The co-founders of tech startup TheMagic5 walked onto the "Shark Tank" stage as prepared as they could have been. What happened next was beyond their expectations.
The episode aired Oct. 31 on ABC, where Rasmus Barfred and Bo Haaber pitched the Charlotte company to sharks Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec and guest shark Nirav Tolia, founder of Nextdoor.
Haaber said they went into the pitch asking for $500,000 for a 2.5% stake. After a bidding war among all of the sharks, they accepted an offer from Herjavec for $1 million and 6.5% equity in the company. After the cameras stopped rolling, Cuban approached Herjavec and they decided to do the deal together, with each investing $500,000 and receiving a 3.25% stake in the company.
"We decided to go with Robert, but every shark made a bid ... We were just about to turn around and discuss a counteroffer when Robert said, 'Hey, I can’t let you go. I’ll double your ask,'" he said. "Robert was really the dream investor for us, and what happened after was that Mark approached Robert and asked to split it."
How NC entrepreneurs have fared after 'Shark Tank'
Wispots
Kevin Flannery, the Cary-based founder of Wispots, told sharks in the 2009 premiere episode that he had taken out two mortgages so he could support his company, which created what he described as an interactive patient center. But the sharks were taken aback by the product’s $10,000 price tag and failed to invest.
ABC Television
Kalyx Technologies
Duke University-born Kalyx Technologies, a startup making comfortable sports bras, was unable to secure an investment when the team presented on Shark Tank in 2009. The company was founded by former golfer and Duke grad Kimberly Cayce, who later sold the firm to ActivewearUSA.
ABC
Uncle Zip's Beef Jerky
Fayetteville entrepreneur Ken Howell presented Uncle Zip’s Beef Jerky to the sharks in 2011 and left without an investment.
Jim Poulin | Phoenix Business Journal
Freaker USA
Wilmington’s Freaker USA, which created one-size-fits-all beverage insulators appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2012, but didn’t close an investment with a shark.
Wikimedia Commons/Jason W. Smith
Invis-a-Rack
Sparta-based inventor Donny McCall tried to sell sharks on a retractable cargo rack dubbed the Invis-a-Rack in 2012. But, after he declined to listen when they told him he should manufacture his product overseas, they rejected him for an investment.
According to his LinkedIn profile, McCall is president of roof rack manufacturer Perrycraft Inc.
Image provided by Getty Images (Reddiplomat)
Remyxx
Recycled sneaker firm Remyxx, the brainchild of Charlotte entrepreneur Gary Gagnon, appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2012, securing a $50,000 investment pledge from Daymond John (pictured), though the deal reportedly fell through.
Gagnon’s LinkedIn profile lists him as the director of business development at Microban International.
Slawsa
Cramerton entrepreneur Julie Busha presented Slawsa – a cross between a coleslaw and a salsa – on "Shark Tank" in 2013 and walked out without an investment.
Harris Teeter
The Floating Mug
Mooresville entrepreneur Tigere Chriga presented The Floating Mug Co to "Shark Tank" in 2014. The cup – a combination of mug and coaster – was unable to secure an investment.
Michael Desmond
evREwares Sticky Ties
EvREwares Sticky Ties turned down Mark Cuban’s $200,000 offer to buy their company in 2015. Raleigh entrepreneurs Ellie Brown and Becca Nelson would say later that, following their episode, it was tough going for the firm, which sold tie-shaped stickers. The internet was full of comments from people skeptical about their business model. “I guess we never really anticipated what would happen from a social perception,” Brown said in 2015. The firm would later close up shop.
Adam Rose/ABC
Frill Clothing
Frill Clothing is still in operation, though its Raleigh founders are no longer leading the company. Sharon Bui and Kate Steadman, graduates of N.C. State and Appalachian State, respectively, were 19-year-old college students when they founded sorority-focused fashion firm Frill in 2012. The company was able to secure a $100,000 deal with not one, but two sharks – Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary – in 2015.
Frill Clothing Facebook page
Twin Z Pillow Co
Technically, Twin Z Pillow Co was a New Hampshire company when it secured a $75,000 investment from shark Lori Greiner in 2015, though Michelle Barsosky is an N.C. State University graduate. Michelle and Jason Barsosky moved their headquarters to commercial space in Mooresville that same year, however. The firm, which makes nursing pillows for twins, is still selling, according to its website.
