Original subtitles

It's been 10 years since Shark Tank ignited America's entrepreneurial

spirit, and we are still blazing a trail.

For those who take their fate into their own hands by working hard. We have

cracked the code to the perfect suit. By working smart. When it comes to

investing, nothing's harder right now than cryptocurrency.

By thinking big. I opened my first one in 2012.

Now we have all over Manhattan.

And chasing their dreams.

Our dad invented the Cupboard Pro, and it was his dream to pitch it on Shark

Tank. Tonight, co-founder of RSE Ventures and vice chairman of the Miami

Dolphins, Matt Higgins, joins the tank. We're going to make this a very big

company. I can help you get in. to airports and stadiums. Don't take any

encouragement from Matthew. Well, I disagree.

That's on a soup business.

No soup for you!

First into the tank is a convenient way to eat healthier.

Hi, my name is Sarah Poland, and I am the CEO and co-founder of Supergirl. And

I'm Marilyn Poland, Sarah's mom, CAO, chief anxiety officer.

We're here from Washington, D.C., and we're asking for $500,000 for 10% of our

company. Oh, wow.

Sharks. As most of you know, most commercially available soup is not as

healthy as you might think. I mean, why do we need a PhD to read the ingredient

list? I mean, really, Sarah, what is guiar gum?

What?

Monosodium glutamate and mechanically separated chicken? I don't even know. I

don't even know. Okay, at Supergirl, we have cracked the code to the perfect

soups. Our soups are all natural. They are handcrafted, brimming in plant-based

protein and fiber and really, really low in salt and fat, and they're bursting in

fresh vegetables.

Everything your doctor says you should be eating, and the soups are delicious.

Yeah. The proof is in the numbers. My numbers. My cholesterol used to be 220,

and now it's 170 and dropping. Good for you. Sharks.

What started off as a small local soup delivery business has organically grown

into something much bigger. And now it's time for the rest of the country to be

eating our soups. You guys ready for this? You want to try some soup? You

want to try some soup? All right, let's do this.

We've got some great soup for you.

Bring it on.

Okay, sir.

Thank you. You're welcome. Okay, so what we have here...

is our chilled watermelon gazpacho in the bottle. We also have a West African

peanut stew. We have our summer minestrone, curried red lentil peach,

and we have an Indian-style malagatani. The curried peach is fantastic.

Thank you.

What's your background?

Well, we have been doing this since 2008.

Back in 2008, I was a former stand-up comic.

Looking for a good bowl of soup. Something that hopefully didn't have a

ton of salt and fat. And I failed miserably. So obviously, I dragged my

poor mother out of retirement.

Yeah, so let me, I'll tell you the real story. How this started. She does this

sometimes. I mean, she's been lying to us all the time. No, but I was in there

from the beginning. So let me tell you.

Sarah wanted to start. Go ahead, Bubby. By definition, yeah. She's a great

Bubby. I can tell. I think the problem started when we launched and I found our

first kitchen. She said to me, Ma, I got this great kitchen we're going to cook

in. It was a.

Dungeon, literally a dungeon. You had to go downstairs. There was no air

conditioning in the summer. We were schvitzing in the winter. There was no

heat. I heard a squeak, squeak. It was a mouse. And I said, I am out of here. No,

no, put it in the soup. It's protein.

No, they're going to get to that.

I said, Sarah, I am out of here. She said, no, you're not. You're staying.

And I stayed because Sarah is so determined.

And so I stayed. I've been here for 10 years.

Congratulations.

The product is really good, so you passed the first test. Thank you.

However, now we get down to the numbers. And quickly, I must say, $500,000 for 10

% imputes a $5 million business.

Yes. Now, I love the soup, but you better sell a lot of it. So give me the

sales. Well, let's talk about 2016.

$1.4 million.

Sales in 2017, $2.4 million.

We're on track to do $3.4.

Okay, how are you doing that?

We started off as a small local delivery business. Thank you. And now we have two

retail locations.

We're in almost 50 natural food locations and 20 box stores. The

consumer demand for this product is exploding. What did you make last year

on that 2.4? How much did you make? About 5%. Ouch.

I'll tell you why. Sarah, honey, sweetie, pussy.

Those are terrible margins. We hit our capacity, and I had to make a decision.

Am I going to stay where we are as a small, local D.C. business? Get a co

-packer. Or, I'll tell you why we can't get a co-packer. Or, are we going to

take this nationwide? And here's how we're very quickly going nationwide.

