Thursday, May 5, 2011

Watch Shark Tank - Week 4 /Episode 5 - New Era Brands

The following are actually REAL negotiations between entrepreneurs and investors (Guppies & Sharks). The sharks invest their own money at their discretion. The guppies get devoured into a belly of finance, or spit back into the ocean of hard knocks to fend for themselves. The entrepreneurs must convince the sharks to invest the FULL AMOUNT, or walk away with NOTHING.








THE GUPPY: Bob Kroupa
THE COMPANY: New Era Brands (Now defunct)
WEBSITE: clipngo.com
SYNOPSIS: Clip N Go products are an easy way to carry your mint and gum with you when you need it.
SEEKING: $500K for a 30% stake




PRODUCT/SERVICE: A mint and gum line, a container and dual sided contact lens container all streamlined into 1 investment

WHAT'S THE SKINNY?: He's in the container, mint, gum, and contact lens business. He had $817K in sales last year, he was in Walgreen's and ran out of product, all the profit got re-invested back into the business, the stores didn't re-order because it couldn't meet the gross margin to stay on the shelves. He already invested $2 Million that went into overhead and he was paying a firm $60K a month which got him further into debt. 


STATS: Daymond is out first. Kevin Harrington is out. Robert is out. Kevin O'Leary is out. Barbara is out. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. The sharks operated on this guppy like brain surgery. Not much to say behind this one. 

CAME IN SEEKING: $500K for a 30% stake
WALKED WITH: New insight.
GRADE: (Guppy): D-
GRADE: (Sharks): Not Applicable 
COMMENTARY: He obviously made a few mistakes manging the company but had the perseverance to stick it out until the end. Good luck!







"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game-winning shot ... and missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan (Arguably the greatest basketball player ever)



CHECK OUT THE SHARK FINS SECTION FOR ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS. ALSO CHECK OUT THE SHARK TEETH SECTION FOR HELPFUL TOOLS OF THE TRADE.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? COULD HE HAVE GOTTEN THE SAME CAPITAL (OR HIGHER) WITH A LOWER STAKE? WHERE THE SHARKS FAIR IN THEIR NEGOTIATIONS? POST YOUR COMMENTS AND TEST YOUR NOODLE AT THINKING LIKE A BILLIONAIRE...........

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