When it comes to gaining exposure as a budding startup, few avenues are as helpful as an appearance on Shark Tank, the hit reality television series on ABC.
Several Chicago startups have been on the show to pitch their companies to a panel of investors, including Mark Cuban, the businessman who owns the Dallas Mavericks, real estate tycoon Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary, the co-founder of software company SoftKey. Many of these pitches have resulted in investments from the Sharks, with Cuban providing the majority of the offers made to Chicago-built startups.
However, just because a startup received an offer on the show doesn't mean the deal actually closed after the cameras shut off. For some startups, their deals fell apart once it came to negotiating the financial terms.
But whether or not investment deals came to fruition, the eight Chicago startups below all agreed that the exposure they received on the show was unparalleled. Read on for their first-hand recollections of what the experience was like.
The startup, launched in 2016 by brothers Dan Stelmach and Nick Sky, is a mobile app that helps users pay off their student loans with spare change from everyday purchases. During their Shark Tank episode, which aired in January, ChangEd received a $250,000 investment from Mark Cuban for a 25 percent stake in the company. As of press time, they are still working through the terms of the deal.
How has business changed since appearing on the show? Sky: “After the airing on Shark Tank, ChangEd has had tens of thousands of downloads within just a week. We have quadrupled our user base and have helped users save over $250,000 towards student loan payments.”
Did the episode fairly portray your company? “Shark Tank gave us a fair shot to pitch our business and we think our story and mission was portrayed well. There were tough questions asked but we stood our ground and really had a good time with the sharks.”
How did you get recruited for the show? “Just after we launched, a producer from Shark Tank reached out and asked us if we'd be interested in applying. Being Shark Tank fans ourselves, we jumped on the opportunity."
The startup, launched in 2012 by Ryan Meegan, Sean Riley, Brian Wilkin and Jeff Klimkowsk, went on Shark Tank in 2015 and received a $300,000 investment from Mark Cuban for a 25 percent stake in the company. Since their Shark Tank appearance, the startup, formerly called Dude Wipes, has expanded beyond flushable wipes to a full suite of products, including shower body and face wipes, and body powder.
How has business changed since appearing on the show? Meegan: “There has been nothing but positives stemming from our appearance on Shark Tank. We have maintained a continuous growth trajectory over the past couple years since we aired. Besides creating a ton of awareness for our brand, being able to tell consumers and retail buyers we were on the show has given us instant credibility that is invaluable."
How did you get recruited for the show? “We applied to the show and went through all of the steps to make it all the way to pitching the Sharks.”
When the startup appeared on Shark Tank last year, it received a $100,000 investment offer from Barbara Corcoran in exchange for 18 percent equity in the company, but ultimately Guard Llama didn’t take the deal. The startup, which makes a device that can contact authorities in an emergency, was launched in 2015 by CEO Joe Parisi, Nick Nevarez and Adam Havey.
Why didn’t you take the deal? Parisi: “We had many other offers on the table from investors outside of the sharks that were much more reasonable, so we decided it was better to go with one of those.”
How has business changed since appearing on the show? “Things are better after airing. Revenue is up exponentially, and our company is now one of the best known in the industry.”
The startup, founded by Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta at the University of Chicago in 2011, makes solar-powered and waterproof lanterns designed for emergencies. On their Shark Tank episode, which aired in 2015, the founders received offers from all five of the show’s sharks. However, they ended up taking an offer from Mark Cuban, who invested $200,000 in exchange for a 15 percent stake in the startup.
They have expanded their product offerings since launching, and in December, came out with an outdoor home light line that is much more of a décor accessory than an emergency resource.
How has business changed since appearing on the show? Stork: “It has definitely changed for the better. Shark Tank had a tremendous impact on our growth, and it has facilitated a lot of connections for us and increased brand awareness. Mark, his team, and his other companies, continue to be good resources for us.”
Did the episode fairly portray your company? “Yes, we do feel they fairly portrayed our company. We felt like it was a very fair process and they wanted us to succeed.”
How did you get recruited for the show? “We applied on ABC.com. We received a phone call a few months later from a casting director. It was a long process.”
The startup, which helps parents and guardians find local activities for their children to take part in, appeared on Shark Tank in October 2017. During the episode, Shark Tank judge Mark Cuban offered Pearachute founder Desiree Vargas Wrigley $500,000 in exchange for 15 percent equity, but shortly after the episode was filmed, the deal fell apart when Wrigley determined that the deal terms were insufficient.
