'Shark Tank' Kevin O'Leary throws Lori Greiner under the bus to make a deal with a unique brand
"Shark Tank" investors are not just ruthless while negotiating with or criticising entrepreneurs on the show, but they can also be fiercely competitive when it comes to closing deals. That is why a lot of contestants who turn up with attractive products manage to trigger a battle between the judges for a deal. The founder of "Wad-Free", Cyndi Bray, managed to impress both Lori Greiner and Kevin O'Leary with her innovative product, great margins, and high sales numbers. While the rest of the Sharks dropped out, O'Leary and Greiner had a massive showdown, tripping over each other to get a deal. In the end, O'Leary forced the fellow shark to back down by outrageously lowering his demand for equity to seal a $200,000 deal.
Bray sought $200,000 for 5% of her business, and started her pitch by describing the big "Wad" problem of washing bedsheets. Calling it the "Wad Trinity," she described the first problem as the sheets clumping up together like a "tornado". The second problem was fitted bedsheets swallowing other clothes and keeping them dirty. The third problem was a large bedsheet making a burrito of smaller clothes in the dryer, preventing anything from drying.
Thus, to solve all the problems at once, she introduced her product, Wad-Free, a device that holds the ends of the sheets in one place and keeps them from balling up and wrinkling in the washer and dryer. She claimed that it makes laundry less frustrating and saves time and energy.
The Sharks then asked about the sales, and Bray shared that since launching in June 2020, the company had done $513,000. Furthermore, the margins were healthy too, as each device cost $3.50 to make, plus $3.50 for shipping, and it sold for $18.99, netting a 38% profit. She further added that the product is sold on Walmart, The Grommet, her website, and Amazon.
With everything laid out, the Sharks started making moves. Mark Cuban went first, but he shared that he doesn't do laundry, so the product wasn't for him, and he was out. Robert Herjavec also complimented Bray on her success, but he admitted that he had no idea about the laundry market, so he was out too.
However, O'Leary was very much interested. "I like simple solutions. I like the story, here's an offer," he said before pitching a classic "Mr. Wonderful offer". He put up the $200,000 for 10% but he demanded a $1 royalty per unit until he recouped a million dollars. After Daymond John dropped out, Greiner jumped in with an offer as well.
Greiner said that she did a deal with "Better Bedder" last season and believed that Wad-Free could work in tandem with them. She also talked about doing an infomercial and getting the product into “all the stores," before offering $200,000 but for 25%. After O'Leary called Greiner a savage for being greedy, Greiner said, "I am not savage! I know how to make millionaires. It's what I do! So that's my offer. I want to be in it with you day in and day out and blow this up."
However, Bray wasn't willing to give up so much equity, so she asked Greiner if she would do it for 10%. "You know honestly, what I'm offering you it's like gold," Greiner said in response before dropping her ask to 20%. "I really do not like greed, and when I see Lori getting greedy like this and putting a lot of pressure on the deal to make her be less greedy to be a better Lori," O'Leary interjected to continue the showdown.
Then, in an unprecedented move, O'Leary lowered his equity demand further to just 5%. After some thinking, Bray turned to Greiner and thanked her but, she revealed that she was going to take O'Leary's deal as it was better for her.
In the end, it turned out to be a great investment for both parties, and shortly after the episode aired, Wad-Free became a viral sensation. As per the Shark Tank Blog, the company closed 2024 with $2 million in revenue, marking its success.
