'Shark Tank' founders get rejected by Mark Cuban within minutes over the 'dumbest marketing move'

"Shark Tank" may make funds accessible for innovative entrepreneurs who aren't able to approach traditional investors, but that doesn't mean it's a walk in the park. The sharks are ruthless and sharp with their scrutiny of products, business models and numbers before investing in a firm. While Sharks are mostly patient with people, there are times when they lose it in seconds. This is what happened when the founders of 'Ride FRSH' made an astonishing blunder that offended Mark Cuban, who dropped out of a deal within seconds. 

Brothers Donovan and Trey Brown appeared in Season 14 of the show to pitch their modern air freshener company. Apart from their staggering valuation of $4 million and an ask of $200,000 for just 5% of the business, nothing in their pitch seemed wrong for the Sharks.

They explained how air fresheners are outdated and poorly designed and how they could take advantage of an untapped market. However, things turned a bit sour when the brothers started smelling their different scents including one featuring an NBA team. "In this one, I smell victory. Sorry, Mark!" the co-founder said.

This unexpectedly offended the star investor who looked like he smelled something rotten. Once they wrapped up their presentation, Robert Herjavec looked at Cuban and asked if he was okay as he looked a bit "still." Cuban promptly responded with, "Dumbest marketing move ever. I'm out." And just like that, Ride FRSH lost an investor in less than two minutes. Turns out the brother gave Cuban, who was the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks at the time, an air freshener with the logo of Golden State Warriors on it.

“You got to read your room,” Cuban said, throwing down the air freshener. “Wrong move, wrong time," he added. For context, in the 2022 NBA playoffs, the Warriors won a narrow victory over the Mavericks, as they knocked them out of the conference before going on to win the tournament. "Common Mark you gotta be the bigger man," Barbara Corcoran said to Cuban urging him to let it go. "I could be, but I am not," Cuban said, staying firm on the decision, making the pitch one of the most awkward presentations of all time.

While it was a setback, the Brown brothers quickly moved past Cuban's comments and began fielding questions. They shared that Ride FRSH had generated over $1.1 million in sales and is eyeing $750,000 for 2022 alone, which impressed the panel. They explained that they sell their air fresheners in two ways, one is a subscription model, which costs $5 or $7.25 per month, based on the customer's needs. They also sold bulk packages of their licensed air fresheners including the exclusive NBA and Viacom’s Sponge Bo, air fresheners.

The brothers added that they were closing a deal with Autozone, one of the largest automotive businesses in the USA, and the order will be for $2.1 million. However, the Sharks were interested to know if they were profitable. The founders shared that on the $540,000 they earned from sales in 2021, the profit was $40,000, which according to the Sharks was low. 

After Cuban, Lori Greiner was the first to drop out saying that the fresheners were too male-orientated and she personally wouldn't be using the products. Hervajec lauded the brothers for doing a great job but ultimately dropped out as well. Kevin O'Leary on the other hand had a major problem with the $4 million valuation, since the business wasn't making bog profits, and so he dropped out as well. The remaining Shark, Corcoran made the sole offer of $200,000 for 25% depending on the Autozone deal.

Donovan countered with 15% which was rejected. Then, Corcoran accepted the second counter of 20% and they closed the deal. Before leaving the stage, Trey and Donovan both go up to Cuban and apologize for their mistake. Cuban being a good sport congratulated them on the deal and said,  “It’s all good.”