Meet the Super Meals program.

Okay? What we do is we deliver...

three-day or five-day program. So the three-day has 12 soups, and the five-day

has 20 soups. People eat soup all day, every day?

Well, or you can customize the program. Do you have this program running? We've

run it on a small level. We've done about $900,000 in sales. I know that

model. I ship stuff in jars all across the country. Well, let me tell you what

it costs.

How much? For the three-day program, it costs $50 to make, and we sell it for

$99, and that includes shipping. That's not a good margin.

Here's the tragedy about to happen.

Let her finish. Let her finish.

Numbers are numbers. Let me get the numbers out. You made $120,000, a 5%,

okay, on the 2.4.

You priced the business at a $5 million valuation.

Sarah, that's a 41 multiple on a soup business.

No soup for you.

Sarah, on the planet Earth, during the planet's history, has anybody ever paid

41 times for soup? How do you know that? I know that because I know everything.

And there's no way you're going to get that here today. Here's the thing. Do

you believe that you're going to net more and increase more than 5%?

Oh, yes.

My fixed costs are quite high because of this new kitchen. Well, that goes back

to the coat packer. You were going to say why you didn't want to use a coat

packer. Okay, so there's two reasons why we don't want to use a coat packer.

Number one, we're certified kosher, and you will not find... There are kosher

coat packers. Not that can do this quality. Trust me, we've talked to them.

So, Sarah, you won't let your baby go because you think you're the only person

that can make this quality. Yes. And that's costing you...

Five to six percent. Soup is horrible when they're cooked in that quantity.

But they'll adjust for you. They'll let you be there as they put in those giant

colanders. But they're doing it wrong.

Nobody does this.

Nobody does what you're trying to do. Exactly.

Do you have any loans or debt? Yes, I have $640,000 in a small business loan

that I'm paying down. You see what's happening here, right? You keep on

needing cash.

Yes. And you're hoping that you'll make it up in volume.

You have retail stores and you have subscription, right? When I see somebody

going after that many outlets, that means they're not completely confident

in any one.

Sarah, I want to hear a little bit about how are you going to use that $500,000?

Let's set aside the fact that your valuation is ridiculously high. The

website that we're building, everything that we've learned from...

uh our super meals program that we've done over the past year we're going to

integrate into that website so auto renewal subscriptions refer automated it

already exists you don't need to know how much you think you're gonna have to

pay to get that done yeah about a hundred thousand dollars no that's about

right And then I want $400,000 for equipment to optimize my staff costs.

You're buying more equipment?

How's that going to show up in top line and bottom line? Oh, sure, because my

staff costs are going to come down. My staff costs are still too high.

Sarah, you are literally at risk of going out of business.

And I don't think you realize and know it.

Sarah, you are literally at risk of going out of business.

And I don't think you realize and know it. You see what's happening here,

right? You keep on needing cash.

You are so capital intensive, right?

Yes.

Perfection is the enemy of profitability.

I'm out.

I appreciate all your feedback. Gave me a lot to think about. How much cash do

you have in the bank right now?

About $20,000.

Oh! Oh, that's okay.

No, it's not okay. But an account's receivable. You have to service right

now $640,000 of debt. The business is worth about $750,000 right now, less the

debt. So it's worth about $100,000 and, you know, change. That's the truth.

That's what a buyer would give you for it. I'm out.

You would have to do $100 million to make $5 million.

I would get 10% of that.

You would have to do $100 million just for me to get back $500,000.

I mean, think about that.

For that reason, I'm out.

Sarah, first of all, I think we're being way too dire about your business.

No.

I would never count you guys out, right? Thank you. You're going to do $3.4

million. You obviously have a sense of what it is to sell your product, but I

don't think at the moment it's a big business and I can get a big return on

it, so for those reasons, I'm out.

I appreciate that. Matthew, why are you encouraging her? You know the model's

broken. You know the model's broken. So I'm encouraging because I think at the

end of the day, I think they're going to figure it out. Don't take any

encouragement from Matthew.

Are you going to leave the show and reflect about whether or not to go with

a co-packer?

Sure, I'm absolutely going to reflect. But you'll never do it. Are you in? I

don't want you to take any encouragement from Matthew's comments because you

still have a 50-50 chance of going to zero.

Okay? I hate when he says that, but in this case, he might be right.

Okay. I think the Supergirl logo and name is fabulous.

Thank you. It's very cute. It's very memorable. There's one thing that for me

is not great.

5% profit margin.