The show gave Pearachute exposure, but Wrigley also saw the darker side of what can happen, especially for women, when you go on TV in front of millions of viewers. After her episode aired, she was sexually harassed on social media and in a more personal text message from a number she didn’t recognize.
How has business changed since appearing on the show? Wrigley: “Airing on the show has absolutely had a positive impact on both sides of our marketplace, but especially with activity providers. I’ve had many of them tell me how it felt like I was standing up there for all of them."
Did the episode fairly portray your company? “I think we were very fairly portrayed, but the sharks were especially hard on me about my first company. Being limited in what I could say, the edits made me a bit uncomfortable.”
Founded by Mike Doyle, Rent Like a Champion offers vacation home rentals to college football fans traveling into town for a game. During their Shark Tank episode, which aired in 2015, Chris Sacca and Mark Cuban agreed to invest a total of $200,000 for 10 percent equity in the startup.
After the episode aired, Rent Like a Champion expanded beyond football to other sports, including golf and NASCAR. The year before appearing on the show, Rent Like a Champion made $2.3 million in revenue. Two years afterwards, revenue had jumped to $13 million.
How has business changed since appearing on the show? Doyle: “We’ve secured some pretty major partnerships since airing, and I think the fact that people tied us to the Shark Tank brand helped a lot of those initial calls get answered. I promise we’re not just pandering to the producers here, but it’s really hard to think of any negatives from the experience.”
Did the episode fairly portray your company? “All in all, we felt that the editing was very kind to us. The whole time you’re filming, you’re thinking, ‘don’t say something that can be taken out of context,’ and you don’t see the finished episode until the day it airs, so there’s certainly some anxiety about that."
How did you get recruited for the show? “We like to joke that we were ‘politely annoying,’ and our persistence paid off. We found an email for the casting team, and started sending them regular updates about the company. Every few weeks, we’d drop them a line. After several months of this, they finally reached out to start the actual interview process.”
Launched in 2014, local startup Rumi Spice partners with Afghan farmers to bring high quality, sustainably sourced saffron to customers around the globe. Its founders, who are all U.S. military veterans, include Kimberly Jung, Keith Alaniz and Emily Miller. They pitched their company on Shark Tank in 2017 and received an investment offer from Mark Cuban for $250,000 on the episode, but according to Alaniz, they are still discussing terms of the deal.
How has business changed since appearing on the show? Alaniz: “After the show, there was a big bump in revenue just from people visiting our website. We also had a lot of interest from other people wanting to be investors or businesses wanting to carry our products. But those bumps from Shark Tank are fleeting. It’s only for a month that you’re going to see traffic.”
Were there any downsides to appearing on Shark Tank? “There were certainly obstacles to overcome. At that time, we were doing all of our fulfillment ourselves, so it was a good two solid weeks—seven days a week, long-hour days—of getting out orders, and it’s not like we could have staffed up to do that.”
Did the episode fairly portray your company? “We were up there for an hour and then they take the best three minutes to make a good a show. But I think for the three minutes of publicity we got, it was great.”
How did you get recruited for the show? “We applied when we were an early business and that didn’t go anywhere. But [then] the producers reached out to us.”
Founded by Martin Dimitrov when he was just 16 years old, SnapClips makes a weight collar designed to secure free weights to a barbell. When the startup appeared on Shark Tank in January, it received a $150,000 investment from Mark Cuban, Alex Rodriguez and Lori Greiner in exchange for a 30 percent stake in the company. It is unclear if that deal was finalized as Dimitrov wouldn't disclose details.
When the startup initially launched in 2015, it generated more than $23,000 in a Kickstarter campaign and won first place in the National U. Pitch Competition, hosted by Future Founders, a youth startup accelerator based out of 1871.
Did the episode fairly portray your company? Dimitrov: "Yeah, the episode was fair. There wasn't any manipulation, but of course the actual filming was closer to an hour rather than the 8-9 minute segment."
How did you get recruited for the show? "I went to a casting in Boston. The whole process from casting to getting on the show was about six months long, but seemed to be pretty straightforward and easy to manage."
These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
For an in-depth discussion with founders of Shark Tank companies, come to Chicago Inno's State of Innovation: Chi Tank event on Thursday, May 24.
