Shark Tank Master Thread, Episode Discussion

[RHL]

Haven't watched last night's season premiere yet but should get to it some time today.

Yeah, I saw this thread at 2AM right when I finished editing for the night and I was like yeaaaaaaaaaah, I want to, but it's not happening. I'll report back soon.

 

[TurksScuba]

I figure it's about time we started a master SHARK TANK discussion thread to discuss the latest episodes of Shark Tank. We can use this thread to discuss the episodes versus opening a new one on every episode which sometimes happens.

Tonight was the season premiere and there was definitely some "huh?" businesses with some "Are you f*n kidding me?" valuations.

I thought the mobile charger idea was horrible as did rest of the sharks. What did you guys think?

I really thought it was impressive on the 2 girls who did the kids toy setup. They had secured sales deals through multiple massive toy distributors, got 500k for 5% and had Mark and Lori on board. Pretty impressive.

As I am a golfer (not very good one), thought those guys had a pretty sweet putter to, was more impressed when both guys started talking Japanese right there and ended up doing the deal.

 

[Joe Cassandra]

I thought the fingerprint idea to open the chargers was good, but as Robert said, if it malfunctions and it's your phone stuck behind the glass wall, you'll be mega-pissed. I felt bad when Lori said, " I'm actually doing something in this area and it's light years ahead of this," kind of jerkish thing to say.

I was impressed with the girls toys' thing, definitely the more we can pry kids away from electronics and using their hands and mind the better. Nowadays most parent just give the kid their phone to shut them up (as a Samsung commercial which played a bunch during the episode exhibits) the toy industry is tough so good for them going after it and when living in Silicon Valley, they're doing a non-tech business which they probably get scoffed at for.

 

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[AubreyJ]

I really thought it was impressive on the 2 girls who did the kids toy setup. They had secured sales deals through multiple massive toy distributors, got 500k for 5% and had Mark and Lori on board. Pretty impressive.

Agreed- and I thought that Barbara was really pretty harsh when saying that the girls didn't "stay true" to their original purpose. I really liked the product, and liked them

I thought the fingerprint idea to open the chargers was good, but as Robert said, if it malfunctions and it's your phone stuck behind the glass wall, you'll be mega-pissed. I felt bad when Lori said, " I'm actually doing something in this area and it's light years ahead of this," kind of jerkish thing to say.

Yeah, but it's true. Like Robert said, they are creating a $2000 product, and it's biggest competition is something that's free. Those guys needed harsh, because their product just wasn't that good.

 

[Y.B.]

Anyone know where to watch these online?

 

[Spacecake]

I don't know if i'm just being sentimental, but I think HAMMER & NAILS was a BIG miss by the Sharks!!

 

[fasteddienc]

Anyone know where to watch these online?

They are up on itunes and you can buy the season for either $14.99 or $19.99 if you want HD. As always someone has posted it on youtube if you search for season 6 sharktank.

 

[Turner]

I don't know if i'm just being sentimental, but I think HAMMER & NAILS was a BIG miss by the Sharks!!

Great guy and loved his story. I liked the idea but think it would only succeed if he incorporated haircuts into the service.

The phone charging idea was ridiculous. I don't see people locking away their phones while out. They want to text to find the next bar, show photos... Maybe if they rented out portable, lightweight chargers that patrons could use. Walk away with it and your CC is charged.

Great pitches with the baby sleep wear and the two young women engineers.

 

[smarty]

Hammer and Nails is such a ridiculous idea, it's unbelievable. Turning men into women. Essentially a transgender salon.

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[codo3500]

Hanner and Nails is such a ridiculous idea, it's unbelievable. Turning men into women. Essentially a transgender salon.

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I don't think it's a horrible idea, he's cutting even, he'll make money in a year. It's nicely branded, and a quality experience, but he needs to upsell like crazy, or he'll go nowhere. I personally would use a service like his if it was in my city.

 

[Vigilante]

I think there are a lot of baby sleepers out there. We literally had a similar product for our kids 20 years ago. I was not sure quite what was different/protectable/patentable about it. Hated the name also. Damon will likely have them change the name.

 

[DeletedUser394]

So much drama on that show.

 

[DeletedUser12]

I guess I'm a sucker for nicely designed things, but I thought the floating mug was pretty innovative and has potential when combined with the glass idea.

 

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[samuraijack]

Do you guys think that some of these successful shark tank ideas or ideas in general could have been formed without being directly exposed to the need/problem?

Or is it just that a greater amount of effort has to be put in to find a need if one isn't obvious to you?

 

[LOYD]

^^^^I could not for the life of me understand why they sold the Vegas market away despite acknowledging that it's the top market for weddings.

 

[KLaw]

They kept hammering on the young ladies (roominate - i think) with.. "but you must make your sell through". What exactly does that mean? Thanks.

 

[ShadowX]

What do you think on dragons den? It's like a UK version of the programme.

I'm surprised we are allowed to watch these lol, I always thought "Oh it's a waste of time, full of mental masturbation.", but I do find these shows useful though. So not all TV is a waste of time that's good.

 

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[KLaw]

Sell through is basically the ratio of what you send to a retailer vs what is actually sold in the stores. That's one of the double edged swords with retail. Just because your product is in Toys R Us doesn't guarantee it'll all sell. That's what they meant. They wanted to see that what they had already sent to the retailer was going to sell.

Thats what I thought but these folks are in start-up mode. Obviously, it depends on their future sales. I just thought it was odd they were hammering on that point. As a potential investor that is the risk you must evaluate. It almost seemed as if Barbara was dogging them because they haven't sold off their inventory - yet.

