Hire Santa, Ski-Z, Prank-O and Oatmeals

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Lori Greiner, Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran and Daymond John were in the Shark Tank tonight to hear pitches from four companies looking for investors.

Hire Santa Makes a Deal With Barbara Corcoran

Mitch Allen has a goal to bring Christmas cheer to all with his company, Hire Santa. In order to make some strategic new hires, Hire Santa is looking for a $200,000 investment in exchange for 10% equity in their company. Because Santa can’t be everywhere, Hire Santa does the legwork on finding and a perfect Santa that is right for every occasion. They offer contracts for retailers as well as small private parties and home visits. They arrange all of the details with one of the thousands of Santas that are in their database.

Hire Santa began in the Dallas/Fortworth area and has now spread globally. This year, they are projected to make $1.2 million due to some key contracts with retailers. The Sharks begin to quickly decline to make an offer due to the seasonality of the business until Kevin O’Leary offers $200,000 for 50% of the company. He feels as though he has the platforms to market the contracts and services in a better way. As Mitch and Kevin begin to negotiate, other Sharks who had previously declined to offer, came in with counter offers to Kevin’s. Hire Santa ultimately decides to accept Barbara Corcoran’s offer of $200,000 for a 50/50 partnership until she recoups her mone and then the share goes down to 10%.

Ski-Z Accepts an Offer From an Offended Barbara Corcoran

Nick Palermo and Kyle Allen come into the tank seeking $50,000 for 15% equity in their company, Ski-Z. Their product is a portable caddy for your skis that is compact enough to fit into your pocket. Although the Sharks like the product and profit margins, they are concerned with the financial history of the company, as they did not have any earnings for the last four years due to personal emergencies in each of their lives.

As they begin to understand the hardships that Ski-Z has overcome, the Sharks begin to put together some offers for Nick and Kyle. Barbara offers them exactly what they asked for, $50,000 for a 15% share of the company and is visibly offended when they don’t immediately take her deal. Daymond makes an offer, but it is for a bigger percentage of the company at 20% equity. After discussions with Barbara about the potential for additional lines of credit, they end up taking the deal.

Prank-O Pulls a Fast One On The Sharks and Walks Away With a Deal From Mark Cuban

In what turns about to be a ruse, practical joke company, Prank-O, disguises themselves as another company, Rynarik, and asks the Sharks to invest. After they give their pitch, they share with the Sharks that they are actually a Prank company who’s main product line is empty prank boxes. The consumer picks a box that advertises a false product to put their actual gift in.

Co-founders Ryan Walther and Arik Nordby explain to the Sharks that they are actually seeking $640,000 for 8% of their company. In 2018, they are projected to sell $2.8 million in prank boxes. While they enjoy nice margins on their products, the company is approximately $1 million in debt with no money in the bank. They have had to pull nearly $3 million from a line of credit. The Sharks are very concerned about the financial health of the company. They are also concerned about the amount of money they are requesting in relation to the amount of equity that they are willing to give up. Both Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary offer deals for their company and they ultimately decide to accept Mark Cuban’s offer of $640,000 for a 25% share in the company.

Oatmeals Makes a Tough Decision and Partners with Lori Greiner

Former investment banker turned chef, Sam Stephens, entered the Shark Tank in hopes of making a deal for $500,000 for a 20% share of her company. Oatmeals is a 380 square foot cafe in New York City that specializes in customizable sweet, savory or traditional oatmeal dishes. Sam has a desire to expand Oatmeals to additional locations but needs capital to be able to accomplish this.

Oatmeals is projected to make $500,000 in 2018, which is concerning to multiple Sharks. Several Sharks decline offers due to concerns of not being able to make back their investment. Lori Greiner and Barbara Corcoran, however, are both very interested in the company. Their visions for the future of the company are vastly different with Lori hoping to grow into Starbucks and frozen food and Barbara eyeing the corporate cart breakfast and lunch scene. After some heated debates and discussion, Oatmeals accepts Lori Greiner’s offer of $500,000 for 33.3% equity in her company. The Sharks are surprised by this and the general consensus from them is that this was a bad deal for Sam.

What was your favorite business on Shark Tank tonight? How did you feel about the business investments? Leave your comments below!

Shark Tank airs Sunday at 9:00 EST on ABC.