Our profit margin used to be much bigger. But when we opened up this new

facility, of course it went down. But the problem is, but that's a huge

problem. Great soup. But as an investor, I'm out.

Good luck, guys.

Thank you. Thank you. Appreciate the feedback.

Thank you. Very delicious.

See you, Bubby.

The soups need to be perfect.

A super mom and super girl stand behind every unit of soup that goes out the

door. And that's never going to change.

Seriously, she's in trouble. No, but entrepreneurs do that all the time.

Perfection, perfection. Only I can do it. Only I can do it. You know what this

was? This was dead soup boiling.

I was born and raised in Queens, New York.

Raised by a single mother in a little apartment with three brothers. Grew up

really poor.

And when I say poor, I mean really poor. My earliest memories of a gourmet meal

was what I'd call government cheese.

It was a long box of cheese that would arrive and literally said government

cheese from the USDA.

My mother always had a variety of health issues.

Eventually, she ended up in a wheelchair.

I made a decision at a very early age that I wasn't going to let poverty

dictate the rest of my future.

When I was 16, I decided to drop out of high school.

Everyone said, you're going to ruin your life. But I knew that if I could get my

GED and go to college as fast as humanly possible, I could accelerate my path out

of poverty. I was working during the day. I would take classes at night and

then go home and take care of my mother.

After college, I started working for the city of New York, and I would attend

classes at night to get my law degree at Fordham. At 26 years old, I was

appointed press secretary of New York City. I finally thought everything was

going to be okay.

I had enough money to take care of my mother, and on my first day of the job,

my mother died.

I regret that my mother never got a chance to experience the benefits of the

life that I've created.

I was press secretary during the worst terrorist attack in history.

I became the chief operating officer of the agency in charge of rebuilding the

World Trade Center site.

And the greatest professional honor of my life was to be involved in the

rebuilding effort.

It would become a defiant symbol of resiliency for New York and for the

country.

In 2004, I got an amazing opportunity to join the New York Jets. And over the

next eight years, I held a number of different jobs from helping build a new

stadium to ultimately overseeing the business operations of the team. After a

great run at the New York Jets, I decided that I was going to take the

leap and become an entrepreneur.

And that's when I teamed up with Steve Ross and started RSC Ventures.

And now I'm the CEO of RSC Ventures and the vice chair of the Miami Dolphins.

I don't invest in ideas. Ideas are cheap. I invest in people, special

people, who have what it takes to take that idea and go the distance.

You come to visit me and it's like, woo, okay, let's go. Everybody needs

something. We like to think we're the missing component. So we bring our real

estate expertise, our sports expertise, our technology expertise, and we roll up

our sleeves and we do whatever it takes to win.

The entrepreneurs that go on Shark Tank, they're trying to make it and transcend.

And I relate to that. I feel like my whole life has been about that.

It's not about where you began. It's where you end up and how much distance

you covered.

Next up is a simpler way to invest in the hottest new craze.

Hi, Sharks. My name is Demetri Love and I'm from Dallas, Texas. Yeah.

My company is Bundle.

I'm seeking $100,000 for 10% equity in my company.

When it comes to investing, nothing's hotter right now than cryptocurrency.

Everyone's talking about it, but does anyone really know what they're talking

about? Now, cryptocurrency is a digital currency, so investing in it is a little

different. Now, you could mine your own currency, which is best done with a

dedicated mining chip.

Essentially, you're using decentralized blockchain technology to track shares

and validate transactions using a known algorithm.

These are then added to the existing blockchain using an encryption technique

that controls the creation of monetary units and ultimately verifies the

transfer of funds.

That's one way. Or you could just use Bundle, the most convenient way to

invest in cryptocurrency.

Bundle allows...

The Bundle app allows users to automatically invest their spare change

every day into cryptocurrency.

The Bundle app controls... Dude.

You're doing great. You're good, Dimitri. You're doing great. Cool, cool,

cool. You can start anywhere you want. You look great.

Dimitri, this is the biggest moment in your life. I agree.

I agree.

Bundle is a mobile application that allows you to invest your spare change

from everyday purchases directly into crypto.

The app automatically tracks your spending habits, so if you were to go

buy this coffee for $3.45, the 55 cents would be rounded automatically and

invested into the cryptocurrency of your choice.

You don't need thousands of dollars to start investing. Just keep doing what

you're doing, leave the complicated math and algorithms behind, and Bundle will

take care of the rest.

