Anything can happen on a television show when money and Sharks are involved. Due to the many unpredictable variables in Shark Tank, the production of the series can famously take some interesting directions. Although the series maintains a focus on business, there are many emotions involved when a product is being shown to the judges.
On top of the product having everything put on the line, the Sharks also have to make some very careful decisions since high figures of money are involved. However, stakes and stress aren’t the only emotions involved.
Sometimes, egos can take over, and good deals end up slipping through the grasp of contestants and judges.
A Shark Tank and a packet of ribs
In Season 5, Episode 11 of Shark Tank, former NFL athlete Al “Bubba” Baker presented Bubba’s Boneless Ribs. After running a restaurant in Cleveland, he got an idea of a problem that had existed for decades. Baker wondered if there was a way that he could make eating ribs any less messy. Since the bone was the main cause of the mess, he decided and successfully found a way of removing it without affecting the shape of the meat.
This was unlike anything the market had seen before and became completely different from his competitors. On top of it being unique in the market, Baker also had a very big advantage: something the Sharks had never seen before. He had a patent on a food product.
He had two patents, one for the Bubba Boneless Ribs product and the other for the process that he uses to make them. Due to this, no one else in the market could use his process of cooking the meat and then taking out the bone.
With the concept looking excellent, Bake started talking numbers and revealed that he was looking for a $300,000 investment for a 15% stake. The company also had a valuation of $2 million. However, its $154,000 annual sales proved to be a minor cause for concern for the Sharks.
Kevin O’Leary should have invested in the company
With all of Baker’s cards on the table, the judges of Shark Tank began showing their hands. The judges pointed out that he needed to focus on getting licensed instead of producing the product. Seeing the potential of his company, they wanted to aid in this pursuit of success.
Kevin O’Leary went first, offering the $300,000 that he was asking for. However, it took things many steps further and stated that he wanted 49% equity, a lot more than what Baker was hoping for.
On the other hand, Daymond John offered a different approach. In an attempt to outbid O’Leary, he offered Baker a $300,000 request for 30% equity in the company. While the figure was still double what he originally wanted, he ended up taking John’s offer, finding it better than O’Leary’s.
Today, Baker’s company stands extremely successful. In 2017, CNBC revealed that the company had made $16 million in sales in just three years. It is safe to assume that O’Leary is regretting the offer he made.
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