Shark Tank Business Valuation & Negotiation Lessons Squirrel Boss Bird Feeder eCreamery.com GumboBrick MistoBox Coffee Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company

Are you a bird lover who enjoys watching them feed in peace?  Don’t want squirrels to bother them?  Then the Squirrel Boss bird feeder just might be the product for you.  The Squirrel Boss bird feeder was developed by Pennsylvania based Mike DeSanti.  Mike DeSanti is another entrepreneur who took it upon himself to solve a problem that had been vexing him.  The bird feeder that he used in his yard at his home was constantly being used by squirrels.  This would chase away the birds that the bird feeder was meant for.  So, Mike DeSanti created the Squirrel Boss bird feeder to keep squirrels from using it.  The Squirrel Boss bird feeder uses an electric shock to keep squirrels from using it.  The electric shock that the Squirrel Boss bird feeder uses to ward away squirrels is remotely controlled by the user.  Will the sharks find the numbers behind the Squirrel Boss bird feeder shocking enough to invest in?  Well, they didn’t find the Squirrel Boss bird feeder enticing enough of a business to invest in.  Lesson Learned here is that even profitable businesses can end up without a deal if the investors don’t feel a connection to the business and/or feel like they can’t bring additional value to the business.  

The update segment of the show features were Abby Jordan & Becky App. They are the owner representatives of eCreamery.com.  eCreamery.com is a online business that ships premium ice cream and gelato packages.   eCreamery.com. is based in Omaha Nebraska, where Abby Jordan & Becky App operate a retail store where locals are able to walk in to enjoy eCreamery.com in person.  One of the challenges for the Sharks that prevented them from investing was the retail location for eCreamery.com.  Expect to see in the update segment for eCreamery.com that online sales have grown tremendously, and that in store retail sales have also likely grown for eCreamery.com due to the national television exposure from Shark Tank.  Sales for eCreamery.com have grown so much that   Abby Jordan & Becky App were expecting  up to $2,000,000 in sales for the current fiscal year for eCreamery.com.  They also were expanding their business into a new facility and had hired additional staff for eCreamery.com.

Los Angeles based Carol Foster of Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick appears on Shark Tank to pitch its unique food product.   Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick is frozen reaux that forms the base of a gumbo dish.  Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick is available locally in a few markets in Los Angeles.  Carol Foster designed the Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick to make it easy for people to make a gumbo dish.  The reaux is the flavoring base of a gumbo dish, so using Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick solves the problem of replicating the flavor.  All a user of Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick has to do is to prepare the meats that are used in the gumbo dish by either browning them in a pan or using pre-cooked meats that area available in grocery stores.  Seems like Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick will be tasty for the Sharks, but will the business numbers entice the sharks to invest in Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick?  They were tasty Carol Foster’s story was a touching one, as she had been through a lot of struggle in her life and was able to create a product that had sold well in Costco.  Even though Carol Foster stated that she “didn’t have business acumen”, she had shown strong determination by still building her business, Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick, despite her challenging personal circumstances.  This determination along with a pending order from Costco was enough to convince Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary to make a deal for Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick with Carol Foster.  Carol Foster accepted $200,000 for 50% equity from Lori Greiner and Kevin O’Leary for Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick.  Lesson Learned here is that Determination is a KEY ingredient that Investors look for when investing in people.  Investors want to know that when the going gets tough, the people they invest in power through.

David Glickman from Vermont appears on Shark Tank to pitch his natural wood products business called Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company.  Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company is as you can guess based out of Vermont.  Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company is a company that retails all sorts of wood based products, mainly for kitchen.  Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company products range from cutting boards, utensil sets, cheese trays, butcher blocks, smoking blocks, bowls, platters, rolling pins, you name it.  All of these Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company products are made from wood.  David Glickman operates one retail store in Burlington Vermont.  For everybody else, Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company are available online.  Will the Sharks bite into some wood and make a deal for Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company?  Well they certainly were amused by David Glickman’s tie dye wardrobe, but they came to respect him as he mentioned that Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company lifetime sales were almost 3 Million Dollars.   The business had sales through distributors, online sales and the local retail store that served as a testing ground.  David Glickman did not get a deal from any of the Sharks for various different reasons, but one primary reason was that the Sharks, aside from Lori Greiner were not familiar with his industry.   Lesson Learned, Savvy Investors are smart enough to know that they should invest their money in businesses that they understand and can BRING value to.  

Scottsdale Arizona based MistoBox appears on Shark Tank to pitch it’s subscription based coffee business.  Samantha Meis & Connor Riley  were the two founder of MistoBox that appeared on Shark Tank to pitch the business.  They were asking for for $75,000 for 15% equity in MistoBox, which is a $500,000 Business Valuation.  MistoBox offers 4 premium single origin coffees every month for subscribers.  MistoBox Offers variety and convenience with delivery service.  To select the four coffees of the month, MistoBox curates from over 50 different coffees.  Flavor of the month concepts exist with other products such as wine clubs, cheese clubs etc.  So applying the flavor of the month club concept to coffee seems like a no brainer.   No doubt the sharks will enjoy the flavor of the coffee they will sample, but will the financial numbers that the MistoBox is brewing be good enough to warrant an investment? Well, the only two sharks interested were Kevin O’Leary & Mark Cuban.  However, Mark Cuban was lukewarm to the business.  Kevin O’Leary offered $75,000 for 25% equity ($300,000 Business Valuation) which is a $200,000 discount from the asking Business Valuation for MistoBox.  However, Samantha Meis & Connor Riley were bent on getting a deal from Mark Cuban so they offered him a deal a that gave away more equity than Kevin O’Leary had been asking for.  They did because they perceived Mark Cuban to be a better strategic partner for MistoBox.  How much more were they willing to discount their company, MistoBox, to get a deal with Mark Cuban?  They gave Cuban an offer of $75,000 for 30% equity ($250,000 Business Valuation).  They reduced the value of their company by $50,000 to entice Mark Cuban to accept their offer.  Will it be worth it?  Time will only tell, but keep in mind that there is no guarantee that Mark Cuban will be able to finalize a deal for MistoBox with Samantha Meis & Connor Riley.

Lesson Learned here is that if really have a strategic partner in mind to make a deal with, be ready to give up additional equity.  The wrinkle is that you better be right about them being the RIGHT strategic partner that will be able bring additional tangible value, because if they don’t, then you have given away value which you will not be able to get back.  

One thing to look out for is Daymond John.  Daymond John is invested in other caffeine based businesses and is a firm believer in the industry,  If the Business Valuation and numbers for MistoBox makes sense, expect to see him interested in the business.  University of Arizona graduates Samantha Meis and her partners Collin and Conor are the entrepreneurs behind MistoBox.

Curious about what you can do to increase the value of your business, read and/or watch the video in this post for what we have come across in marketing businesses for sale.

Want to read recaps of previous Shark Tank episodes? Click here to see the entire collection episode recaps, all of them with business lessons you can take away from each pitch.
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