Kevin Harrington – Shark Tank Investor
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Kevin Harrington, chairman and founder of TVGoods, Inc., is widely acknowledged as a pioneer and principal architect of the infomercial industry. In 1984, Kevin produced one of the industry's first 30 minute infomercials. Since then, he has been involved with over 500 product launches that resulted in sales of over $4 billion worldwide with 20 products that reached individual sales of over $100 million. |
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Kevin founded Quantum International, Ltd. in 1988, which merged into National Media Corporation in 1991. Under his leadership as President, National Media reached $500 million in annual sales, distributing in over 100 countries and 20 languages. This company’s success has been chronicled in a case study at Harvard/MIT for over a decade.
Kevin was also CEO of several other entrepreneurial companies, including Reliant International Media in 1997 and a joint venture with HSN, Inc. in 1994 called HSN Direct. Kevin also co-founded OmniReliant Holdings Inc. in 2006. Reliant International Media was sold in 2007.
Throughout his career, Kevin helped to establish two of the most important and recognized global networking associations: the Entrepreneur's Organization, or EO (formally known as the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization) and the Electronic Retailing Association, or ERA. Today, the EO has 113 chapters in 38 countries and more than 924,000 members. The ERA represents the $125 billion electronic retailing industry and is comprised of over 450 member companies and subsidiaries that use the power of electronic retailing to sell directly to consumers via television, radio, Internet and wireless media in over 100 countries worldwide.
Due to his extensive resume, Kevin was selected as an investor "Shark" on the ABC television series Shark Tank. The show gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their products to a panel of acclaimed judges in hopes of turning their ideas into a successful business reality. He recently released a book entitled "Act Now: How I Turn Ideas into Million-Dollar Products" that chronicles his life and experiences in the DRTV industry.
(If you are interested in raising capital for your business, visit us at www.AngelNetwork.com)
Daymond Johns – Shark Tank Investor
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A young entrepreneur, an industry pioneer, a highly regarded marketing expert, and a man who has surpassed new heights young entrepreneur, an industry pioneer, a highly regarded marketing expert, and a man who has surpassed new heights of commercial and financial success are just a few ways people have described Daymond John. |
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Over the last 20 years, Daymond has evolved from one of the most successful fashion icons of his generation to one of the most sought after branding experts, business, and motivational speakers in the country.
Daymond’s creative vision and strong knowledge of the marketplace helped him create one of the most iconic fashion brands in recent years. FUBU, standing for “For Us By Us”, represented a lifestyle that was neglected by other clothing companies. Realizing this need in the marketplace, Daymond created the untapped urban apparel space and laid the groundwork for other companies to compete in this newly established market.
His first foray into the apparel market came when he wanted a tie-top hat he had seen in a popular music video but could not find one for a good price. With the sewing skills he had learned from his mother, Daymond started making the hats for himself and his friends. Realizing he was on to something, Daymond made a sizeable order of the tie-top hats, sold them on the streets of Queens one day, and made $800 in just a few hours. There was a buzz about Daymond’s products that simply could not be ignored.
Based on that early success, Daymond recruited some of his neighborhood friends and FUBU was born. They created a distinctive logo and began sewing the FUBU logo on all sorts of apparel, including hockey jerseys, sweatshirts and t-shirts. The brand hit a tipping point when Daymond convinced Hollis native and Hip-Hop superstar, LL Cool J, to wear FUBU for a promotional campaign. This was the catalyst behind the entire Hip-Hop community supporting the new brand and instantly giving it credibility. In need of start-up capital to keep up with demand, Daymond and his mother mortgaged the home they collectively owned for $100,000. Soon, the home was turned into a makeshift factory and office space.
In 2009, John joined the cast of the ABC entrepreneurial business show, Shark Tank, produced by acclaimed TV producer Mark Burnett. As one of the “Sharks”, Daymond and four other prominent executives listen to business pitches from everyday people hoping to launch their company or product to new heights. Investing his own money in every project, Daymond becomes partners with the entrepreneurs helping turn their dreams into a reality. Millions of viewers tune into the show as Daymond demonstrates his marketing prowess and entrepreneurial insights.of commercial and financial success are just a few ways people have described Daymond John. Over the last 20 years, Daymond has evolved from one of the most successful fashion icons of his generation to one of the most sought after branding experts, business, and motivational speakers in the country.
Daymond grew up in the community of Hollis, Queens, quickly becoming known as the birthplace of the new genre of music called Hip-Hop, with acts like RUN DMC and Salt-N-Peppa rapidly making names for themselves. Being surrounded in this influential neighborhood helped spur the inspiration for his clothing line that would ultimately change the fashion world.
(If you are interested in raising capital for your business, visit us at www.AngelNetwork.com)
Barbara Corcoran – Shark Tank Investor
This big bucks self-starter's credentials include straight D's in high school & college and 20 jobs by the time she'd turned 23.
Don't believe us?
Now what would you say if we told you it was Barbara Corcoran's next job that would make her one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country, when she borrowed $1,000 from her boyfriend and quit her job as a waitress to start a tiny real estate company in New York City?
Over the next 25 years, she'd parlay that $1,000 loan into a five-billion-dollar real estate business and the largest and best known brand in the industry.
