‘Shark Tank’ review: PupBox, Barbell Apparel, Line Cutterz, and EnergyBits
We’re here with the culmination of our “Shark Tank” coverage for the week — the latest episode review! We’ve got four products that we’re highlighting that come from very different industries; yet, at the same time we’re all interesting.
Going into the show, our sentiment was that EnergyBits was the only product we felt wasn’t likely to get a deal — but hey, we’ve been wrong before. We’ll see if that happens! Part of the fun of this show is seeing products blow us away in the Tank and alter our expectations of who they are and what they want to do with their product.
Be sure to check back to this article and refresh for updates throughout the show! You can also click on any of the links below to get more information on any of the products featured.
PupBox – Love puppies? Then this subscription service is probably for you provided that you have a young puppy you want to build memories with over the months ahead. It’s a familiar model, where every month you receive products related to everything from your puppy’s health to toys and treats.
We weren’t even remotely surprised to learn in here that all of the Sharks other than Mark Cuban had some level of interest in this. While their valuation was a little high, they were open to negotiation. Also, they brought cute puppies to the Tank — which is probably another way to further guarantee a deal. Robert Herjavec made them the best offer, and he was the one the two decided to go with!
Barbell Apparel – The whole goal of this fashion brand is to provide clothing that not only looks good on strong, athletic men and women, but is also functional for their day-to-day life.
The end result of this negotiation actually surprised us, mostly because it felt like these guys had their heads on straight and knew how to make money in this industry. The biggest problem here is that they made what we consider to be a fundamental mistake that people sometimes make in the Tank: Coming in asking for too much money. You can’t change the amount of money you want when you’re in there, but you can change the equity. A good business left with nothing merely because of a strategical error.
EnergyBits – It’s advertised as a natural way to improve your energy and have a better quality of life, with everything stemming from what is effectively a bite of algae.
Here’s the funny thing — we knew from the moment we first read about this product before the show that Mark Cuban was going to hate this. He is staunchly against products that come out and claim some sort of health / medical benefit without enough data to back it up. We do think that this is probably useful and effective for some people, but it may not work for everyone. She’s also branding products in a way that could mislead consumers, and the Sharks were worried about that. This entire presentation was a hot mess, and it did NOT end well.
Line Cutterz – Apparently, this is one of the best ways to cut fishing line out there! We do think that this product has a ton of potential to become one of the next great products in this industry, but we also do like how it was a part of the pitch that there were some other benefits to this, as well, including to cut yarn.
What we don’t love as a general rule is watching one of the Sharks turning the Tank into a hostage situation, as Daymond John made the whole “if you listen to other deals, I’m punishing you” shtick. It’s not entertaining, and it’s smart business to hear out all of the others. At least this guy fought back and still got a really good offer from Daymond in the end.
Want to get some other highlights from “Shark Tank” this season? Then be sure to head over to the link here right now! (Photo: ABC.)