Maven’s Creamery, Spare, Swoveralls, and Somnifix

Sharks Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, and Kevin O’Leary are on the hunt for businesses worthy of their investments. In this episode, they meet entrepreneurs from four small businesses: Maven’s Creamery, Spare, Swoveralls, and Somnifix that are seeking both strategic partners and investors.

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Maven’s Creamery Accepts An Offer From Barbara Corcoran

Los Angeles based sisters, Gwen and Christine Nguyen, came to the Shark Tank in hopes of securing $400,000 for a 10% share in their company, Maven’s Creamery. They specialize in making an all-natural line of macaron ice cream sandwiches. With over 30 ice cream flavors and a great demand for their product, Maven’s Creamery is having trouble keeping up. They feel they are at a place in their business where they are working at capacity and need to learn to scale and grow their manufacturing process through automation. They are also looking to use an investment from a Shark to help fund purchase orders.

The Sharks agree that the taste of their product is delicious. They are also impressed by their back story but concerned about their low margins and high valuation. Maven’s Creamery does get an offer from Shark Barbara Corcoran. Barbara offers Gwen and Christine $400,000 for a third of the business. She will provide $200,000 in cash and $200,000 in a credit line. She will also be happy to pay additional monies that they need outside of this set amount. The sisters counter for 25% and Barbara agrees. Maven’s Creamery has a deal with Barbara Corcoran.

LA Based Company, Spare, Cashes In On A Deal With Mark Cuban

D’ontra Hughes entered the Shark Tank in hopes of landing a $500,000 investment in exchange for a 3.5% share of his company, Spare. Many people can sympathize with the need to get cash, only to find there are no ATMs nearby. Spare is a virtual ATM network that is cheaper, more secure and more convenient than traditional ATMs. Users simply connect their bank account to the app. A map will then populate with merchants nearby that are willing to dispense cash. The user is then given a one-time use code that you then scan with the merchant for verification and the cash is dispensed.

The Sharks are interested in the concept but are nervous about how reproducible the model is on a larger scale since merchants do not like to keep a lot of cash on hand. The logistics scare most of the Sharks away, except for Mark Cuban. Mark offers D’ontra $500,000 for 12% plus 2% advisory shares. He accepts and Mark Cuban and Spare enter into an official partnership.

Swoveralls Swing and a Miss in the Shark Tank

Entrepreneur, Kyle Bergman, came to the Shark Tank hoping to secure $150,000 for 15% of his company, Swoveralls. This comfortable fashion trend combines two popular articles of clothing, sweat pants and overalls. Since launching, the company has seen $230,000 in sales across its product lines for men and women. They would like to expand into children and youth sizes as well. Although Kyle has raised $75,000 on Kickstarter, he still is having trouble keeping inventory and does not have enough funds to purchase additional stock.

The product is seeing interest with consumers and they have set great margins, but the Sharks are unsure if there is enough interest in the product to make it into a business. They also are concerned that this is a passing fashion trend and that it may pass before they have the opportunity to recoup any of their invested funds. The Sharks decline to make Swoveralls an offer and they leave with no deal.

Mark Cuban Invests in Somnifix

It is no secret that our quality of sleep is a rapidly growing issue. Nicholas Michalak’s company, Somnifix, is hoping to get more people a good night’s sleep with their patented product for helping mouth-breathers learn to breathe through their nose when they are sleeping. This will cut down on snoring and sleep disruptions. Their hypoallergenic product gently holds lips closed, encouraging the consumer to breathe through their nose. If necessary, there is a breathing vent in the product so that users can easily pass air through if needed.

Somnifix is seeking a $500,000 investment from the Sharks. Most of the Sharks are concerned about how the market will respond to such a product. They are also concerned that this product lays outside of their standard portfolio of products and would, therefore, be hard to promote. Mark Cuban is impressed that they have done clinical trials and their due-diligence with the product and he decides to offer Somnifix $500,000 for 20% equity in the company. Nicholas accepts Mark’s offer.

What did you think of the businesses on this episode of Shark Tank? If you were a Shark which would you invest in? Start the conversation in the comments below!

Shark Tank airs Sunday at 10:00 EST on ABC.