Watch Shark Tank - Week 8 /Episode 9 - One Sole

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 SHARKS: Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec, Kevin Harrington

THE GUPPY: Dominique McClain Barteet

THE COMPANY: One Sole

WEBSITE: onesole.com

SYNOPSIS: the original interchangeable shoe

SEEKING: $500K for a 20% stake

PRODUCT/SERVICE: A shoe with an interchangeable top with thousands of varieties to choose from.

WHAT'S THE SKINNY?: The retail for the shoe and a solid top is $70-$85, the tops are separate and they range from $12-$30. She has grossed over $20 Million in shoes in the past 4 years, she's in 2,000 stores in over 30 countries, she's been on several TV shopping networks and was very successful. She's been on QVC 6 times with no advertising and marketing. She's at over $4 Million in sales this year, last year's sales were $3.5 Million, profits last year were over $1 Million, she makes a profit of 30% average, She sells them packaged with a pair of shoes and a bag sometimes to retailers that cost her $18 for 3 tops, a pair of shoes and a bag, she sells it to stores for $35 and they turn around and sell it for $85-$90. She has 2 utility patents and 2 design patents that are issued, more that are pending, and she's trademarked in 98 countries. There is a company in Japan that wants a $1 Million dollar order of 10,000 pair and 30,000 tops and JC Penny wants her domestically. She needs the money to fill in big orders that are coming in from Switzerland, to New Zealand to Australia and more. Yes. She is the REAL DEAL.

STATS: Kevin O'Leary asks if she would sell the whole business and she says she doesn't know if she wants to do that. Robert offers her $100K for 10% and tells her that if she gets the other 4 sharks in they'd go 50/50 and she gets the $500K. Kevin Harrington likes the product but he's stuck on the 50/50 evaluation of half a million for half the company so he's on the fence. Daymond believes in the product so much he decides to offer her $500K for a 35% stake but he doesn't want any partners on it. Barbara likes her but thinks the company will take up too much of her time so she's out. Kevin O'Leary decides to get in the mix with an offer of $500K for 51% stake but she immediately turns it down. He wants to hire a banker to sell the company and have the buyer fire her after making her filthy rich. Kevin Harrington decides to bring Robert in at $250K a piece for 50% stake. Dominique thinks Daymonds offers is the better offer ands decides to accept it and walks out with the investment. 

CAME IN SEEKING: $500K for a 20% stake

WALKED WITH: $500K for a 35% stake

GRADE: (Guppy): A

GRADE: (Sharks): A

COMMENTARY: Dominique is the real deal Hollyfield. She has sales, good profits, offerings for more distribution, patents in a variety of other countries, and the list goes on. Daymond immediately smelled money in the water and decided to bite down generously. I think she chose the perfect strategic partner for her product. Good job Dominique. 

WATCH SHARK TANK WEEK 8/EPISODE 9 - ONE SOLE

"Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune." - Jim Rohn

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

Watch Shark Tank - Week 8 /Episode 9 - Aldo Orta

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 SHARKS: Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec, Kevin Harrington 

THE GUPPY: Aldo Orta

THE COMPANY: Aldo Orta Jewelry

WEBSITE: aojewelry.com

SYNOPSIS: Exclusive designer jewelry

SEEKING: $180K for a 45% stake

PRODUCT/SERVICE: A high end and affordable line of jewelry reflecting history and mythology of all cultures. 

WHAT'S THE SKINNY?: He has exclusive clients such a celebrities and royal families but he wants to do much more affordable designs for the mass market. He has pieces in the $220 range and many other pieces under $200. QVC wants him to come with $50K for the first order and that's why he's here.

BUSINESS MODEL/HOW DOES IT MAKE MONEY?: He sells to high end celebrities and royal families. 

STATS: Kevin O'Leary is worried about Aldo getting hit by a bus and losing his investments because he's a 1 man show and he's out. Daymond loves the designs but  he doesn't think people can afford to pay for jewelry right now and he's out. Robert thinks the price point is too high for a large scale middle america market and he's out. Barbara likes something about Aldo and decides to give him half the money if QVC does buy into it and says he has to get the other half from someone else. Kevin Harrington is a vendor for QVC, he has all the insurance and everything in place but he's on the fence. He seems to want to know if Aldo can use the track record of his past sales to high end customers to his advantage. Barbara suggests Kevin get off the fence and he finally decides to go in with Barbara on the deal with the other $90K. Aldo walks out with the investment he sought. 

CAME IN SEEKING: $180K for a 45% stake

WALKED WITH: $180K for a 45% stake

GRADE: (Guppy): A

GRADE: (Sharks): A

COMMENTARY: This guy managed to get the EXACT amount he was looking for including equity and all with his exclusive line of jewelry and charisma. He sold Barbara on his aura. His charm managed to get him the deal he needed. Wow. He walked with the reflection of what he came in seeking. Good job Alto.

WATCH SHARK TANK WEEK 8/EPISODE 9 - ALDO ORTA JEWELRY

"If you want to achieve things in life, you've just got to do them, and if you're talented and smart, you'll succeed."
- Juliana Hatfield

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

Watch Shark Tank - Week 8 /Episode 9 - Samson Martin

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 SHARKS: Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec, Kevin Harrington

THE GUPPY: Kim Preis

THE COMPANY: Samson Martin

WEBSITE: samsonmartin.com

SYNOPSIS: A t-shirt that announces when a pregnant women is due.

SEEKING: $50K for a 15% equity stake

PRODUCT/SERVICE: A brand of  t-shirts for maternity with the due in date written on the front. 