Jessica Rivers Stewart
Sunscreenr
Raleigh’s David Cohen presented Sunscreenr, a device that detects spots you might have missed when applying sunscreen, to sharks in 2016. Cohen left the tank with an $800,000 pledge from “Mr. Wonderful” Kevin O’Leary (pictured). But the deal never ended up closing, according to what Cohen wrote in a 2017 Kickstarter pitch.
The product is listed on the firm's website - a UV camera for Android devices, starting at $139.
Bob D'Amico
Wine & Design
Husband and wife duo Patrick and Harriet Mills surprised the sharks in 2018, bringing in a nude male model to show how their franchised art studios work. The couple landed a $500,000 from shark Kevin O'Leary, but lawsuits between Harriet Mills and co-founder Emmy Preiss show the deal fell through.
ABC/Kelsey McNeal
QBall
Cary entrepreneur Shane Cox presented his throwable microphone ball on "Shark Tank" in 2017. Mark Cuban, Rohan Oza and Lori Greiner (pictured) signed on for a $300,000 investment.
RewardStock
As outlined in a securities filing, Raleigh-based travel rewards startup netted $320,000 in equity from a single investor: Mark Cuban. The company appeared on the show in November 2018.
The firm was later acquired by Experian.
Mitch Haaseth
Justin Miller and Tom Simon – whose company, Zookies Cookies, manufactures and sells bake-at-home dog treat mixes - entered the tank in 2019 and left left with a $50,000 investment from guest shark Alli Webb, founder of DryBar. The company was later on brought back on the show as a success story.
ABC/Eric McCandless
Dinesh Tadepalli, founder of IncrEDIBLE Eats, brought his edible utensil company to the tank in October. Tadepalli left the tank with a Lori Greiner offer of $500,000 for 15 percent of his Morrisville company. While the deal had not actually been finalized by the time the episode aired, the show did give the firm a $50,000 revenue bump in two days, Tadepalli said.
IncrEDIBLE Eats
Haaber and Barfred said the entire experience was equal parts exciting, nerve-wracking and surreal.
"We were talking to each other just before the door opened, and we were actually talking about when it all started," said Haaber, who is based in Charlotte. "It took us back to the roots of why we were actually there and all the stories and the things we’ve experienced coming from the idea up until that door opened."
And for the next 50 minutes, the pressure was on. Haaber said the sharks understood, very quickly, what they aimed to accomplish with TheMagic5.
"I think we were very positively surprised over how fast they really understood what it was we were trying to do, and there was one point where Mark Cuban said, 'This is not a swimming goggle company, this is a technology company making swimming goggles,'" he said. "That changed a lot of the discussion, and that was really one of the turning points. It was surreal to experience them trying to explain why they were good investors for us."
TheMagic5 was founded in 2017 by Haaber and Barfred, alongside Niklas Hedegaard, after the pair, both of whom are triathletes, began toying with the idea of custom-fit goggles out of personal frustration. Haaber said the tipping point was needing a pair of goggles while on vacation.
"I purchased all the goggles I could find, and none of them fit, which makes sense because faces are different, and goggles are one size fits all," he said. "The idea came to me that you should be able to do this different, and with the 3D printing, scanning technology and robotics technology that was beginning at that time, it seemed like an obvious match."
They used that technology to create software that scans an individual's face through its app or website, and based on that scan, the goggles are created to perfectly fit the curvature line of the customer's eyes. The goggles, which cost between $55 and $65, are manufactured in a facility in lower South End.
"The purpose of something like this is that you don’t have to tighten your goggles, so they don’t leave red rings around your eyes," he said. "They are more comfortable to wear, and you can actually just swim longer. We infuse technology into what is an ordinary product."
TheMagic5 goggles are worn by some of the world's top professional athletes, including U.S. swimmer Matthew Grevers and German triathlete Jan Frodeno. Barfred said one thing that drew every shark to the product was its appeal to swimmers of all levels.
"It’s rare you have a product that caters to the Michael Phelps of a sport, the top, top athletes, and at the same time, caters to the recreational swimmer," he said. "It’s a crossroad where you have one product for all the segments."
Barfred said the past week has felt like a whirlwind, but all three co-founders are grateful for the outpouring of support from old and new customers, alike.
"It was equal parts excitement and stress. It was really, really exciting and then we felt like, time to to get to work," he said. "We’ve been very busy, and there are a lot of goggles that have left Charlotte (since the episode aired)."
TheMagic5 is just the latest North Carolina "Shark Tank" story. Also last month, IncrEDIBLE Eats, a Morrisville startup creating edible utensils, walked away with an investment (though as of the show's airing it had not been finalized).