'Shark Tank' contestant who dropped out of school to make lip balm rejects Kevin O'Leary's offer
Creative pitches and products that have potential are essential to get an investment on "Shark Tank," but sometimes, the entrepreneur's vision and story are enough. If they’re dedicated to their business and are sharp, it would not be too hard to find investors. In an earlier episode of “Shark Tank,” one entrepreneur impressed the sharks with his story and his success more than the product he was selling, which was lip balm. Even though he got an offer from Mr. Wonderful, the founder declined it.
The entrepreneur was a young man named Kobe Harris, and he asked for $300,000 for a 6% stake in his company called Kobee’s Co. The company’s main product is the lip balm, but they’ve other skincare products as well. Harris claimed that their products are made with beeswax and oils pressed from plants. Turns out that he had to drop out of school to create this business and take it to the level it was at.
Harris started his journey with just $200 from his mother, which he spent on buying the raw materials for his lip balm. He had said earlier that he had started the company in his freshman year of college. During the summer, the entrepreneur worked as a lifeguard and would hand out the product he made in his room to the people at the pool. The all-natural lip balm became a hit, and the company took off from there.
The entrepreneur mentioned how his sales kept growing, from $3,000 in one day to $10,000 and then $15,000, convincing him to dedicate all his time to his company. “Two weeks before classes went back up, did the $15,000 one day, and went on my campus portal, exited out of all of my classes, and since were online, I just told my dad I’m still in school but really I was just in the basement making lip balm,” he said.
Apart from a great story, Harris had the figures to back the up. At the time of taping, the entrepreneur said that he had made in excess of $800,000 in the year prior and had made more than $1.5 million year to date. These figures impressed the sharks; however, only one of them offered him a deal.
No one, apart from Kevin O’Leary, believed that it was the right business to invest in for them. But Mr. Wonderful asked for 20% of the company, which Harris was not willing to do. He even said that he wasn’t going to give up that much of his company that day. The shark offered to seal the deal at 15% for $300,000, but Harris declined the offer as that was a lot of his company to give up.
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