'Shark Tank' offers $50,000 to a mother-of-3 who came up with a simple butt spray idea

Viewers of Shark Tank have seen several pitches ranging from inspiring to emotional and even outright bizarre, which still manage to clinch a deal. That’s exactly what happened in a 2019 episode of the show when cousins Jessica Karam Oley and Brandon Karam from Dallas introduced Pristine Cleaning Sprays. The product is meant for cleaning a user's butt after they relieve themselves.

Jessica, who is also a mother of three, one day noticed that one of her kids suffered irritation no matter what brand of wipe she bought. She had been a wet wipes user all her life but one day, developed skin allergies. That’s when she knew she needed to do something to address these challenges. Hence, the idea for Pristine Cleaning Sprays was born. The founders claimed that the sprays were eco-friendly and irritation-free and could be applied to dry toilet paper before wiping. They even claimed that it was safe to apply directly on a baby’s skin.

The funny part is that the idea for the product popped into her head during a Thanksgiving dinner. The idea sounds like something people would be willing to buy and the sharks did seem interested.

However, there were unique challenges that each of the sharks was concerned about. Robert Herjavec was worried about marketing challenges and took himself out of the deal. Mark Cuban was out due to an overlap issue since he was already investing in a company called Dude Wipes, which made products of a similar nature. As hopes were seemingly beginning to fade for the Dallas cousins, Lori Grenier stepped up and acted as their savior.

Now, it is important to remember that at this time, the product did not have a strong portfolio. They had only made $11,000 in sales from Amazon and there were other brands that made similar products. Thankfully, that did not deter Grenier from offering a deal. She did, however, have a condition.

The veteran investor had invested in a company called Squatty Potty at this moment and was not sure whether they too were interested in making a product in a similar line. So she came up with a smart solution. The investors had asked for $50,000 for a 20% stake and they wanted to use that money to buy an automatic, no-touch sprayer for diaper changes, to be sold under their brand as per CNBC.

Grenier proposed paying the full amount for a 25% stake in the company, contingent on a partnership with Squatty Potty. Most entrepreneurs might not be willing to accept an offer that depended on a contingency but the Karams took the deal. With only $11,000 in sales until that point, it’s not like they had much room to negotiate. The orders started pouring in after the episode was aired as website sales increased by a whopping 5600%.

“We couldn’t be more grateful for the experience, and we hope that the viewers enjoyed it. Pristine is a funny product, and it is incredibly helpful for the environment too,” Brandon said after his experience on the show.