'Shark Tank' offers a million-dollar deal to founder who walked in with a life-changing product
There are products that are innovative and are presented in a creative manner by entrepreneurs on “Shark Tank," but they still need strong numbers for the sharks to be convinced. Then, there are some products so fascinating that investors instantly see a lucrative future and are ready to go to war over a deal. Adeel Akhtar, who has a double Master’s and a PhD in neuroscience, is also the founder of the company Psyonic and was on the show asking for a million dollars for 2% equity. He was pitching a robotic arm wich won him the deal that he was looking for from three sharks.
Psyonic, at the time, specialized in a prosthetic robotic arm called the Ability Hand. By the time he came to the show, the product was already an FDA-approved medical item and was even covered under Medicare. What made things even better was that he brought a veteran named Sargeant Anderson on the show to demonstrate the product.
Not only did the arm work like a regular hand, but it was also a lot stronger. Sergeant Anderson proved that when he punched a plank of wood into two without much effort. Everyone was impressed by that. Dr. Akhtar got the inspiration for making such a product when he was seven years old. He was in Pakistan at the time and had seen a young girl missing a limb using a branch as a crutch. That tugged at his heartstrings, and he immediately knew what he wanted to do in life. The company had raised $2 million at the time of recording from sales, which was an impressive number. However, not everyone was convinced. Mark Cuban was surprised that the healthcare and robotics equity investors that Dr. Akhtar approached didn’t care for the human aspect of the mission, as he claimed. He, therefore, backed off from making a deal, and it did not take long for Robert Herjavec to follow suit.
Losing two potential sharks might have been tough, but three were hooked, and they all made offers. Kevin O’Leary was the first. He was okay with paying a million but wanted 10% of the company. The entrepreneur was quick to let him know that it was too high a percentage. Lori Greiner and Daymond John teamed up and offered the money for 6%. However, they wanted non-dilutable shares.
Mr. Wonderful knew that would be tough for Dr. Akhtar and made sure he knew that. Fortunately for him, the entrepreneur agreed. He then asked if Greiner and John would do the million-dollar deal for 2% equity and 2% advisory shares. The sharks weren’t okay with this but eventually said that they’d do the deal for 5% equity. O’Leary swooped in here and said, “I would do that deal at five.”
The entrepreneur was now caught in a tough place, but he had his head in the game. He asked Mr. Wonderful if he’d team up with Grenier and John. He agreed and, after a small discussion, offered the million for a 6% stake. This was agreeable to all parties, and a deal was struck.
