'Shark Tank' offers a life-changing deal to mother-daughter duo despite having a 'messy' pitch

A lot of entrepreneurs who come to “Shark Tank” are on the path to growth or have already proven their mettle through numbers. But sometimes, founders approach sharks for funds as they're hanging by a thread, while they believe in their ideas. Such is the story of Blinger, a brand created by the mother-and-daughter duo of Angie and Cambria Cella, who wanted $200,000 in exchange for 5% equity. The company specializes in manufacturing a stapler-type product that allows one to easily attach gems and crystals to their hair without causing it any damage. The adhesive used to do this is medically proven to be hair-friendly.

Things went well for the company when it was launched just before the pandemic. They signed a licensing deal with a toy company, which would sell the product and give the creator a royalty. In their first year together, blingers worth $20 million were sold. However, the pandemic hit them hard, just like many other businesses, and they then had to deal with multiple knock-offs, which led to the toy company canceling their contract.

However, Angie got to keep the rights to the product, and despite the hardships, the company was on the path to making more than $4 million in sales and a million in profit by the end of the year at the time of filming. They had more than products worth more than $2 million in the inventory, which had to be sold for the company to simply stay afloat. It was not easy to get a deal with those numbers, and Kevin O’Leary was the first to back out. “I really think what you have to do is find someone that takes over your operations,” he said. “What a mess you’ve got on your hands.”

Mark Cuban didn’t take long before following suit. “You need somebody to run this whole thing,” he said. “You’re not even in a position to take an investor because everything is a mess.” Things were not going well, and Blinger seemed on course to go out of business without a person who knew how to efficiently handle the business side of things. That’s where Barbara Corcoran stepped in. The veteran investor was impressed by the entrepreneur’s perseverance and decided to make an offer.

However, it wasn’t what Angie wanted since the Shark offered to pay $200,000 for 25% equity. Angie felt like this was too much to give up, but it was either Corcoran or the business goes bust. The other sharks all suggested that she take the offer, and even her daughter Cambria said that she should at least give her preferred number to the investor. But the investor was steadfast in what she wanted.

So Angie had to devise another strategy. One of her business’s biggest issues was the cost of purchase orders. If Corcoran funded them, she would be happy to seal the deal. The Shark obliged to this request. “Alright, let’s do a deal then,” the entrepreneur said with a smile on her face.