Shark Tank Business Valuation and Negotiation Lessons Brand Yourself, iCPooch, Bee Sweet Lemonade, The Home T Shirt

There are numerous stories of people having their name or reputation affected by online search results. The same can be said for businesses. Pitching a business that helps people improve their name and reputation online is Brand Yourself. Brand Yourself is different from other ‘online reputation management’ companies in that they advise clients to be proactive with their online reputation instead of being reactionary. Hence, they call themselves Brand Yourself, since they offer users an ability to shape the narrative of themselves in the online world. The business was started when one of the founders had a problem as his name was the same as other people who had committed crimes, and he was erroneously associated with them. The cost of mainstream solutions at that time were in the five figures. So they set about to create a solution that is affordable for more people, and Brand Yourself was born. Brand Yourself offers an online Do It Yourself service that customers can use. However, Brand Yourself also offers two more options, one of which is a full service concierge service where the company does all of the work for the client on an on going basis. There is an in between service that has Brand Yourself do the set up for the client, and then hands the baton off to the client for on going maintenance. The fix is not overnight as it typically takes at least a few months for search results to reflect the new image and information presented online. This isn’t just for people who have bad information online, it can also be used by people and businesses who want to present their best face online to look good to prospective customers and employers. Patrick Ambron, one of the founders, spoke to Just Elementary, Inc. this week about the business and appearance on Shark Tank. It was clear in that conversation that Brand Yourself is working aggressively to grow their customer base with online marketing. An interesting tidbit from the conversation was that Brand Yourself has grown a lot from customer referrals, which, if true, is an indication that customer satisfaction is high. Expect the sharks to have strong opinions about this business, especially Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec. Brand Yourself has already secured a round of financing, so IF there are negotiations, expect it be about more sophisticated deal points than the typical shark tank business. The sharks may not see eye to eye on valuation based on the initial round of financing, so we’ll see if a deal is struck.

Pet lovers who have to travel a lot will enjoy the iCPooch segment.  iCPooch is a video calling setup that can be used to video chat with pets.  But, the iCPooch device can be used to dispense treats upon command by the user.  There is an iCPooch app that is used with the setup.  The iCPooch setup is a treat dispenser with a tablet mount that can be used with 7 to 10 inch tablets, iOS or Android.  Brooke Martin is the entrepreneur behind iCPooch, which is based in Seattle, Washington.  What is unique about Brooke Martin is that she launched iCPooch when she was 12 years old.  iCPooch is sold online.  iCPooch does not come with an internet connected tablet, so the user needs to provide one of their own.

Lemonade stands are the quintessential entrepreneurial experience for kids in America. Bee Sweet Lemonade is pitched by child entrepreneur Mikaila Ulmer and her father. Bee Sweet Lemonade is line of lemonade drinks made from her grandmother’s recipes. Mikaila sweetens her lemonade beverages with locally produced honey. Bee Sweet Lemonade is sold in select retailers in Texas and Louisiana and Beverage Warehouse in Long Island City in New York. As a very small beverage business with cute branding, expect Barbara Corcoran to be interested in making an offer on the business, as she may find the branding something she’ll be able to leverage.

Daymond John is on the Shark Panel for this episode, so expect the the other sharks to solicit his opinion on Home T.  Home T is line of T-shirts that have the image of a state, country, region or continent on them.  Home T says that the company donates a portion of revenue to Multiple Sclerosis research.  A key selling point for the Home T t-shirts is they are very soft to the touch.  Unless there is something proprietary about the business, or there is a good angle to add more SKUs to the brand, the sharks, in particular Kevin O’Leary may pass.  The Home T t-shirts are made in the USA.  One reason to expect a deal with one of the sharks is that contestants from the ABC Bachelor have photos posted on social media wearing the shirts.  This kind of ABC cross promotion indicates that something is up, either Home T has a great marketing team and/or they made a deal with one of the sharks.

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For More information on how Just Elementary, Inc, Business Brokers can help you with Valuation Matters & Negotiation Techniques for your business contact our Client Care Manager Sonia Chhabra at (888) 926-9193 or email cs@justelementary.com