From products that didn’t work to business owners that rubbed the Sharks the wrong way, Shark Tank has seen its share of failures over the years.
While some failed to get a deal, others received a deal that never came to fruition, making them some of the biggest flops in Shark Tank’s history. In this list, we take a look at some of the worst Shark Tank failures that left the Sharks and the viewers scratching their heads.
Just winning a shark deal is not guaranteed for success unless the Sharks and Entrepreneurs have worked together to make it a real deal to lead into a prospering business. Here we scrutinize at the worst ten deals even after they were done but did not send the end of light in the tunnel.
Index:
Gogo Gear
Fashionable gear for motorcyclists to protect the rider with Kevlar reinforcements in it. Founded by Arlene Battishill and Desiree Estrada, pitched their business and seal the deal with Daymond John for $300,000 at 65% equity. The duo did not receive a cheque from Daymond, he did though provide his mentorship and supported their marketing strategy.
Check Gogo Gear Shark Tank update
Sweet Ballz
Sweet but fishy. These cake balls were filled with doubt. As the whole pitch resulted in confusion but a successful investment of $250,000 for 25%. The company later found out that the original website was redirected to cakeballs.com owned by Edgar, which gave false news to the media and its users.
Sweet Ballz, a cake ball company, had a successful pitch on Shark Tank, securing a deal with investor Kevin O’Leary. However, after the show, the company faced production problems, and O’Leary later backed out of the deal.
Sweet Ballz attempted to pivot to a subscription model and expand into grocery stores but ultimately struggled to keep up with demand and ceased operations in 2017.
Check Sweet Ballz Shark Tank update
M3 Girl Designs
M3 Girl Designs as a business started well on their Snap Caps due to their great designs and lot on teens interested in this product. Maddie Bradshaw an entrepreneur at heart from a young age, with her designer and mother, pitched for their business for investment at $300,000 at 30% equity.
Bradshaw girls settled the deal with three sharks Robert Herjavec, Mark Cuban, and Lori Greiner. It started well but later got in multiple lawsuits on trademark infringement which resulted in some wins and losses. The business was closed in 2015 as it could not see the light.
Check M3 Girl Designs Shark Tank update
BodyJac
Health is wealth. It changes the face of life, but it changed the future of this company. Barbara and Kevin Harrington sealed a deal on the show with the owner on one condition, that he will lose 30 pounds after the show, by using his product.
The owner successfully achieved by losing 30 pounds, on side of the deal but no luck on the other as an investment of $180,000 was put into the company, but this was of no use as the company fell apart and Barbara lost $50,000 in the process.
BodyJac is a product that appeared on Shark Tank in season 3. It is a fitness device designed to be worn on the body and claims to provide a full-body workout. The product was not successful on the show and did not receive any investment from the Sharks. After the show, the product faced several legal issues and its website is no longer active, indicating that the business may no longer be in operation.
Check BodyJac Shark Tank update
Breathometer:
This product could have probably the biggest success in Shark Tank and the most loved pitch. The company got an investment of $3 million on the show from the sharks at a 30% stake.
But after a closer look, the FTC disclosed that the product was hiding and false advertising, as it is not 100% accurate after medical testing. The portable Breathalyzer showed its true face for the business after being suspected of the marketing gimmick it used.
Breathometer is a notable success story on Shark Tank. The company pitched a smartphone breathalyzer device that could measure blood alcohol content (BAC) and help prevent drunk driving. Breathometer raised over $138,000 from Shark Tank investors and went on to become a major player in the breathalyzer industry, with its products sold in major retailers like Best Buy and Target.
However, the company did run into some legal troubles over the accuracy of its devices and eventually had to refund customers and pay a settlement to the Federal Trade Commission. Despite this setback, Breathometer remains a well-known name in the tech industry.
Check Breathometer Shark Tank update
ToyGaroo
ToyGaroo, The one-stop shop for your kids in terms of borrowing toys on a monthly basis, using the subscription model. This business allowed parents to give their kids a new experience every month.
The sharks were interested in the idea and Kevin and Mark invested $200,000 for 35%. Unfortunately, the business closed in 2016, due to bankruptcy and they temporarily closed the site and said they did so due to the high demand of toys, which was not true.
ToyGaroo is a company that appeared on Shark Tank in Season 4, which provided a rental service for toys. Although the company received offers from all five Sharks, it ultimately failed to secure a deal. In 2018, ToyGaroo filed for bankruptcy, citing that it was unable to compete with Amazon and other e-commerce giants.
Check ToyGaroo Shark Tank update
Gayla Bentley Fashions
Product- Modern fashion for women of size 12 to 28. Gayla Bentley entered the shark tank with her fashion brand in season 1 and successfully let Daymond and Barbara invest $250,000 for 50% into the company. But the next moment the owner was nowhere to be seen despite the Sharks attempts to contact her.
Check Gayla Bentley Fashions Shark Tank update
Hillbilly
The founders of this company were not really in the tank for a deal, but just free advertising, when they asked for $50k for 25% of their livestock clothing company. even though Robert, Daymond, and guest shark Jeff Foxworthy invested $25,000 each which was just lazy of the company and it did not get any support from sharks.
Check Hillbilly Shark Tank update
HyConn
The concept behind HyConn was a hose that could be attached to a fire hydrant much faster than a normal fire hose, thus saving precious time for firefighters in action. Jeff Strope got a 100% patent buy deal with Mark Cuban, but the founder realized that Mark just wanted to commercialize the product, so they didn’t really see eye-to-eye.
Check HyConn Shark Tank update
You smell soap
You Smell soap was a company that appeared on the tank at a very early stage, with the founder Megan Cummins managing to get a deal from Robert Herjavec, who, truth be told, wasn’t really that great of an investor, as he later modified his deal, after which the company did not receive enough funding to cater to the high demand, leading to it crashing.
Check You smell soap Shark Tank update
What percent of Shark Tank companies fail?
According to some sources, around 66% of Shark Tank companies fail after appearing on the show. However, it’s important to note that this figure is not an official statistic and may vary depending on how “failure” is defined. Some companies that fail to achieve significant growth after appearing on the show may still be able to operate as smaller, profitable businesses.
Who turned down 30 million on Shark Tank?
Arum Kang was offered $30 million by Mark Cuban for her dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel, but she and her sisters rejected the offer. This decision led them to receive criticism from some online commentators, who called them “greedy” and “foolish.”
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FAQs:
What percent of Shark Tank companies fail?
According to some sources, around 66% of Shark Tank companies fail after appearing on the show. However, it’s important to note that this figure is not an official statistic and may vary depending on how “failure” is defined.
Who turned down 30 million on Shark Tank?
Arum Kang was offered $30 million by Mark Cuban for her dating app, Coffee Meets Bagel, but she and her sisters rejected the offer. This decision led them to receive criticism from some online commentators, who called them “greedy” and “foolish.”