‘Shark Tank’ review: Screenmend, Hamboards, Scan mobile app, and Sunday Night Slow Jams

Tonight’s “Shark Tank” was at times a little bit ridiculous. We had a radio show of all things, a celebrity guest, surfing on land, and also a mobile app that was basically a slightly better version of a number of other apps already on the market. In the end, though, there was a product that was both promising and completely ready for QVC.

If you’re new to our “Shark Tank” reviews, we’re giving you our impressions of all the products, and also some links to the individual websites of everything shown off. All you have to do is click on the product’s name! We’ve also got a poll at the bottom of the article for you to pick your favorite product in the episode.

Sunday Night Slow Jams – Is one of these slow jams going to be Brian Williams slow-jamming the news? What a weird business to invest in. It’s a radio show! Who is listening to the radio on Sunday night? Apparently someone, since this show is making $350,000.

The truth of the matter here is that this is not going to be a business that really benefits from an investment; it benefits from the appearance on the show. He’s going to get as much success as he can just thanks to just being around the sharks. He was basically able to get on the show just for getting Brian McKnight to come on with him and sing a little jingle, and we honestly think that this DJ not getting a deal is the best outcome for him. He makes a good living already, and he keeps his equity this way.

Hamboards – This is a cool business in some ways. It’s part surfboard, part skateboard, and it’s pretty fun. But, we have to say that first of all, these have to sport some sort of warning about wearing a proper helmet while being on a ride. Otherwise, what are the odds that you are going to fall on your face in front of all of your friends? We can’t surf or skate, so granted, maybe we are not the best sort of target audience for this or what the safety issues are.

But this is a family-owned product, and some surfers will probably like it. We don’t think that this could be a $20 million business, but it could make around $2 or $3 million thanks to the show. Robert Hervajec luckily believed in the business more than we did, and they got more money than they were even asking for (though he did take more of a percentage, as well).

Scan mobile app – Is this product worth $20 million? We admit that this is a smart idea that has taken off in recent years, and something that people use; but, it’s not exactly innovative; as we have said in our preview article for this review, it’s difficult to see how yet another scanning application is going to stand out.

As Kevin O’Leary really pointed out, the biggest issue here is risk tolerance. There is no business model in place yet to produce cash, so why in the world would someone invest $1 million in this for just 5% of the company? There just wasn’t that much “oomph” here that would make the sharks want to take a bite, and we don’t blame them. At most, we would give this $100,000 if we were in their shoes.

One piece of praise that we’ll give the brand? Implementing a product in the Mission Belt that was on the show already, and was also featured in the “where are they now?” segment.

Screenmend – This is not the catchiest product, as in it’s not something that we’ll just be rushing to the internet to order. It is a smart idea: Screen doors and windows break, and rather than pick up a brand new one, you can spend a heck of a lot less money to get a product to help fix it. The advantages? The margins are fantastic, and this is absolutely perfect QVC bait for Lori Greiner. The disadvantages? It’s not a flashy product, and this little family does not have the business acumen to really know what to do next.

Luckily for them, at least two sharks were willing to go for this, and one of them was Lori. While we would pick Lori if the deals were even, Mark Cuban offered the same money with a lower equity state. Lori was probably still the right choice even for 50% of the company; not only will she get it in stores, but they will make money in the time it takes for Kevin O’Leary to call himself “Mr. Wonderful.”

Want to see more products from “Shark Tank” this season? Then click here, where you can check out more of what was featured last week on the show.

Photo: ABC