A CEO went on ‘Shark Tank’ looking for a $400,000 deal. She walked away with a bigger reward.
Apart from venture capitalists, enthusiastic about funding promising startups, TV shows that offer a platform for people to showcase innovative products have also opened doors for aspiring entrepreneurs. But making it to "Shark Tank" doesn't necessarily mean that founders will get financial backing for their business, and sometimes they may get valuable advice. The founder of Modern Picnic is one entrepreneur who gained insight from the show, even without securing investments from the Sharks. Ali Kaminetsky appeared on "Shark Tank" in February 2023 seeking $400,000 in exchange for a 6.5% equity stake. Although she did not land a deal, two cents from the sharks turned out to be a game-changer for her business.
Kaminetsky told Inc. Magazine, "First and foremost, I made sure my 90-second opener was crisp, and I felt confident about it. Second, I made sure I knew my numbers inside and out and had a really clear why." She added, "The number had to make sense for our current cap table, and I also had to consider the fact that the Sharks come with their own incredible expertise."
The Sharks—Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, and Emma Grede—did not offer her an investment. However, they grilled her thoroughly on her company’s valuation, which she placed at $6 million. Kaminetsky said, "I went in there looking for a partner. Any of them would have been fabulous, but if it could have been Emma Grede or Lori Greiner, who have such deep retail experience, that would have been incredible." During the discussion, Kaminetsky admitted she expected her business to incur a $100,000 loss in 2023. The Sharks pointed out that her heavy spending on marketing, which was 50% of her budget, was a major issue. Taking their advice to heart, Kaminetsky reduced her ad spending significantly, which proved to be a turning point for her business.
Launched in 2018, Modern Picnic creates stylish and functional lunch bags for women. Since its inception, the company has sold 40,000 units, generating $6 million in revenue, and had previously raised $1.8 million with a 60% profit margin. While Kaminetsky didn’t secure a deal, her appearance on Shark Tank boosted her brand image significantly. On the day that her episode aired, the company’s website traffic increased by 915%, and revenue went up by 300%. To capitalize on the buzz, Modern Picnic launched a special landing page offering a 20% discount code and promoted its newest product line.
Kaminetsky later shared, “While we usually have a couple of months or weeks to have a photoshoot and build out the pages for a collection launch, we did it in a week. Every opportunity should be leveraged to create digital buzz. It’s a perfect time to cut back on digital spending because we have so many new eyes on the brand right now.”
Even without a deal, Modern Picnic’s sales and profitability improved thanks to a new strategy. Kaminetsky leveraged her Shark Tank appearance by sharing her entrepreneurial journey on TikTok, which boosted engagement by 200%. She expressed gratitude to the Sharks for their positive feedback on her products and their advice on improving profit margins and reducing losses.
