' Shark Tank' contestant showed up as a pierogi and lost the deal because she wouldn't lower the value
Among “Shark Tank” investors, Kevin O'Leary is the most shrewd and ruthless negotiator, who can tear through an entrepreneur for a single mistake. He did that again to an instant food company on an earlier episode of the show. Entrepreneurs Casey and Vanessa White sought $300,000 for 8% of their business, Jaju Pierogi. The company was expected to end the year with $2.7 million in sales, but an earlier mistake made by the entrepreneurs cost them a deal on the show.
When asked if the company was profitable, the entrepreneur said that they had lost around $100,000 in the previous year. “We would have been profitable, but we didn’t negotiate for our contract with a large grocery chain like we should have ... I knew [in the] middle of last year that we were going to run out of cash, so that was the first time we had to raise money,” Casey said.
The sharks were put off by this. This was not a good sign. They had all loved the product when they tasted it. Pierogi is an Eastern European snack, and Robert Herjavec was perhaps the most excited about it. He wanted to make a deal for it, but wanted Daniel Lubetzky to be part of it. The latter’s knowledge and connections in the food industry could open several doors for the company and make it profitable.
However, Lubtezky was already a part of another “Shark Tank” company called Toast-It. He felt that it would not be right if he invested in a direct competitor. He therefore backed out of a deal, and Herjavec followed suit. Mark Cuban liked the product but was never interested in making an offer. “This is a great product. I love them,” he said. “I ate too many of them, that’s part of the problem. I’d balloon to 600 pounds — I have no willpower when it comes to stuff like this, and I’d rather be a customer than an owner,” he said. Lori Greiner did not believe she was the right person for this business and said no to making an offer. She was willing to go in with Kevin O’Leary, but he wanted the deal for himself.
He was the only one with an offer, but he asked for 20% of the company. The entrepreneurs asked if he would be willing to come down to 10%. “Why would I do that?” he asked, making his intentions clear. The Whites were not interested in giving up so much equity and refused to make a deal. The other sharks were impressed that they did not budge from what they wanted.
“You guys are very impressive,” Lubetzky said. “Maybe one of the Sharks will call us back one day and regret not making that deal,” Vanessa said after the segment, as per a CNBC report.
