'Shark Tank' offers a life-changing deal to teen founder who started a slime business from his garage
“Shark Tank” isn't just known for giving a platform to new startups, but it's also a show where the most bizarre ideas can be pitched on national TV to bag funds. A 17-year-old managed to get two sharks fighting for a chance to invest in one such company called Sliimeyhoney. Mark Lin might have been 17 when he went on the popular reality TV show but he had started the company a couple of years prior and done quite well for someone his age. This was enough to impress every single shark.
Sliimeyhoney is a company that uses slime to make various inedible food items. Its purpose is quite simply to play with those foods. The products range from solid food items such as cookies and cakes to more creamy food items such as a mousse or ice cream. Each product comes in a six-ounce container as per CNBC and costs between $10 and $16. The cost of making each product ranges from $2 to $4. Lin markets his products on TikTok where he has more than 900,000 followers.
At the time of filming the episode, Lin revealed that his company had made $540,000 in year-to-date sales out of which a whopping $300,000 was pure profit. In total, he has brought in $1.2 million since the inception of the company and all that happened from his garage. But he was up against the sharks and their sharp scrutiny, as he came in asking for $150,000 for 10% of his company. Only two sharks, Kevin O’Leary and Daymond John, showed any interest in investing. They both had a session of deliberation with the young entrepreneur and were willing to pay the money for 20% of his company. Mr. Wonderful even wanted a product after him and called it Wonder Slime. However, the UCLA freshman decided to go with John.
Following the impressive stint on the show, it’s safe to say that Daymond John did not make a bad investment decision. As per Looper, the company's product was sold out within six days of the episode airing on “Shark Tank.” "Due to our 'Shark Tank' appearance, our shop has experienced an influx of orders, surpassing our expectations several times over," a social media post read. "I've dreamed of being on 'Shark Tank' since I was little and this experience has surpassed my wildest dreams."
But that’s not where the success stopped or flatlined. The company has been growing at a steady pace ever since and as per a recent report by Wealth Tax, Sliimeyhoney is now worth an incredible $12 million. It turns out that a teenage entrepreneur’s dream has become a bigger success than he might have even imagined when he first started the company.
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The report also goes on to say that the company has generated $5 million in revenue since the episode was aired. Its products are sold in mainstream stores such as Walmart and Target and it’s not just the American consumerbase that Lin is catering to. Sliimeyhoney is sold across 20 countries, earning John $700,000 in profits.