Five Mainers Pitched Their Product on ABC’s Shark Tank – Who Got Deals?
Whether they got the financial backing they wanted or not, they all got some awesome publicity.
I think Mainers are some of the most innovative people on the planet. Some great ideas have started right here in Maine. I mean earmuffs were invented here. But great ideas need money, and Shark Tank on ABC is an option. So, let's see five Mainers who pitched their products and what happened.
Cousins Maine Lobster - DEAL
By far this is the most successful of the Mainers who have been on Shark Tank. With a truck in Maine, actual cousins Sabin Loman and Jim Tselikis went on Season 4 of Shark Tank back in 2012 to get funding to open another food truck in Los Angeles. They had a truck in Los Angeles and were very successful, but needed funding to get another truck. According to Stats for Sharks, Barbara Corcoran made a sweetheart deal with Cousins Maine Lobster. In exchange for $55,000, she received 15% of the business. How are they doing? They had made $150,000 in sales by the time of their Shark Tank pitch, and they have now made over $50,000,000 in sales.
Controlled Chaos - DEAL THAT FELL THROUGH
Alanna York from Windham owns Head Games in Portland, but back in January of 2016, she was on Shark Tank trying to get funding for a product she created called Controlled Chaos. She DID make a deal, with shark Lori Griener. But the deal ultimately fell through. Alanna wanted to keep her product line for salons and professionals and Griener wanted to go big with distribution everywhere. If you have curls, you NEED this product!
Hydroviv - DEAL
Eric Roy is from Lisbon, Maine, and founded Hydroviv in his Washington, D.C., studio apartment. He designed water filters capable of handling Flint, Michigan’s high lead levels and sent them to the community for free during the height of its crisis. He was on Shark Tank in 2019 and asked for $400,000 for 10% of his business. Shark Mark Cuban accepted the deal as $400,000 for 20% of the business. As of last year, Hydroviv was doing about $1 million a year in revenue.
Morninghead - NO DEAL
Max Valverde, from Scarborough, was on Shark Tank back in 2014. He was pitching his cure for bedhead with Morninghead. It was a very memorable episode, but not for the deal Max wanted, but the laughs he got. He showed up with serious bed head and then used his reusable shower cap to demonstrate how well it worked. It was funny, but he got no deal. He wanted $25,000 in exchange for 20 percent equity in his company. Okay, so no billionaire backer, but still you can get Morninghead at Amazon for just $10.99. This is for those that shower at night, or if you wear a helmet or hat.
Beulr - NO DEAL
Peter Solimine, from York Maine, showed up in a bathrobe to pitch his product, Beulr. Peter was on recently in November 2021. He created an app that will let you fake being at virtual meetings so you can sleep in or do anything else besides that Zoom meeting. He wanted $150,000 from the Sharks for 20% of his company. It's a great idea, how many virtual meetings have you had to go to and leave with the thought, 'That could have been an email!'? No one from Shark Tank invested, but the episode got the attention of other funding and you can still get the app. And yes, Beulr is a take on the movie 'Ferris Beuller's Day Off'.