Lori Greiner offers $60K deal to 'Shark Tank' contestant for a product that 'every woman should have'
Products that are simple yet innovative quickly catch the attention of "Shark Tank" investors. The brother-sister duo of Shirah and Michael Benarde managed to impress Lori Greiner with their product meant to protect women from spiked drinks. Greiner did not waste a second to offer them $60,000 to become a partner in their business, and said, "Every woman should have it."
Shirah and Michael entered the Tank seeking $60,000 for 20% of their business. Shirah, who was 17 years old at the time, began the pitch by sharing how she had heard horror stories of drink spiking from women, which inspired her to work for a solution. NightCap is a stretchable scrunchie that doubles up as a cap for drinking glasses. Shirah demonstrated how easy it was to wear the cap as a scrunchie on the wrist, and then put it on a glass as a cap. The entrepreneurs further stressed the problem, saying 70% of their customers were between the ages of 18 and 24, with 98% being women.
All of the Sharks were impressed by the innovative device as they got to try it themselves. Being a numbers guy, Kevin O'Leary asked the duo to share the sales figures. Michael then told the Sharks that in the 11 months that the product has been sold, they managed to get $68,000 in sales, with the majority of them coming over the last few months, due to some website optimisation. They further shared that each NightCap cost them $2.82 to make, and they retailed for $11.99 a piece. However, Shirah told the Sharks that they could cut the cost down to $1.60 at scale.
With everything laid out, Greiner was the first to make a move. She immediately expressed the impact the product had on her, saying, "I don't think that I have ever seen a product come into the Shark Tank that resonated to me more deeply in a social mission." Without wasting much time, Greiner offered Shirah and Michael $60,000 for 25% equity. "I want to be a partner right in there with you, and I want to do everything. I can actually blow this up on social media, create videos. This needs to be in every woman's hands! So I hope that you hear my passion about it," she went on to say.
Hearing Greiner's offer, even Barbara Corcoran was amazed. She told the entrepreneurs that she had never seen Greiner so passionate and that they should take the offer and run. The young entrepreneurs took her advice and struck a deal.
According to the Shark Tank Blog, the deal was closed, and the company is listed on Greiner’s website. Their products are still available on their website and Amazon.
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