As a speaker, Barbara brings her front-lines experience and infectious energy to each person in the audience. They laugh, cry and learn how to become more successful. Motivational, inspirational and sometimes outrageous, Barbara Corcoran's tell-it-like-it-is attitude is a refreshing approach to success.
The author of If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails, an unlikely business book that has become a national best-seller, Barbara credits her struggles in school and her mother's kitchen-table wisdom for her innovation and huge success in the business world. The book is a fresh, frank look at how to succeed in life and business, and is as heartwarming as it is smart and motivating.
Barbara is the popular real estate contributor for the Today Show and CNBC. She writes a weekly real estate column for the Daily News and monthly columns for MORE Magazine and Redbook. In 2008, she released her second book, Nextville: Amazing Places to Live the Rest of Your Life, to great reviews.
The Sharks Are Coming Back!
Get the Most from the Shark Tank!
The Shark Tank is coming back on the air starting March 25, on ABC. (Check your local listings for time and channel information), with new Sharks!
Mark Cuban and Jeff Foxworthy will be joining the team of sharks listening to the pitches for capital and, hopefully, reaching for their checkbooks!
SharkTankTVShow.com will be here with expert, independent analysis and commentary, discussing:
§ What the presenters did well,
§ How the presenters could improve,
§ The strengths and weaknesses of the business offerings,
§ The deals being offered and the counter-offers,
§ The responses of the “sharks” and whether we agree, and
§ Suggestions for the presenters.
We are Experts in Raising Capital!
You will get the most value from the watching the shows and reading our comments, as experts in raising capital.
And if you are serious about raising capital, visit us today at www.AngelNetwork.com, where you can get access to dozens of interviews from securities attorneys, entrepreneurs, consultants, and other professionals, along with articles and reports, so you won’t get “eaten by the sharks!”
Toygaroo – the Netflix of Toys (Episode 2.1 )
The season got off to a rousing start as four entrepreneurs presented to the five sharks. In the season opener, Kevin Harrington was replace by guest shark Mark Cuban, a media mogul and the owner of the Dallas Mavericks; the other four sharks remained the same: Robert Herjavec (Internet technology), Daymond John (fashion), Barbara Corcoran (real estate), Kevin O’Leary (software).
Of the four presenters, two made deals and two walked away empty handed. And the episode saw one of them get an offer of $4,000,000 for their business, the largest offer in the history of the Shark Tank!
Read on…
First Guest: Nikky Pope, Toygaroo (LA)
ToyGaroo rents toys. Nikky Pope, the presenter, although not yet a parent herself, has 11 brothers and sisters, and 13 nephews and nieces under the age of 8. She saw that these kids grew tired of their
toys before the toys wore out, so she created a service to rent toys to parents. She positions herself as “the Netflix for toys”.
Her value proposition is that parents can always have a fresh supply of new toys at a cost less than or equal to what they would normally spend, and kids will have Christmas every month when the next box of toys arrives. She now has 300 toys in her catalog.
She did a test launch at $42 per month for a box of toys that retail for $200. Her cost is from %0 to $90, so (cash-flow) breakeven was at two and a half months or so. Her experience is that the toys are returned undamaged; the parents are obligated to purchase toys (at a discount) if they are damaged. She plans to launch her business with plans that start at $35 per month and go up.
Her opening offer was $100,000 in exchange for 10% of the company, giving a pre-money valuation of $900,000.
Kevin asked “for every million dollars of sales, how much inventory is required?”, and she answered $64,000. Our calculations show that each family will spend $500 per year with her for an investment of $80 in toys (assuming the toys are rotated among families). Another way of looking at it is that 12 families will spend $6,000 and share nearly $1,000 worth of toys at cost. That means that she was probably off: we think she will require $160,000 in inventory for $1 million in revenue (in the first couple of years), plus the cash required for marketing, staff, and other operational expenses. After just a few months of operations, she should be able to borrow money to fund her growth using the toys as collateral.
Kevin said that while he didn’t believe the company was worth $1,000,000, he wanted to be an investor.
As it turns out, her husband owns 50% of the company, and she only owns 10%. Some web designers and marketing partners own the balance, but she had the right to make whatever deal she could. She really messed up by giving away some of her ownership to the other partners, while her husband kept his original 50%. Yikes!
Daymond has had bad experiences with dealing with people who didn’t own the controlling interest and he was out.
Robert interrupted her reply to Kevin, and proposed a JV with Mark, seeing this as an Internet logistics play. They agreed to up to offer to $200,000 for 40%, competing with Kevin for the deal and cutting him out.
Barbara was going to offer a lot less, so she was out.
Kevin reminded her that he was “Mr. Toy”. He sold his company to Mattel and lived in Fisher-Price for a year. He was very astute is saying that a partnership with toy companies is a great idea – and he knows all the board members of the most powerful companies. That is worth a lot!
Robert and Mark countered that they had relationships with Netflix and a great deal of relevant experience – they didn’t think the relationships Kevin had were positive or necessary in the early stages of growth.
Kevin matched the offer, got the deal, then offered to split the deal with Mark. Done! Robert was cut out at the last minute, and was not happy about it.
Our Analysis:
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