Shark Tank's Kevin O’Leary called two women 'cockroaches'. Now, their company is worth $15 million

Reality shows have offered people a platform to showcase their talents and also cash in on their entrepreneurial instincts. Among them, "Shark Tank" allowed founders of startups such as Doorbot, now known as Ring, and Bombas among others, to pitch their products to consumers. But while the judges, also known as sharks, had an eye for promising products, they didn't always get it right and missed out on opportunities to support startups that went on to earn millions.

'The Lip Bar' is a cruelty-free black-owned lipstick brand that was founded by Melissa Butler, who started the company because she hardly saw an inclusive brand when it comes to beauty. However, not only did sharks turn them down, but Kevin O’Leary shockingly called them 'cockroaches.'

Turns out that they were simply ahead of their time, as their range included extremely uncommon colors like green and purple that were not seen back when they appeared on "Shark Tank." At the time, Bulter and her business partner asked for $125,000 for a 20 percent equity share, valuing their company at $625,000.

While most sharks were out, Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner were kind enough to point out their branding and online distribution model as issues. But O’Leary went on to say, "The chances that this is a business are practically zero," before adding "You can’t get a share, if anybody thought you could sell purple or green lipstick they’d do it." At the time Butler was devastated. Speaking to CNBC Make It, Bulter expressed how the comments were "really cruel" to the founders. 

Thankfully, it was only a matter of time before they went on to succeed. "At the end of the day, if I stopped my business after one 'no' — even a public 'no'— then maybe I shouldn’t have started," Butler now says. "I couldn’t allow someone else to be the authority on my dream," she added. She attributed their success to their strong sense of purpose behind the brand. "[It] really goes back to your "why,'" Butler said, before explaining, "When you’re starting a business, you have to have a really strong ‘why’ and a really strong purpose, because you’re always going to be told no, you’re always going to face challenges."

O'Leary later admitted in an interview with the Breakfast Club that it was a mistake to not invest in the company at the time. "I’m proud of them for taking the heat, I’m proud that they’re entrepreneurs that are successful, and it’s a wonderful thing to see that happen," he said in the episode. "But they were facing an almost impossible task because going into the cosmetics industry is so difficult to get market share, but they pulled it off so, look, you got to applaud them, there’s no question about it."

Bulter has now come a long way from her time as a contestant on the show. Back in 2022, Forbes reported that the company was planning to raise $6.7 million in funding. "We plan on growing our team and improving our ability to better service the needs of our consumers across different divisions because we understand how experience and expertise can spur growth quickly," Butler said at the time. Today, the company is valued at a massive 15 million.