Lori Greiner calls her fellow 'Shark Tank' judges 'snakes in the grass' during fight over a deal
While it is an accomplishment to get multiple offers on "Shark Tank," making all the judges fight each other to invest in a firm is a rare feat, which was achieved by Max Kislevitz and Natalie Holloway, the founders of 'Bala Bangles.' The duo bagged a $900,000 deal with not one but two sharks, Mark Cuban and Maria Sharapova. However, along the way, they upset Lori Greiner, who called her colleagues "Snakes in the grass."
The loving couple and co-founders, Kislevitz and Holloway, entered the tank seeking $400,000 for 10% of the business. They started their pitch with live aerobics to discuss the product. They explained that the idea came to them when Holloway, a yoga instructor, was looking for wrist and ankle weights. After finding nothing that appealed to their style, the couple decided to create their own version of weights but with a twist.
Their version of ankle and wrist weights didn’t look anything like the typical, utilitarian products, as they were stylish. They look like oversized bracelets and come in a variety of colors with one or two-pound weight sizes. The couple shared that they’re made from cast iron coated with silicon and are both sweat-resistant and dishwasher-safe.
After the pitch, the Sharks get right down to the numbers. Holloway revealed that in the first six months, the company did $260,000 in sales. However, in the year of filming, they had already done $1.2 million and had received purchase orders from Bloomingdale's and Nordstrom. They explained to the Sharks that they planned to use the raised money to manage inventory. Guest Shark and tennis legend, Maria Sharapova, made the first move and said that she was very interested in the product. The couple also expressed their interest in getting her onboard as a spokesperson for the brand. While Sharapova tried to make a bid for more equity, Kevin O'Leary cut her off in the middle to make his offer.
O'Leary put up $400,000 on the table as a 36-month loan at 7.5% interest in exchange for 5% equity. Before the couple could counter, Sharapova cut back in to offer $200,000 but with the condition that the entrepreneurs get the other $200,000 from another Shark for a total of 30% equity. "No disrespect to anyone on this panel but I make a lot of money just being a spokesperson and endorser of a brand but I'm not going into this just as that. There's a lot more hustle that I'll have to be delivering," she reasoned.
With this, Lori Greiner and Daymond John simultaneously jumped in from the other side of the panel, offering $200,000 for 15% equity to partner with Sharapova. When the guest shark turned to Mark Cuban, Greiner even told her, "Don't let him take you away from me!" While the bidding war continued, the couple expressed that they weren't willing to give up so much equity, and they would do a deal only if two Sharks put up $450,000 each for a total of 30% equity.
Following this, Greiner made the last-ditch offer of $500,000 for 18%, but Mark Cuban cut her off in the middle. Cuban says he is willing to partner with Sharapova and do the $900,000 for a 30% deal. The entrepreneurs quickly accept the deal, leaving Greiner in the dust. "Oh! Snake! Snakes in the grass!" she yelled as the entrepreneurs shook hands with their new partners.
In the end, Cuban clarified that it was Sharapova's idea and he had nothing to do with it. "Maria is the devious one. Don't put it on me. She gets all the credit," he said.
