Shark Tank is a actuality TV present constructed round entrepreneurs looking for investments of their firms. A few of these firms go on to attain success. The worst Shark Tank merchandise went completely nowhere and produced nothing however losses for his or her buyers.
Let’s check out a few of the lemons that Shark Tank has produced: the worst Shark Tank merchandise.
Shark Tank: How It Works
Shark Tank relies on a easy premise. Entrepreneurs deliver their enterprise concepts into the Shark Tank and ask for cash in return for half possession of their firms. A panel of buyers – the “sharks” – listens to the pitches, analyzes their potential, and decides whether or not to take a position.
Like all TV exhibits, Shark Tank was primarily developed for leisure: viewers get a vicarious thrill out of watching entrepreneurs lay their concepts on the road and seeing some shot down and others strolling away with lots of of hundreds in new capital.
Whereas Shark Tank is all about leisure, it has been a manner for some entrepreneurs to realize each cash and publicity, launching their firms to success. It has additionally launched some spectacular flops. We’ll take a look at a few of the worst Shark Tank merchandise right here.
🦈 Be taught extra: Discover our roundup of the most effective Shark Tank merchandise that made it massive, from modern devices to groundbreaking companies.
The 12 Worst Shark Tank Merchandise
Changing into an entrepreneur isn’t as simple as it’d first seem. It’s not sufficient to have a cool concept and convey it straight to market. You might want to absolutely develop your marketing strategy, analysis the market, establish your audience, assess the competitors, develop an enlargement technique, check the viability of your product, and extra.
These entrepreneurs have failed on at the very least one among these accounts.
1. The Breathometer (2013)
At first look, the Breathometer, developed by Charles Michael Yim, appeared like an ingenious concept. Offered in season 5 of the present (2013), the moveable breathalyzer might pair up with a smartphone to learn the consumer’s blood alcohol ranges.
All 5 of the sharks determined to spend money on it, with Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Kevin O’Leary, and Daymond John elevating 1 million in alternate for simply 30% of the enterprise’s fairness.
Issues arose after the funding, although. The enterprise couldn’t meet the heightened demand for the product. The product additionally failed to satisfy consumer expectations, delivering inaccurate outcomes and inflicting the Federal Commerce Fee (FDC) to step in.
It wasn’t lengthy earlier than the Breathometer needed to be taken off the market. The thought went down the drain, together with the cash invested by the sharks.
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2. CATEapp (2012)
In season 4 of the present (2012), the Shark Tank buyers heard a presentation from Neal Desai, inventor of CATEapp. Generally known as the “cheater’s app”, CATEapp supplied the flexibility to cover messages from choose contacts, enabling them to solely be seen by the cellphone’s main consumer.
Two of the sharks, Kevin O’Leary and Daymond John, had been intrigued sufficient to boost $70,000 in alternate for 35% fairness.
The app bought hundreds of downloads after its Shark Tank look, nevertheless it rapidly grew to become clear that the app was laden with bugs and leaked delicate info. Its options may be circumvented somewhat simply. Furthermore, it couldn’t compete with related, extra dependable apps that got here to market.
CATEapp is not obtainable for downloads, and the cash invested in it’s gone, making it one of many worst Shark Tank merchandise.
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3. Candy Ballz (2013)
Though the buyers in Shark Tank have, on a number of events, highlighted how dangerous investing in meals companies will be, Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran jumped on the alternative to spend money on Candy Ballz.
In season 5 James McDonald and Cole Egger introduced their concept: promoting scrumptious little cake balls. The founders obtained $250,000 in alternate for 25% of their fairness, and all was good for some time.
Sadly, although, James and Cole had a falling out and even filed for restraining orders towards each other.
Candy Ballz, now run by James, continues to be in enterprise at this time, although it’s not practically as profitable because it might’ve been had he and his enterprise companion stayed on the identical web page. Candy Ballz could not have been one of many worst Shark Tank merchandise, nevertheless it was actually one of many worst partnerships!
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4. Squirrel Boss (2013)
Michael Desanti introduced Squirrel Boss in season 4 (2013) of Shark Tank. At its core, it was a easy hen feeder, nevertheless it had a characteristic that may ship an electrical shock to pests like squirrels to discourage them from stealing the hen meals. Supposedly, the shock wouldn’t hurt the squirrels.
The primary downside was that the product couldn’t differentiate between pests and birds and would shock any animal that got here into contact with it, a major design flaw that would hardly be neglected.
Squirrel Boss was additionally costly and unpatented, so not one of the sharks had been prepared to spend money on it.
Whereas it was obtainable on Amazon for some time, Squirrel Boss by no means took off attributable to its main design flaws and hefty worth.
5. Unique Man Candle (2011)
The Unique Man Candle was the brainchild of Johnson Bailey, who believed that conventional scented candles had been too female.
Presenting his concept in season 2 of the present, Johnson tried to distinguish his product by introducing extra “masculine” scents that may supposedly attraction to the male audience.
Unsurprisingly, not one of the “sharks” had been all in favour of investing within the Unique Man Candle. Which will have been as a result of collection of scents supplied, which included “popcorn,” “golf course,” and “flatulence,” or as a result of lack of a complete marketing strategy.
6. ToyGaroo (2011)
ToyGaroo is without doubt one of the better-known failures from Shark Tank. Initially introduced in season 2 (2011), ToyGaroo was based by Nikki Pope, Younger Chu, Hutch Postik, Phil Smy, and Rony Mirzaians.
The premise behind it was easy. ToyGaroo rented out youngsters’s toys in a subscription-based service. Dad and mom might join the service, lease high-quality toys for a month, return them, and get a brand new batch, avoiding the issue of spending on toys solely to have the youngsters lose curiosity.
Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary noticed the attraction, committing $250,000 to the enterprise.
Nevertheless, ToyGaroo wasn’t prepared for the heightened demand following the episode’s airing. Sourcing high-quality toys and transport them proved to be costlier than anticipated, main the enterprise to go bankrupt in months.
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7. Trunkster (2015)
Trunkster was a promising new firm that was speculated to disrupt the journey business. Based by Gaston Blanchet and Jesse Potash, it introduced a brand new stage of know-how to a really outdated product: baggage. The product was a wise suitcase with helpful options like a GPS monitoring system, USB ports, a digital scale within the deal with, and extra.
Offered on Shark Tank in season 7, Trunkster caught the eye of Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner, who invested $1.4 million in alternate for 15% of the corporate.
The deal, nonetheless, fell by means of. Trunkster’s obvious $28 million valuation solely got here from presales on Kickstarter and Indiegogo and aggressive income projections. Many of the clients who signed up for preorders by no means obtained their high-tech baggage and people who did obtained poor-quality merchandise that didn’t meet the expectations arrange by Trunkster’s advertising and marketing marketing campaign.
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8. Wired Waffles (2012)
Wired Waffles was a flop from the get-go. First introduced in season 4 of Shark Tank, the enterprise was based by Roger Sullivan.
Wired Waffles are caffeine-infused waffles that may supposedly assist busy folks save time within the morning since they wouldn’t should make each espresso and breakfast.
Not one of the sharks had been all in favour of investing on this. In any case, caffeine as a easy ingredient couldn’t be patented. The product didn’t have a nice style, and worst of all, it might be ingested by youngsters accidentally.
Wired Waffles is an ideal instance of what occurs when entrepreneurs don’t suppose their concepts by means of, fail to check the viability of their merchandise and don’t conduct correct market analysis.
9. Vestpakz (2014)
Vestpakz appeared like a promising product when it was introduced throughout season 6 of the present (2014). Michael Woolley and Arthur Grayer created it as an modern new youngsters’s backpack that would cut back the wearer’s again and shoulder ache.
Formed to appear to be a vest and boasting loads of cupboard space, it appeared like the right product. Sadly, although, no shark needed to spend money on it.
Regardless of Vestpakz being obtainable in Walmart shops, the gross sales had been abysmal. The ratio between its manufacturing prices and promoting worth was too low, and there was minimal client demand. In the end, Vestpakz went out of enterprise.
10. Cougar Power (2012)
Cougar Power was a product developed by Ryan Custar and introduced to Shark Tank buyers throughout season 3 (2012). As its title suggests, it was an power drink designed for “cougars”, aka middle-aged single ladies.
Supposedly, the drink wouldn’t solely deliver the buyer’s power ranges up, however it could additionally positively have an effect on the hair and nails. Furthermore, it boasted “anti-aging” elements, although none of those claims had been scientifically supportable.
Cougar Power obtained no investments in Shark Tank. Not one of the buyers believed there was a marketplace for such a product, nor did they consider it could stand as much as rivals. With low gross sales and loads of adverse feedback on Amazon and social media, it was obvious that the buyers had been proper.
11. Wake N Bacon (2011)
Wake N Bacon was first introduced by Matty Sallin in season 2 of Shark Tank. It was an alarm clock/oven that may begin cooking bacon 10 minutes earlier than wake-up time, thus waking the consumer as much as the candy scent of bacon.
The idea gained reputation on-line earlier than Matty got here on the present, with loads of folks asking to purchase it.
Nevertheless, the sharks noticed it as a gag reward that may have few legit customers. Furthermore, it rapidly grew to become obvious that Matty hadn’t thought the entire idea by means of. There have been no security guards that may reduce fireplace dangers, as an example.
Matty hadn’t give you a promoting worth. He hadn’t developed a plan that may assist him promote extra items after making a prototype and had no gross sales projections.
All he had was an concept for a product and no plans to assist him market and promote it. Regardless of many on-line customers expressing a need for Wake N Bacon, the enterprise fell by means of as a result of there actually wasn’t a enterprise there within the first place, simply an concept.
12. Foot Fairy (2013)
Foot Fairy was introduced throughout season 5 of Shark Tank. Inventors Sylvie Shapiro and Nicole Brooks developed an app to assist dad and mom measure their youngsters’s ft and purchase suitably sized sneakers for them, thus minimizing the dangers of widespread foot points.
Foot Fairy could be free to make use of, and the corporate would earn commissions from fashionable shops like Zappos.
Nevertheless, regardless of the app having hundreds of downloads previous to Sylvie and Nicole’s look on Shark Tank, the 2 had earned no commissions.
Whereas the idea, at its core, appeared attention-grabbing sufficient, there have been a few points that deterred the sharks from investing in it. The app was simple sufficient to repeat, which might deter any main retailers from providing commissions for it. Furthermore, it could have been a way more viable marketing strategy for Sylvie and Nicole to develop their very own model of footwear and use Foot Fairy to extend their gross sales.
Though one of many sharks did supply a deal, it by no means got here to fruition, and Foot Fairy is not obtainable.
Conclusion
Whereas there are a few outrageous Shark Tank pitches on this listing, some would doubtless have confirmed to be profitable had the entrepreneurs developed their concepts higher. In any case, having an important product concept isn’t sufficient to make sure the success of a enterprise. Entrepreneurs at all times should conduct thorough market, competitor, and viewers analysis. They should check their merchandise’ viability, develop enlargement methods, and develop complete enterprise plans in the event that they hope to draw clients and buyers.