Shark Tank review: Under the Weather, Apollo Peak, SeedSheet, Cropsticks

Friday night’s Shark Tank arrived with a flourish, and by “flourish,” we really just mean fancy wine for cats. This entire concept was fairly ridiculous, but as we will point out further, sometimes ridiculous sells. Sometimes, the right Shark can make a questionable idea into something great, or turn their nose up at a reasonably good idea because of logistics. That’s one of the interesting things about this show — there are so many different variables that goes into what happens, and why a Shark may opt to not go for a product even after it appears on the surface to be a slam dunk.

With that, let’s get into some of what was highlighted over the course of the episode.

Apollo Peak – There is something really hilarious about a guy who hates cats (and a guy running to become the leader of the Canadian conservative party) making an agreement to invest in a company known for cat and dog wine. Yet, it happened, and Kevin had some pretty tried-and-true advice as to why this is something that could work. Cats love routine, and if they get used to this, parents will spend the money on it. Also, the price tag doesn’t seem so bad when you think about the number of servings you mat offer up.

SeedSheet – At the start of this pitch Mark Cuban set a cheesy “world record” for gardening the largest number of seeds in a short period of time. Beyond that, this was a good company with a very good pitch: Growing some of your own plants with very little hassle and concern about weeds. It’s one of those rare products we would consider, mostly because we spent about four months growing a jalapeno plant that really just turned into weeds. After some debate back-and-forth, a deal was struck here with Lori Greiner — a pretty wise choice since this is a product that has a great deal of QVC potential as a whole.

 

Cropsticks – On paper, this is a great product — a better version of chopsticks that is more sustainable and more sanitary in terms of how you can store them at the table. The problem here was simple — it wasn’t at a place yet where it was proven companies would buy them. The lower-end ones we’ll always go for the cheaper option, and this is something that the company founder, an entrepreneurship teacher herself, will have to go out in prove. We do feel like she’s got a good chance of it, but there was no deal in the Tank this time.

 

Under the Weather – Very cool product, and a very emotional story about how the company founder lost his brother Mark right after coming up with the idea only to partner up with another Mark here in Mark Cuban. Basically, this is perfect for parents who are attending a soccer game and don’t get to get doused with rain, or suffer any damage from the sun.

Which one of the products from Friday’s episode would you want to buy? Share now in the comments below!

Meanwhile, head over to this link in the event you are interested in getting some other news when it comes to Shark Tank. (Photo: ABC.)