'Shark Tank' called his $250,000 pitch the 'worst ever' on the show. He proved them all wrong later.

"Shark Tank" is a show that gives hope to entrepreneurs looking for funding to make their innovative business ideas fly. But celebrity investors on the show are also known for tearing apart pitches, in a way that could leave founders devastated. Jason Woods once pitched his invention, the Kymera Body Board, an electric version of a boogie board on "Shark Tank," and for that, he was called a "want-to-preneur" while his presentation was labeled as the worst of all time. However, he rose from the ashes to find redemption years later in a way that shocked the sharks.

The "Aha" Moment

Woods came up with the idea of an electric bodyboard while spending time at a lake in Napa, California. In an interview, he told New Atlas that most lakegoers could not participate in watersports due to their body size and weight. Thus, in 2011 Woods had designed Kymera, an electric jet bodyboard intended to make watersports accessible to everyone.

The same year, Kymera won the Invention Award by Popular Science and two years later, Woods launched a funding campaign on Kickstarter. Woods went a step further and appeared on Season 5 of "Shark Tank" in 2013, where things took a turn for the worse.

The 'Worst Pitch on Shark Tank'

On the show, Woods began by mentioning how jet skis and other large watercraft were a hassle and Kymera, on the other hand, was incredibly easy to use. He played a demo video to show the board in action claiming that the battery-powered board could go up to 20 miles an hour in the water. At the time, he was seeking $250,000 for a 10% stake in his company. 

This surprised both Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary and a flurry of questions followed. The sharks did not believe in Woods as he didn’t have a product, but just prototypes to show at the time. 

The tension went up when Woods explained that his Kickstarter fund had failed as it only allowed him to sell one Kymera per person, and customers wanted to buy more. They found it laughable and were shocked to learn that Woods did not have a patent on Kymera either.

"You're not an entrepreneur, you're a want-to-preneur," Cuban slammed Woods. Lory Greiner also refused to make an offer citing 'safety concerns'.

"Mr Wonderful" O'Leary questioned the company's $1 million valuation while Daymond John called Wood's pitch "the worst" that he had encountered. The guest, John Paul Dejoria politely turned him down as well. 

Rise From the Ashes

The brutality on the show prompted some fundamental changes for Kymera and Woods. In an interview with Inc. Magazine, he shared that he quit his job after walking out of the show and changed his attitude to improve his business. He brought in Adam Majewski to run operations and soon won the trust of other investors, raising $625,000 in funding. The company turned the prototype into a product that was sold for $3,500 and the Kymera made more than $2.2 million from sales, as per Inc. Soon Woods entered an elite group of entrepreneurs to get a second chance in Shark Tank. 

This time with Majewski, Woods appeared on the show in 2019, seeking the same $250,000 investment but in exchange for a 5% stake in the company. While the sharks were pleasantly surprised to see Woods again, their attitude didn't change much. O’Leary, however again questioned the $5 million valuation but this time, Woods had an answer. He explained that now it was proven that his company had scalable technology which led to more creations such as a kayak and a surfboard. Convinced with the response, O’Leary offered $250,000 in exchange for a 5% equity stake but asked for a $500 royalty per unit until $750,000 is recouped.

John then jumped in making a better offer of 10% equity in exchange for the $250,000. Robert  Herjavec chimed in as well, offering an even better deal of $500,000 in exchange for a 10% stake in the company.

“Love it, love the second chances,” Herjavec said. Woods accepted the offer from the sharks marking a monumental event in the tank. “Redemption is the only word you can use,” Woods said.

While it's unclear how the deal affected Kymera, in 2024, it seems like the business is going strong with the company maintaining its website and presence on social media.