'Shark Tank' contestant takes off his shirt to flaunt his tan — signs $200,000 deal with Mark Cuban
The first step towards success for an entrepreneur on "Shark Tank" is to stand out with a creative pitch to demonstrate how effective the product is. The sharks see several pitches about different types of products all day, and impressing them may require some out of the box ideas. One entrepreneur did something unconventional and took his shirt off during the pitch. He used his own body to show the real tan from his product, and won a deal with Mark Cuban.
The company was called Bro Glo, and it was founded by Tom Phillips, Jaron Nalewak, and Joe McDevitt. The company made easy-to-use self-tanning products for men. The idea came to Nalewak when he was on honeymoon with his wife. She was able to get a great tan on her body, but Nalewak just seemed pale. However, going to a tanning salon was not the best experience.
As a result, Bro Glo was founded a few years later. The entrepreneurs asked for $200,000 for a 5% stake in the company, which put its valuation at $4 million. To show how well their tanning products work, Nalewak took off his shirt to reveal the difference between one side of his body that was tanned and the other that wasn’t. He then invited Kevin O’Leary on stage to demonstrate how easy it was to use the product.
The company had recorded sales of just under $3.1 million the year prior, which really got the sharks intrigued, as this was something that could go big. The entrepreneurs were equipped with accurate information about their numbers, and that’s something O’Leary liked. So, he offered a deal in which he wanted exactly what was asked equity-wise. However, he wanted a dollar per sale as a royalty until he made back a million bucks. Lori Greiner was also a fan of the product and quickly came in with an offer of her own. She offered $100,000 as cash and $100,000 as a loan for a royalty of 50 cents per product until she made her money back and a 10% stake.
This might sound like a convoluted offer, but few people could open doors in retail like she can. It was Mark Cuban’s turn to jump in next, and he offered a simple deal worth $200,000 for 10% of the company. On the other hand, guest shark Daniel Lubetzky said he’d do it for 8%. The entrepreneurs thought about it for a little while and decided to accept Cuban’s offer. They asked if he’d partner with Greiner for it, but he said no.
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