'Shark Tank' founders project Kevin O'Leary's face inside a commode — end up getting a deal from him
Among “Shark Tank” judges, Kevin O'Leary may be known as Mr. Wonderful, but his tendency to be harsh with his criticism and ruthless during negotiations can make him intimidating. He has been known to lash out at entrepreneurs for ignoring his offers while talking to other sharks, which may make other founders cautious about offending him. But that didn't deter Matt Alexander and Mike Kannely from putting the investor's face inside a commode while demonstrating a small LED light that they had developed to fit perfectly inside a toilet seat and light up the inside.
That might sound disgusting, but it turns out there could be a use for that. The entrepreneurs said that when one has to go to the washroom late at night, with sleep still in their eyes, turning on the bright lights can completely wake them up, and falling asleep afterwards could be a struggle. Therefore, a low-powered removable LED light that uses suction cups to fit on the side of a toilet seat could be just what people need.
The entrepreneurs asked for $100,000 for 15% of the business that had $100,000 worth of sales from Kickstarter. This wasn’t a great figure, but as it was a new company, the sharks did not grill them about it. However, that doesn’t mean that they all liked the product. One of the fun parts of the pitch was when the entrepreneurs said that they were working on projecting images into the toilet, and a picture of Kevin O’Leary inside the bowl showed up.
The sharks had a good laugh, but most of them still weren’t interested. Daymond John, Mark Cuban, and Robert Herjavec all said no as they did not seem to believe in the product. Lori Greiner had to turn the entrepreneurs down as she was already working with Squatty Potty. The only person who offered them a deal was the man whose face was projected inside the toilet bowl. Mr. Wonderful liked the product and said that he’d give $100,000. However, he wanted 25% of the company. Herjavec made it even funnier when he said that O’Leary would be the perfect investor for this. “I think you need a brand to this. You need a face that people associate with toilet paper and toilets…when you think of flushing away stuff, Kevin’s your guy.”
With no other option left, the entrepreneurs made a deal with O’Leary. They thought that the 25% was a bit too much to give, but they could not have expected the magic he worked afterwards. As per a House Digest report, it did not take long for Illumibowl to make it to the big stores a few months after they appeared on “Shark Tank.” That includes Bed Bath & Beyond stores across the country.
Within a few months, the company raised a whopping $7 million from sales. Mr. Wonderful was also shocked by this massive growth. "I've done a lot of 'Shark Tank' deals. It's really rare when a couple of entrepreneurs like Mike and Matt blow it up so big so fast," he had said in a later episode of the show.
