'Shark Tank' judge Barbara Corcoran says 'I've had it now' after Mark Cuban backs out of their deal
Most entrepreneurs have to fight tooth and nail during negotiations to bag a single deal on "Shark Tank", but a few bring something so good that the sharks themselves squabble to invest in their businesses. The founders of "The Woobles" made all five judges trip over each other to get a piece of their company. Adrian Zhang and Justine Tiu left the Sharks in awe with their crochet kits that sold like 'hot cakes' in the market. Impressed with the numbers, all five Sharks decided to make offers and eventually teamed up to make joint offers. In the end, Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner ditched their teammates, Barbara Corcoran and Robert Herjavec, to come together and close a $450,000 deal.
Tiu and Zhang entered the Tank seeking $250,000 for 5% equity in their business. They started with the aim to get the Sharks hooked on the new trend of crochet. They explained that their company, "The Woobles," made crochet kits that are designed to make learning crochet easy and fun for beginners.
While the Sharks examined the sample kits, the duo shared that most of their customers are adults, and there is a lot of demand for their product in the market. While each kit costs $3 to produce, the company wholesaled it for $15 and retailed it for $30. Tiu shared how she quit her job at Google to learn crochet and start a business, while Zhang switched from a career on Wall Street. They told the Sharks that the company started with $200 worth of yarn and a website in 2020, and by 2021, they had done $5.3 million in sales. They further projected to close 2022 with $7 million.
Baffled by the incredible numbers, the Sharks started making offers. Impressed with the cash flow, Kevin O’Leary offered $250,000 for 10% equity, promising to reduce customer acquisition costs by 8-10% and help the company get the licensing deal they were looking for. Corcoran then jumped in to undercut O'Leary with an offer of $300,000 for 10% equity. Greiner immediately matched the offer from the other side of the panel, also promising to get the company a licensing deal.
Corcoran increased her offer to $350,000. This prompted Greiner to lower her equity to 8% and to compete with that, and Corcoran made a desperate move by lowering her ask to 5%. Corcoran even offered to team up with Mark Cuban for a joint deal worth $350,000 for 6% equity. On the other hand, Herjavec and Greiner teamed up to offer $450,000 for 6% equity.
However, when the entrepreneurs expressed that they wanted Cuban and Greiner to come together, they immediately ditched their partners. "Oh, I've had it now! Oh my God!" Corcoran yelled as the team of Cuban and Lori offered $450,000 for 6% equity. Tiu and Zhang promptly accepted the offer, leaving Corcoran in the dust.
In the end, even Cuban and Greiner got nixed as the founders of "The Woobles" did not close the deal once the episode was aired. Cuban told The News & Observer that he wanted to close it, but Tiu and Zhang refused, which made him think that they already got what they wanted from the show.
