Barbara Corcoran’s $50K in ‘Shark Tank’ Raked up $468 Million: 6 Iconic Businesses That Debuted on the Show

Barbara Corcoran has appeared on ABC's hit show Shark Tank for more than 14 years now. She recently revealed that she made one deal in 2017 that has been her most valuable investment to date. In June 2023, Barbara appeared on The Daniel Mac Show, where she said that the deal that earned her the most is The Comfy which is a wearable blanket. "I took the deal myself. I got a third of the business for, I think, $50,000," Barbara said.

The company came asking for investment in the ninth season of the show back in 2017, originally seeking $50,000 for a 20% stake in the company. In an update episode, the founders shared that within 5 weeks of appearing on the show the sales skyrocketed and they hit their first-ever $1 million in sales, and in less than a year they hit $15 million in sales. "They made me $468 million in three years," she said. "Nobody wanted it...I never anticipated."

Barbara revealed that she has closed more than 650-700 deals but only made money on about one-third of them. The number of successful businesses that got their start from Shark Tank is pretty long. Here are a few of them.

Bombas

A sock company with a charity-driven mission is one of the biggest businesses to appear on the show. Back in 2014, David and Randy presented their product which was pair of socks with the words 'bee better' on them. They said that their business model included donating the repair of socks to the homeless every time one pair got sold. Most sharks at the time thought that the charity angle of the business could result in the business losing money, However, Daymond John invested $200,000 for 17.5% equity. In just 2 months, the company made an astounding $1.2 million in sales, as per CNBC Make It.

Tipsy Elves

This company came to Shark Tank back in 2013 to pitch its ugly Christmas sweater company. They secured a deal from Robert Herjavec who decide to give them $100,000 for a 10% stake and half a decade later the company was his top-performing investment. "They left these secure, cushy jobs to sell inappropriate, ugly Christmas sweaters online. Anyone nuts enough to do that must really believe in the idea," he told CNBC.

Sleep Styler

This was a pitch that didn't require much convincing as Greiner offered $75,000 for a 25% stake within minutes and the founder of the company Tara Brown, accepted. Within two years the company was already done $100 million in sales. "I also knew I would really be able to help Tara get this product out on the market in a fast and all-encompassing way where The Sleep Styler would become a household name within a year," Grenier said.

FiberFix

Eric Child and Spencer Quinn came to Shark Tank with a tape that they claimed was 100 times stronger than regular duct tape. They bagged a deal of $120,000 for a 12% stake from Griener and six years later, they had done a whopping $65 million in sales.

Scrub Daddy

This is widely considered the most famous and successful business to have gotten a start from Shark Tank. Back in 2012, Aaron Karuse pitched the durable and reusable smiley-faced sponge that he named the Scrub Daddy. Lori Greiner invested a towering $200,000 for a 20% stake after saying that he knows a hero from zero, calling this a hero. In 2019, the company was valued at $170 million after selling close to 25 million smiley sponges, per New Zealand Herald.