'Shark Tank' judge Kevin O'Leary calls Barbara Corcoran 'greedy' — snatches deal to hurt her ego
Investors often get too competitive and even fight for a deal on "Shark Tank," and sometimes, things get personal. This ultimately works in favor of entrepreneurs like Nadine Habayeb, the founder of 'Bohana.' The ambitious founder who pitched her healthy snack made of water lily seeds seemed to have just one offer on the table from Barbara Corcoran until Kevin O'Leary took offense at his fellow Shark's comments. Just to mess with Corcoran, Mr Wonderful made an offer of $200,000, which was almost too good to be true. Habayeb ultimately accepted his offer and clearly hurt Corcoran's ego.
In her pitch, Habayeb presented the Sharks with her popped water lily seed snack, "Bohana," that is meant to replace popcorn. She explained that the seeds are sourced from large lily pads in Northern India, and they contain more protein than popcorn and all nine essential amino acids as well. Furthermore, they didn't have a kernel, so the snack is safe for the teeth and free from any choking hazard.
While the sharks loved the taste of the product, not everyone was sure if they would replace popcorn with it. Lori Greiner was concerned that there was no fiber in the snack, which Habayeb assured could be fixed. However, Mark Cuban wasn't convinced as he felt it would take a lot of effort to educate the customers about the benefits.
Guest Shark, Rohan Oza, then asked for the numbers, and Habayeb revealed that she had done $120,000 in sales in the past 16 months. This didn't make things any better, as the sharks were concerned with the snack being significantly more expensive than popcorn. However, unlike the other Sharks, Corcoran seemed to be eager to make a deal. When she jumped in to make an offer, even O'Leary said, "Just like that, Barbara?"
"It's a young business, it's not a proven model. Som, I'm making the $200,000 offer, but for 30%" Corcoran said. Even before she could finish, O'Leary called her offer "extremely greedy," and they started arguing.
It was then O'Leary's turn to make a decision. "Normally, I would squeeze Barbara's head because she's greedy, but I think she's a good partner for you," O'Leary said, almost dropping out. However, Corcoran hit back at Mr Wonderful with the comment, "I don't need you as my salesman. Don't mess with me, I am okay on my own."
This upset O'Leary, and he decided to jump back in. "I'll give you the $200,000 as a loan, and I'll only take 8% equity. Just to mess with Barbara because she said bad things to me," O'Leary said, only to get "God what a baby," from Corcoran as a reaction. "It's actually a better deal. 30% is sheer greed, I hate greed, I can't stand that," O'Leary went on to add.
After some back and forth, Habayeb shared that her company really valued equity at the time, and it was important for her to preserve it. Furthermore, she thought O'Leary's offer was generous as nobody would offer her business a loan at such an early stage. Thus, she politely rejected Corcoran's offer and decided to partner with Mr Wonderful.
According to the "Shark Tank" Blog, it is unclear if the deal with O'Leary was closed. Furthermore, the company seems to be struggling as its products are out of stock on its website.
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