'Shark Tank' judge Mark Cuban invests big money in company that sells desserts made of hummus
Entrepreneurs on “Shark Tank” stand out when they give an innovative twist to everyday essentials. One of them walked away with more than half a million dollars from Mark Cuban for turning hummus into a dessert. The entrepreneur claimed her product to be a healthy alternative to satisfy one’s sweet tooth. Cuban jumped at the opportunity of working with a company that promotes healthy food that tastes good.
The entrepreneur was a woman named Makenzie Marzluff, and she sought $600,000 for a 12 % stake in her company, Delighted By. She offered various types of desserts made with hummus. Marzluff said that the products were dips but with a sweet taste. She had come up with it while she was at a party and cooked up a low-carb sweet dip, which everyone liked at the time.
The products were a massive hit with the sharks, as every single person praised how they tasted. No one expected them to taste as good as they did. The entrepreneur said that she had started the company only 13 months earlier and in that time, had recorded sales worth a million dollars. Her projected sales for the year were $1.5 million. This was highly impressive, but what she asked for was still way too much.
Kevin O’Leary was the first to point out that the $5 million valuation Marzluff had asked for was a whopping 33 times her potential sales that year. The entrepreneur, however, was adamant about what her company was worth. The problem was that not a single shark saw it that way, regardless of how good a product that she’d come up with. The valuation was the reason why Lori Greiner and guest shark Alex Rodriguez backed out.
Barbara Corcoran did not believe that the entrepreneur had what it takes to lead a team and make this business a success, or even build relationships. She trusted her instinct and said no to offering a deal. Mr. Wonderful and Cuban were the only sharks left, and they both offered deals. O’Leary said that he’d pay the $600,000 as a loan at 11% interest but would only take 6% of the company.
Cuban, however, did not want to get into the business of lending money for a minuscule part of the company. Instead, he said that he would be willing to do the deal for 25%. Marzluff knew that this was a lot of money, but few people bring the expertise and eyeballs to a product like the shark. He assured the entrepreneur that he’d help her every step of the way in building the company and making it big.
Marzluff, at one point, asked if he was confident that he could make her business worth $80 million, to which the shark did not even stop to think before saying yes. That was all the assurance the entrepreneur needed, and a deal was struck.
More on Market Realist:
'Shark Tank' contestant gets $500,000 deal from Mark Cuban to make chips from food waste
'Shark Tank' contestants who threw healthy food in trash tempt Mark Cuban to invest in junk food
Vegan Mark Cuban offers a 6-figure deal to founder who pitched meat products on 'Shark Tank'
