All the 5 'Shark Tank' judges offered him a 6-figure deal — but he knew exactly whom to pick
Even after delivering an impressive pitch, entrepreneurs need to face sharp comments and scrutiny from investors on "Shark Tank" in order to get the kind of deal they want. But one man pulled off something extremely rare, as he got all five sharks competing to seal the deal with him. The founder of Lumio, Max Gunawan, won the Sharks over with his innovative lighting products that lit up the Tank. It seemed like Gunawan knew exactly whom to pick as he closed a $350,000 deal with Robert Herjavec.
In the episode, Gunawan entered the Tank seeking $250,000 for 8% equity in his company, Lumio. He started his pitch by demonstrating how his Lumio lights worked. The product, which is a light that opens up like a book, provided instant soft lighting that the entrepreneur claimed could match studio standards. Each light is USB chargeable and could last for up to eight hours on a full charge. As Gunawan handed out samples, all the Sharks were impressed with the product. Robert Herjavec opened a book-shaped light, and he became immediately giddy, before saying, "Wow! That's really cool. So beautiful!"
While the product impressed everyone, the company's numbers grabbed their attention. Gunawan shared that the company had made $1 million from sales, including a Kickstarter campaign. He shared that each light sold for $190, and they cost him $65 a piece. While the margins were just about satisfactory for the Sharks, Gunawan projected sales worth $2 million to $2.5 million for the coming year.
Herjavec made the first move, and he offered $250,000 for 10% equity right off the bat. Following Hervajec, Kevin O'Leary jumped in as well to offer the same money for 4% equity but demanded a royalty payment of $7 per unit. "For providing that, and of course, I'll help you finance your purchase orders. The key to my offer is that all of a sudden, you walk out of here with a 6.2 million valuation," O'Leary said.
Next was Mark Cuban, who took things to another level. He offered double the money, $500,000 for 16% equity. "That gives you capital to grow right off the bat. You don't have to worry about being dead on your balance sheet, and it gives me enough skin in the game," Cuban reasoned. Lori Greiner then jumped in as well, and offered the entrepreneur $250,000 for 12% equity and a $250,000 line of credit. Before Gunawan could negotiate, Daymond John made his offer, putting $750,000 on the table for 20% equity.
With a lot of numbers to crunch, the pressure was rising for Gunawan. "It's remarkable Max. You have five offers but I actually gave you the highest valuation of anybody in my offer. The only one that gives you a 6.2 million valuation at least," O'Leary said to add to the pressure. Just as O'Leary made the comment, Herjavec modified his offer to $350,000 for 10% equity, raising the company's valuation. Without thinking more, Gunawan accepted the offer to close the deal.
However, the deal with Herjavec reportedly fell apart after the taping, according to Looper. Nevertheless, Lumio continued on the path of success as it expanded its product catalogue on its website and fetched revenues worth $4 million per year since its appearance on Shark Tank, according to the "Shark Tank Recap."
