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Fashion designer Dahn Tran and one of his colleagues, Gary Falkenberg came to the Shark Tank seeking $250,000 for a 10% share in the company. Dahn came to the United States from Vietnam with a dream of being a fashion designer. He began designing his first clothing pieces at 10 years old and through a lot of hard work and persistence was able to fulfill his dream. Dahn’s first job in the United States was at Mattel designing clothes for Barbie. He saved all of his money and worked hard to put himself through fashion school. Since graduating, Dahn has cashed in his 401K and sold his house to invest everything he has into his business, Butter Cloth.
Butter Cloth is a professional style of clothing made from 100% cotton. The pieces are very soft, comfortable and also will not wrinkle making them a breeze to care for. Currently, Butter Cloth is doing all of the marketing via social media and digital marketing. Since launching in December of 2017, Butter Cloth has made $500,000.
I LOVE the #ButterClothShirt idea. And I ESPECIALLY LOVE the backstory. It was Heartbreaking and Heartwarming at the same time! #SharkTank
— Elsa❤️ (@Elsa050467) October 29, 2018
Now this is a genuine story without a lot of tears that I can get with. He’s real but doesn’t have to cry a river about it. #buttercloth #SharkTank
— cooliojones (@cooliojones) October 29, 2018
Butter Cloth guy almost had me crying #SharkTank
— SuzyQ (@hope_won) October 29, 2018
The name butter cloth sounds like softness. #sharktank
— Shelley (@witterabc) October 29, 2018
Love this mix of people – very diverse in their backgrounds and expertise #SharkTank
— Robert Herjavec (@robertherjavec) October 29, 2018
The biggest struggle that Butter Cloth currently has is that their new customer acquisition costs are very high. They are averaging approximately $40 to acquire a new customer which is killing their profit margins. They need help with this piece so that they can make their product and business more profitable. This makes Kevin O’Leary very nervous and although he likes the product, he declines to invest in the company. Mark Cuban suggests to Dahn that money would be better spent in marketing vs creating new SKUs and he also is out of the bidding. Because Lori Greiner also is in the clothing industry, she feels that this would be a conflict of interest and she also declines to make Butter Cloth an offer. Guest Shark Charles Barkley feels that this is too great of a risk and so he declines, leaving Robert Herjavec as the last Shark Standing.
Robert likes Butter Cloth’s online strategy and the product, but he can’t go as low as 10%. Robert offers Dahn $250,000 for 25% of the company. He feels as though his existing companies could really help Butter Cloth out with their marketing to get their customer acquisition costs lower. Dahn very happily accepts Robert’s offer after attempting to counter offer and plans to use the investment to improve their marketing and purchase more inventory. For Dahn, this is a dream come true!
And another deal made in the #SharkTank !! Congrats @butterclothshirt pic.twitter.com/2ja1vWOhu6
— Shark Tank (@ABCSharkTank) October 29, 2018
…And it’s a deal !! Haha best reaction I’ve ever had — that ’s how you celebrate ! Check out Butter Cloth https://t.co/uTCheUoKfs #SharkTank
— Robert Herjavec (@robertherjavec) October 29, 2018
I’m happy Butter Cloth received a happy ending! #SharkTank
— Soul on Sacrifice (@lushonmars) October 29, 2018
Ahh, Dahn’s reaction was so sweet. I pray for #ButterCloth to be successful #butterclothshirt #SharkTank
— Highly Favored (@tokingblackgirl) October 29, 2018
Dan is proof of what can happen when you stay laser focused on following your dreams #SharkTank
— Robert Herjavec (@robertherjavec) October 29, 2018
What do you think about the deal that Robert made with Butter Cloth? Would you invest in this product? Discuss in the comments below!
For a full summary of this episode, check out this article. Shark Tank airs on Sundays at 9:00 PM EST on ABC.
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