'Shark Tank' offers a life-changing deal to techie who brought an unusual device that traps bugs
"Shark Tank" is a reality show where entrepreneurs from all walks of life and across all age groups can get on stage and pitch products ranging from innovative to bizarre. When young engineer and entrepreneur, Justin Huang walked into the "Shark Tank" with a handful of bugs, he didn't know his plan would impress a celebrity billionaire. In an episode from the business reality show, Huang pitched his innovative bug catcher to impress the Sharks. By the end, he hit it off with none other than Mark Cuban who didn't just invest in his business but promised to back his ideas for life!
The self-proclaimed “bug sympathizer,” Huang began his presentation by demonstrating how inconvenient bugs could be. He did this by serving cakes with fake bugs in them to the sharks. While the stunt made people laugh, it scared the bejeezus out of Robert Herjavec.
Huang then went on to explain his solution to the problem. He showed his device, called "Cup-A-Bug" that catches bugs without killing them. Explaining the reason for inventing this, he said, “I’m just terrified of bugs, even from [childhood]. As I grew up, I just started to feel bad for squishing them.” However, the young man looked nervous and kept pausing and stuttering frequently. "I’m so nervous, I’m so nervous," he said with his hand on his chest, prompting the investors to encourage him. Cuban loudly exclaimed, “You’re good!” while Lori Greiner chimed in saying, “It’s OK. Take a breath and then think of it again.”
Huang then went on to finish his pitch by explaining that users of Cup-A-Bug can simply trap a bug in the cup of the device, close the lid from underneath, and then release the bug into its natural habitat, or at the neighbor's door. Coming to the numbers, Huang shared that each device costs him $10 to manufacture, and another $7 to ship and it finally retails for $40. Huang justified his ask of $50,000, in exchange for 10% by mentioning that he had sold 12,000 units in just 3 months before the filming of the episode.
When Herjavec asked Huang about his background, he shared that he has a mechanical engineering background, and he had been working with his father to design electric motors. However, he wanted to do something on his own, so he founded Cup-A-Bug. “My hero,” Cuban responded, praising him for being a fellow 'forever learner'.
Cuban added that he too was a fan of lifelong learning, and he identified as a geek. Coming to bugs, Cuban said, “I feel bad when I squish a bug, too. That could be an ancestor of mine, for all I know, coming to visit me.”
Soon enough, Cuban jumped in to make an offer. He put $50,000 on the table for 20% equity, promising that he would support any of Huang's future inventions. Daymond John chimed in as well, initially matching Cuban's offer and then upgrading it to $60,000 for 30% equity. Cuban quickly countered with $75,000. “I want you to myself,” he told Huang. “Geek to geek," he added. The two geeks hit it off as Huang accepted Cuban's offer.
“We’ll have so much fun. I’ll be throwing projects at you left and right. Anytime you have an idea, you can run it by me. Code, hardware, fun stuff," Cuban said as he hugged Huang.