 

[LOYD]

Thats what I thought but these folks are in start-up mode. Obviously, it depends on their future sales. I just thought it was odd they were hammering on that point. As a potential investor that is the risk you must evaluate. It almost seemed as if Barbara was dogging them because they haven't sold off their inventory - yet.

I think the biggest reason was because they were in the toy industry which is incredibly competitive. And holiday seasons are make or break for toys. Having Sharks on board and the exposure of the show will definitely help in that regard. But they probably wouldn't have hammered in the sell through as much if it were any other industry.

 

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[Drive2Riches]

Anyone know where to watch these online?

It's available on Hulu (or HuluPlus subscr) the day after it airs... available for 35 days.

 

[smarty]

It's available on Hulu (or HuluPlus subscr) the day after it airs... available for 35 days.

Or youtube

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[RHL]

Alright, so I finally finished the new episodes... just have so much going on this weekend.

So, my thoughts-1, I the phone charge thing... I think that could be a big money maker at airports, because one of the problems with those stupid "charging stations" is that you have to stand around like an idiot amid the bussle of SEATAC or LAX at a table with no seat while your phone regenerates, leaving it while eating is a way better option. Last time I was in Las Vegas, some guys opened up a sealed off socket with a screwdriver and managed to get their phones charging off of it, so this definitely does solve a huge need. However, it suffered a classic problem that afflicted other products, including the girl's building set:

It took something that worked and made it different (and not as well) for the sake of being original and trying to live off the dregs left behind by the clear leader.

In this case, all these guys needed was to jetison the scanner and make it a locker-type system, where people insert a dollar in quarters (have a change machine nearby), and they pull a little key out that locks the phone in its holder. Then, you come back in an hour when it's charged, with a large bank of these chargers you'd not only be able to sell ad space but make $30-50/hr on what's likely <$1 expenditure. Come back, insert your key, get your phone. There's no reason to have the casing be clear either, that's just inviting criminals to avoid stealing the Net-10 clamshell and make their most concerted attempt at the iPhone6. Putting it behind the bar would prevent theft, it could be like a concierge service where your key is passed over the bar and the bartender unlocks it, so unscrupulous individuals won't be prying at it too. Best of all, you could build a setup like this for about $20, $70 if you wanted to make it look sexy. Damn, I should be on Shark Tank.

With the girl's toy, I felt kinda bad for them. Anyone who gets into MIT is a genius, and Cal-Tech is nearly as good, but in this space, Lego is the internal combustion engine, while everyone else is bicycle cars, sail cars, unicycles, fuel cells, etc. They all sort of work, and some even get popular, but ultimately, when someone has done your thing so well for so long, you're not going to grab a substantial market share just by being different, especially when different always means slightly worse. Their playsets looked flimsy and airy and confusing, unlike legos, which can often look like a picture-perfect representation of the real thing with enough blocks. It doesn't take into account that lego could release a new pastel line with girl models on the front and a $20M ad campaign and put them out of business in a weekend if they wanted to.

I agree with whoever said that Cuban was betting on them and not the product. The product's traction was impressive but it was ultimately not as great as the potential of those two. I think this is why Harvard, MIT, etc. grads (like ex-Navy SEALS) are so successful even when they completely depart from their field of study, not because they went to a great school, but because they got in and through their programs by being brilliant, being focused, taking action, and kicking a$$.

The swaddle will probably be the biggest product, but nothing in the show really blew my mind the way that vibrating paoramic photo app or others (Sal's wasn't mind blowing as a design as much as "how in the heck has a patent not been filed on this like 50 years ago") did.

 

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[Tiago]

The Hammer and Nails idea was OK in my opinion, but as Daymond said, you've got to upsell it. Put a bar in it, a tailor and maybe a cigar room. But I absolutely loved how he spoke, very strong story telling skills.

 

[smarty]

You're not going to convince me to pay $30 to get my toenails taken care of when I pay $11 to get my hair cut.

$11 for a hair cut, holy crap. It's $1.5 in my country

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[socaldude]

OMG the charging station was absolutely horrible.

Yeah a bar is gonna pay $2k so people can charge their phone.

If my phone is running low on battery I simply charge it in my car.

There are so many other better and way cheaper alternatives.

And if you are drunk? SMH.

 

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[SJVC]

@ShadowX I think the UK's 'Dragons Den' is much worse in terms of businesses and production value. It's actually encouraging because some of the businesses that get funded can be so rubbish.

For Hammer and Nails - they need to re-brand it as a male grooming place that focuses on all male grooming opposed to just nails.

Also thought the second product from the floating mug guy was overlooked, it needed some refinement but that actually solves a need as Kevin said.

 

[MoneyDoc]

When is episode 3 coming out.


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[sle3pyguii]

I'm gonna try Hammer and Nails. Seems like it be an interesting experience.

 

[Vagabond 007]

I like the man grooming idea. However, I would never ask my buddy to go there.
"Hey Mike, want to go get our nails done?"

@MJ DeMarco, is getting those things done something you do on your own, with a women, another guy??

I think a place like that has huge potential, but I think they need to somehow get around the stigma of men getting women stuff done.

Seems like it would be a great idea to actually market to women. I'm sure all women would love it if their man had clean nails and such.

MadeMan.com is already taken, btw. That is a great name.

Another great marketing idea is for men getting married. No better time to get groomed. "Here comes the groom" or something corny like that for the marketing piece.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

@MJ DeMarco, is getting those things done something you do on your own, with a women, another guy??

On my own and with the GF. Last time I was in Vegas with the fellas, I don't think @RealOG, @snowbank or @biophase would have been interested. Although I really never asked.

 

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