointed out that after selling sizes 9.5 and 10, the inventory would likely sit, and opted out from the deal.

Shark Cuban said the founders have to find a right path for the startup and want go bigger as they are going in retail. He suggested that the founders should go for D2C but currently they have no margin and should follow the course that is organic and with that he opt out of the deal as well.

Founders took it positively and thought of reassessing their idea of going D2C.

Contestant 4 of Shark Tank: Cardio.io

Next and final contestant in the line for Episode 1 of Shark Tank Season 16 was Destine George Bell, from Austin,Texas. He is the founder and CEO of Cardio.io. It is a gamified cardio app. he was seeking $150K for %% stake.

What does Cardio.io do?

Cardio.io is an app that features map which transforms outdoor walking and running into a giant team game. Users can claim territory in their area and city, competing to steal or defend it from other individuals and clubs who are out walking or running.

What did the shark say?

Shark Lori opted out of the deal by saying that she is neither a sports enthusiast nor interested in gaming.

Shark Kevin was not impressed with the valuation and profit margin of the app and opted out of the deal.

Cuban expressed that businesses like Cardio.io can be stressful, lack a critical mass, and have low chances of success. Despite Destine's attempts to persuade him, Cuban declined the deal, by saying that he lacks expertise in scaling such apps.

Rashaun was impressed by the presentation of Destine and praised him as a great salesperson and with the potential to be a successful businessman. He suggested that Destine needs mentorship, strategy, and access to capital. Rashaun offered $150K for 15% Stakes together with Shark Daymond.

Destine negotiated for $150K for 10% stakes but ultimately accepted the original offer on his mother’s advice.

Conclusion

That was the end of episode 1 of season 16 of Shark Tank. It was an interesting episode where some got the deal of their dreams but many participants unfortunately did not secure deals, but received valuable insights that could them with their businesses. For now, everyone is eagerly waiting for the next episode and are looking forward to discovering more interesting businesses and their strategies for raising funds from the panel of judges.