‘Shark Tank’ finale review: Tom + Chee, Ryan’s Barkery, Three Day Rule, VerbalizeIt

It has been a long, fun season of “Shark Tank,” but as you surely know, all good things must come to an end eventually. With that in mind, we have come here to present what is our last review of the season.

At least this was not a case of producers front loading the episodes with good pitches, and then leaving us with the leftovers as we near the summer months. While we wouldn’t have used all of the products here by any means, at least we can see a market for some of them. Plus, the entertainment value was there, as we had some nastiness from Kevin O’Leary, intense arguments, and tons of money being invested.

As always, all the links to the individual products’ websites are attached to our analysis of them.

Three Day Rule – This was just the start of what we think was a pretty “meh” presentation for an online dating service.

The first major issue here is that there are no real sales from the internet company, and then you add to that the exorbitant price of $100 a month just to take part in this. If you are going to spend that much money in order to try and find your Mr. Right online, it is our suspicion that you are probably going to do so using some sort of professional matchmaker, and not just an online service that you can get at a far cheaper price elsewhere. We understand that the benefit here is that the members are screened, but we just can’t see the price working for anyone other than wealthy singles who have exhausted all of their other options.

On a different note, how awkward was Robert when it was suggested that he was on a “date” with this woman?

Ryan’s Barkery – First of all, you do have to love having a kid business owner. It’s inspiring, and proof that anyone can really get a business going with the right passion. The problem here is that this is not a very proprietary business right now, and we don’t know if the investment from Barbara Corcoran in the long-term is really the right thing while he is still in school. It’s hard to know just what to say here: Dog treats are a big industry, but it’s also a competitive one. So many people out there are going to have the resources to do so much more than him.

Tom + Chee – We dig the name here as a fun little play on tomato soup and grilled cheese, and the idea of a restaurant featuring these two things is not as crazy as it sounds. They are foods that almost everyone loves, and while they may be easy to make, finding a way to upscale them at a reasonable price is an interesting prospect.

This was a very complicated negotiation when it comes to franchising and the like, but we will simplify it in saying that they managed to get both Barbara and Mark Cuban in on this. We would eat there just out of curiosity, and we have to say that this really could be a home run.

VerbalizeIt – This, as we said in our preview article, is an interesting idea that could really work: A translation service where you have humans that can respond to you and have translations very quickly. It’s very intuitive, especially for people who are traveling and want to make sure they have an accurate translation for something that you would say on the street.

The real concern we see with the business is that it’s pretty hard to do proper vetting for people all around the globe, and the pay scale does not yield to getting high-level professionals to sit by the phone and await a call for a translation. But even still, this business had an impressive three sharks ready to jump in the water, and in the end they went with Kevin who had a good understanding of the business, but also took the smallest percentage of the company.

Overall, what was your take on the finale, and are there any products within the tank here that you would use? If you haven’t caught our review of the first part of the finale, you can do so over here.

Photo: ABC