WHAT'S THE SKINNY?: She did $90K in sales last year, she's been in business for 6 years, she's done a total of $1.4 Million in her basement. The sales were $400K at their peak and they dropped to $90K due to a slow economy. The prices range from tank tops between $38-$42, and long sleeves between $55-$60. She has a trademark on the words Due In on t-shirts. 

STATS: She wants to re-position the t-shirt and take it to a cheaper price brand. She wants to market, produce and manufacture a new product line but the economy just doesn't seem right for it to Daymond and he's out. Kevin Harrington doesn't like all the different versions of inventory and he's out. Barbara just doesn't seem to be sold on the value of the Due In part of the name and she's out. Robert doesn't want to start uphill again with her and he's out. Kevin O'Leary ask her to give him 1 reason why he should give her $50K and doesn't like the fact that it's such a niche market. He calls it the t-shirt deal from hell and says there is nothing but death and destruction in her story and he's out. Kim thanks the sharks for their time as Kevin O'Leary starts to chew her out even further for thanking them. Kim walks out like a lady of dignity, with no investment. 

CAME IN SEEKING: $50K for a 15% equity stake

WALKED WITH: Free Publicity for her brand

GRADE: (Guppy): C-

GRADE: (Sharks): D- (manners)

COMMENTARY: "Good manners sometimes means simply putting up with other peoples bad manners." - H. Jackson Brown Jr. 

WATCH SHARK TANK WEEK 8/EPISODE 9 - SAMSON MARTIN

"If you want to see what God thinks of money, just look at all the people he gave it to." - Dorothy Parker

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 SHE HAVE GOTTEN THE SAME CAPITAL (OR HIGHER) WITH A LOWER STAKE? WHERE THE SHARKS FAIR IN THEIR NEGOTIATIONS? DID BOTH PARTIES COME OUT ON TOP? POST YOUR COMMENTS AND TEST YOUR NOODLE AT THINKING LIKE A BILLIONAIRE...........

Watch Shark Tank - Week 8 /Episode 9 - CitiKitty

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 SHARKS: Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec, Kevin Harrington

THE GUPPY: Rebecca Rescate

THE COMPANY: CitiKitty

WEBSITE: citikitty.com

SYNOPSIS: A way to toilet train your cat

SEEKING: $100K for a 15% stake

PRODUCT/SERVICE: A liter box that conveniently sits hidden away under a toilet seat that will gradually toilet train your cat.

WHAT'S THE SKINNY?: They retail for $29.99, each cost per unit is $4.76, she manufactures in quantities of 10,000. She's sold 40,000 of them off her website alone. This year she's doing $350K in sales, last year she did $225K. She's sold $1.4 Million in cat toilet training kits and never advertised. She's been on Good Morning America, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. She initially invested $20K, but she's constantly putting money back in the company while remaining profitable. She wants to use the money to get sales reps for the product, and also do marketing. 

STATS: Catfish in the sharktank? Here kitty-kitty, ... well, not quite but this guppy is equipped with imagination and was bold enough to act on it. Robert doesn't think it's a business he has any interest in, or that he can add value to, plus he doesn't own a cat, so he's out. Kevin O'Leary just hates cats and he's out. Kevin Harrington looks at two things: A product that solves a problem, and a mass market product. He knows every pet store in America will want this product if he put's it on TV, so he offers 100K for a 40% equity stake. Rebecca wants to hear the other offers before countering. Daymond says that Kevin's offer is a better offer with a better strategic partner so he drops out. Barbara decides to take a bite of this guppy and suggest Rebecca partners with her and her partner in New York who own's As Seen On TV and offers her $100K for a 15% equity stake, but, only if her partner back in New York likes the product. So Rebecca has a risk deal on the table. Very interesting options. $100K for a 40% stake with the King of Infomercials vs. $100K for a 15% stake with Barbara and her partner Mr. As Seen On TV, but only on the contingency that he likes the product. Kevin Harrington is ready to do the deal. Rebecca says she can't do it for 40% at $100K because she easily made $100K last year alone, and the product wasn't even in retail. She counters with 20% for $100K. Kevin counters with $100K at 25% and says that's it. Barabara casually reminds Barbara about taking precaution before jumping to bed with a guy in a business deal. Rebecca counters back to Kevin that she would do 20% at $100K. Barbara then drops the contingency just to knock Kevin out the waters. Rebecca suggests that Kevin and Barbara work together but Kevin wants the deal all to himself. Barabara then reminds Rebecca that the risk of her partner getting in on the deal is now in her hands and there is no longer a contingency. Kevin Harrington says it's time to make a decision. Rebecca finally accepts Kevin's offer and walks out of the tank with the investment.

CAME IN SEEKING: $100K for a 15% stake

WALKED WITH: $100K for a 20% stake

GRADE: (Guppy): A

GRADE: (Sharks): B

COMMENTARY: Rebecca got the investment she sought by being a shrewd negotiator. She managed to bring Kevin Harrington's 40% down to 20% with sharp counteroffer's and the combination of the possibility of accepting Barbara's offer. She even knew better than walking out in the hallway and giving the sharks time to re-think and maneuver LOL! Good work Rebecca! And Good luck.

WATCH SHARK TANK WEEK 8/EPISODE 9 CITIKITTY

"Success often comes to those who have the aptitude to see way down the road." 
- Laing Burns, Jr. 

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 SHE HAVE GOTTEN THE SAME CAPITAL (OR HIGHER) WITH A LOWER STAKE? WHERE THE SHARKS FAIR IN THEIR NEGOTIATIONS? DID BOTH PARTIES COME OUT ON TOP? POST YOUR COMMENTS AND TEST YOUR NOODLE AT THINKING LIKE A BILLIONAIRE...........