'Shark Tank' contestants get Kevin O'Leary to officiate a wedding and still failed to land an offer
At this point, “Shark Tank” viewers are prepared for the most unusual things during pitches, but one entrepreneur took things to another level and got Kevin O'Leary to officiate a wedding. The couple, Hannah and John, seemingly got married for real and had their maid of honor, Casey, with them. However, none of them was the entrepreneur behind the pitch.
Rumaiza and Anas Ali were the business owners seeking $300,000 for a 5% stake in their company, Wedy. Wedy is a platform where various wedding-related professionals, such as bartenders or florists, can list their services and get jobs. The platform also helps users to purchase a bundled plan in which a lot of such professionals would be included for a fair price.
With the couple standing behind them, the Alis spoke about their business, and one of the officiators on the platform was Kevin O’Leary. Mr. Wonderful was ordained in the state of California and oversaw the wedding. “Bringing a man and a woman together is one of the most important things Mr. Wonderful does,” he said as he took his place between Hannah and John.
“Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today because Hannah and John have chosen to make the ultimate investment into each other, and it is my great honor to pour gasoline on their passion,” O’Leary said as the officiant. “By the power vested in me by the state of California, I now pronounce you business partners for life. You may now close the deal.”
It was a great moment, but now, it was time to get down to business. The company was launched in 2020 in the middle of the pandemic, so the business took time to pick up. Three years in, Wedy boasted $1.5 million in revenue, growing by almost four times the year prior to taping. These were impressive figures, but there was a slight problem because this was a gross figure.
The entrepreneurs revealed that they only took 24% of every package sold on the platform. This means that if the platform earns $1 million in revenue, the firm would only take $240,000 in revenue. This put off the sharks, and they refrained from making an offer. Kevin O’Leary said that he was already in business with a company called Honey Fund, which helped newly married couples plan their honeymoon and did not want to get involved with a company like Wedy at the time.
The other four were all of the opinion that it was way too early to invest in the platform. Despite failing to a deal, the company has done fairly well for itself, as per a report in Women. After the episode aired, the entrepreneurs had 2,800 vendors that wanted to offer services through the platform. They even got requests to expand to areas like New York, Orlando, Chicago, and more.
