'Shark Tank' contestant goes down on one knee to win over investors — walks away with $600,000 deal
There are a lot of ways in which entrepreneurs try to woo "Shark Tank" investors, but getting down on one knee to win their approval was unheard of. This stunt was pulled off by the founder of Do Amore, Krish Himmatramka. He pitched ethically sourced diamond jewelry and had a mission to ensure access to clean water in developing countries. While most Sharks didn't fall for the charm, guest shark Daniel Lubetzky saw potential in the company and sealed a $600,000 deal.
Himmatramka entered the Tank seeking $600,000 for 10% equity in his company. He explained that 'Do Amore' means “I give with love” in Latin, and his company is a jewelry business with a heart. He shared that a portion of its profits goes to creating access to clean water in developing nations, and each customer can manually track where the donation goes with pictures and all the details provided on the company website. Himmatramka added that his mission is two-fold. The first goal is to use ethically sourced diamonds and recycled metals to make engagement rings and uplift the communities in need.
While the pitch was impressive, the company's numbers were solid as well. Himmatramka explained that the company had $8.3 million in the year prior to filming, and in the current year, it was projected to do over $11 million. Despite his good intentions, the Sharks were skeptical that people would buy the product only to support the mission. Lubetzky went out first as it wasn't his sector. Mark Cuban followed suit as he saw the business as vulnerable to competitors.
Barbara Corcoran went out as she felt she wasn’t the right person for the job at all. This left Himmatramka with only Kevin O'Leary and Lori Greiner. Mr. Wonderful made the first move with a rather complicated offer. "The valuation is insane but, here's my offer. I'll take the 6% basically as a tip but I'm going to put a royalty on this deal," he said, before adding, "I'll give you the $600,000, I make three times that on a royalty of a hundred dollars a transaction and I put you into my network of La Moore and we try and sell more of this."
With this, Greiner dropped out, as she thought O'Leary's offer was much better than what she had in mind. Seeing Himmatramka hesitate, Lubetzky jumped back in, as he was well impressed by the entrepreneur. As he offered $600,000 for 15% equity, the guest Shark went down on one knee in front of Himmatramka.
Himmatramka attempted to counter for 12%, saying, "I promise you, I will make it a success. Daniel, I know all of you all work hard, I promise you to literally help solve the water problem." Seeing the entrepreneur try so hard to get a deal with Lubetzky, O'Leary decided to drop out. To make the offer more convincing, Lubetzky promised to donate 3% of his cut to a charity of the company's choice. With his Himmatramka accepted the $600,000 deal.
According to "Shark Tank Recap," Do Amore is still in business, and they have expanded their offering on their website as well.
