'Shark Tank' contestants make judges emotional with their firm's origin story and get $200,000 deal
"Shark Tank" judges are known to be ruthless negotiators who also tend to have some fun during pitches, but they're seen getting emotional on rare occasions. This usually happens when founders have a touching story to tell or when family members appear together. On one occasion, things got sentimental when father-son duo, Miles Huffman and Maurice Huffman, pitched their potentially life-saving product called StormBags. While their innovative version of portable sandbags impressed the Shraks, the duo's close bond, which got stronger after they lost their home to wildfires, was also touching. In the end, they got two multi-Shark offers and managed to get $200,000 from Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner.
Miles and Maurice entered the Shark Tank seeking $200,000 for 10% equity in their company. They created the StormBag as a sandbag that can be built in just minutes with no shoveling. Miles explained that the bag weighed one pound when dry, and after soaking up water, it weighed 33 pounds. "Whaaat??" Cuban said that.
They then explained that the bags contained Crosslinked Polyacrylamide powder, and each grain of the material absorbs 300 times its weight. With the samples of the bags and the material in front of the Sharks, Miles went on to introduce the StormTec Door Protection Kit as well. At this point, guest shark Daniel Lubetzky asked about their background, and things got a little emotional.
Miles shared that their family is from Paradise, California, and a few years ago, they lost their home as it was completely burned down in the wildfires. Maurice added that they lost their homes and businesses, and when it was time to rebuild, Miles left his job and joined the effort.
However, Kevin O'Leary quickly snapped out of his emotions and asked about the sales. Miles shared that they had $90,000 in sales in the previous year, and their product cost $2 to make and sold for $5.50. Cuban then asked how customers get the product, and the entrepreneurs explained that they sell online and ship the bags flat and dry.
With this, the first Shark to make a move was O'Leary. He said that he didn’t see a reason why people would pay for the product, as sandbags are available to people for free, and hence, he was out. Greiner then jumped in, saying there could be more applications, and they should make tiny bags that would help with watering plants slowly when customers are away.
While she was talking, Lubetzky got up and had a chat with Daymond John. The two Sharks then made a joint offer of $200,000, but for 40% equity. "What percent equity?" Cuban asked from the other end, and when Lubetzky insisted that they needed 40% to get enough skin in the game, Cuban got up to have a chat with Greiner.
Greiner jumped in, telling the father-son duo that she and Cuban wanted to make their dreams come true. "Well, we're going to offer the $200,000 but for 30%," she said. Cuban said that they could help with repackaging the product for different applications and selling it at different price points. At this point, Lubetzky and John also lowered their ask to 30% but Miles and Maurice chose to go with Cuban and Greiner.
As per the "Shark Tank" Blog, StormBags saw considerable success after their episode aired. They continue to be in business with their website offering all their products.
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