'Shark Tank' contestant who pays customers to spit in tubes gets $200,000 deal with Mark Cuban

The entrepreneur's mission to "save mankind" and his life's story impressed all of the sharks.

PUBLISHED 5 HOURS AGO

Screenshots showing Mark Cuban and the entrepreneur on "Shark Tank" (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Shark Tank Global)

Entrepreneurs on "Shark Tank" are usually pitching products and services that convince customers to pay up. But it's very unusual for someone to pitch a business that pays people instead. To keep mankind safe, one of the most important things for medical researchers is to study human DNA and understand how it could give rise to a new kind of disease, which could lead to a pandemic. However, getting enough DNA samples from different kinds of people can be a challenge, and an entrepreneur decided to pay people to provide those for the sake of science.

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The company, named DNA Simple, is owned by a man named Olivier Noel, an immigrant from Haiti who made the American Dream a reality. He asked for $100,000 for a 12.5% stake in his company. The entrepreneur said that the company pays customers $50 to send a sample of their saliva in a tube, which is sent to research facilities. These facilities then pay Noel $155, and that’s how the business runs.

The best part about it is that users can do this multiple times and get paid $50 for each sample sent. “You heard correctly. We’re paying you for spitting in a tube,” Noel added. The catch was that one’s DNA sample had to match the requirements of a certain research study. Only then is the subject paid the $50. Otherwise, as Lori Greiner mentioned, any drug addict could just be spitting in tubes and making easy money.

Screenshot showing the entrepreneur with the tube. (Image credit: YouTube | Shark Tank Global) — Screenshot showing the entrepreneur with the tube. (Image source: YouTube | Shark Tank Global)

The company had sold 500 samples for $30,000 so far, which might not be a big number, but the company’s mission kept the sharks interested. What also kept the sharks hooked was the fact that the entrepreneur was a highly credible man. He graduated with honors in biomedical science from Queens College. He then got a scholarship for a PhD and an MD from Penn State.

Guest shark Sir Richard Branson was full of praise for the entrepreneur. As an immigrant, what he achieved in the country was truly commendable. Coming back to DNA Simple, Noel said that getting samples from different kinds of people, like African-Americans and Hispanics, to name a couple, is not easy in certain areas of the country for researchers.

Screenshot showing guest shark Sir Richard Branson. (Image credit: YouTube | Shark Tank Global) — Screenshot showing guest shark Sir Richard Branson. (Image source: YouTube | Shark Tank Global)

All of this was enough for Branson, who quickly made an offer. He said that he’d give the $100,000 but asked for a 25% stake in the company. However, he was not the only one interested. Mark Cuban was quick to make an offer of his own, and he wanted his answer right then and there. The shark offered $200,000 for 20%. Noel countered with 15%, which was agreeable, and a deal was struck as a result.