Mother-daughter duo on 'Shark Tank' get three $150k offers and they knew exactly whom to pick
Seeking an investment isn't the only aim for entrepreneurs on "Shark Tank," as the right kind of investor could be a game-changer as a partner. That's what the mother and daughter behind 'The Better Bedder,' Judy Schott and Nita Gassen, prioritized. The mother-daughter duo managed to impress not one but three $150,000 offers from three investors on "Shark Tank". While two of them, Lori Greiner and Barbara Corcoran, fought fiercely, the entrepreneurs chose to go with the 'Queen of QVC' in the end.
Schott and Gassen entered the Tank seeking $150,000 for 10% of their business, and presented their invention, the 'Better Bedder', a tool that allows customers to simply tuck sheets into the elastic headband. Schott shared that she got the idea of the product after her son refused to sleep on the bed to avoid making a mess of the sheets. Schott then called Gassen, and the two worked together to create a solution. Within 6 months of brainstorming, they sold their first Better Bedder.
They shared that they needed a shark to help them with marketing, as it wasn't their forte. The Better Bedder had done $476,000 in sales in just one and a half years and was expecting to end the year with close to $1 million in sales. Despite the strong sales, they were losing money as each unit cost them a whopping $33.50 to manufacture, and the average sales cost was $63.50.
O'Leary chimed in first to compliment the ladies. However, he shared that he didn't understand the bedding industry, so he was out. Mark Cuban followed Mr Wonderful's lead, saying that he doesn't make his own bed, so the product didn't interest him.
However, the other three Sharks were pretty much interested. Barbara Corcoran made the first offer of $150,000 for 20%. "The reason I need 20% is that I don't think about my investments if they're less than 20%," she said. She further promised to help the duo increase margins and extended her PR expertise to drive sales. Lori Greiner then offered $150,000, but for 25%. "I love this concept. It's very visual. I think this could be a great QVC item. I also think it could be a good infomercial item," she added. Daymon John jumped in as well to match Greiner's offer.
After some discussion, the entrepreneurs countered with 18% equity, and both Greiner and Corcoran agreed. When the founders chose to go with Greiner, Corcoran made a desperate attempt and went down to 15%. However, the mother-daughter duo still went with Greiner, much to Corcoran's dismay.
According to the Shark Tank Blog, the company got an update segment in which Schott and Grassen shared that they did $157,000 in sales in just one day after their episode aired. Furthermore, their lifetime sales grew to $10 million by 2023, as per the publication.
More on Market Realist:
'Shark Tank' judges were moved by this father-son duo's pitch — but only one of them made an offer
'Shark Tank' judge Lori Greiner gives up 5% equity just to avoid partnership with Kevin O'Leary
A mom and son duo were so impressive on 'Shark Tank' that Lori Greiner gave them her Golden Ticket