So which one of you wants to hop on board with Bundle?

and make bundles of cash.

Good finish there. Do you think you could possibly simplify what is

cryptocurrency? You'd be breaking entirely new ground if you could explain

it. Oh, for sure. So it's just like money, and in a small way, kind of like

stocks. It's like money in that you can use it for purchases, for services and

goods.

It's like stocks because the value fluctuates. Demetri, why don't you give

us a little insight into what gave you this idea?

I'm a web developer myself, and I wanted to invest in cryptocurrency and my

family also wanted to invest. So they came to me and they're like, Dimitri,

how do we buy this? Like, what do we do? So I thought I was like, man, you know,

anyone that's trying to invest in cryptocurrency has to go through all

these steps to try and figure out how to buy it. And I thought there could be an

easier way for it to be done. Which cryptos does it support?

So right now, it only supports Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. How does Bundle

make money? We charge a monthly fee of $3 a month, or if you pay for the entire

year, it's $24.

So start me from the beginning.

Okay. I download the app. So right now, we only have a minimum viable product.

We did our soft launch about 60 days ago. We have an iOS app.

The web app is almost completed, and we're working on Android as we speak.

Why are you going to get market share? What's special about Bundle that...

is going to take away share from the wallets that already exist.

So the set it and forget it mentality is very popular among micro-investment

users. There are a few competitors in the space that have done really, really

well with the micro-investment technology.

I'm in the financial services industry.

I also have apps that do the same thing this does. Not crypto, but I do

fractional share ownership in an app called Beanstalks.

Here's what we learned about this space. Most apps fail within 36 months, over

80%. because they're never able to get the customer acquisition cost below the

lifetime value. How are you going to get customers?

So we can actually advertise on Facebook. That is one big thing. That's

a very expensive way to acquire a customer. Yes. Far better would be a

viral approach, a blog approach, an influencer approach, and all of the

above simultaneously.

It's really, really hard.

So our customer acquisition costs are actually only $2.77. How do you know

that? We have about 360 users, and we've put $1,000 into marketing. Dimitri, I

know for some people, they think cryptocurrency is just the wave or going

to be the wave. For me, I'm not so sure.

I'm still on the crypto fence, so I'm out. Okay.

Thank you.

Dimitri, I mean, I always try to help out Dallas entrepreneurs.

challenge here is i'm an investor in a company called change ed which as you

know is comparable in a lot of ways so definitely for those reasons i'm out

okay thank you i think the the digital currency space is here to stay but it's

still just the wild west so it's very volatile it's unregulated definitely so

i think it's a little too early for me i'm out okay Thank you. Dimitri, what I

like about this is it falls into my financial literacy platform.

I've been crisscrossing America lecturing on Saturdays in colleges about

how important it is to take a portion of your pay or whatever your income source

is and invest it.

Here's my offer.

I'll give you $100,000. I want to be a 50% partner. And I'll tell you why.

You are going to be stunned at how expensive it is to acquire customers.

And I have the metrics on this nailed. And we'll have to put up more money as

time passes.

Can you commit to putting up money as time passes? If it's working, I pour

gasoline. I've put millions of dollars into my financial platforms. Millions.

Dimitri, one of the big frustrations I have with Bitcoin is that there still

isn't any use for it from a consumer standpoint, right? Ever since that guy

bought pizza. Dimitri, have you seen Kevin walk away from deals before?

I have.

I think you should consider... partnering up with different token

economies because they're sprouting up all over the place you can piggyback off

their marketing machine after the regulators say yes after they say yes

but i like the idea of you partnering with all those different token exchanges

that's a great way to kill your business while you're trying to get it started

well i disagree there are a few reasons why it's just not for me i think it's

too easy to create a competitor there's too many similar products already out

there and it's just too early it's not investable in my opinion and for that

reason i'm out dimitri just so you understand I'm either 50-50 or I'm

nothing. Your decision. But 50% is quite a bit.

Well, Dimitri, I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. It's a great

opportunity to take on all the hassles you're struggling with.

This is the moment. You have to decide if you want me as a partner or not. It's

your decision.

That's a great offer, Dimitri.

Kevin, I'll accept your offer. Yeah, that's part of the deal, Dimitri. You

made the right decision, my friend.

You made the right decision.

Let's go make it happen.

Got a lot of work to do, buddy.

He doesn't look happy.

He looks miserable.

I just launched my business 60 days ago, and to have a shark on board is just a

dream come true. I can't believe it. It's amazing.

David and Mark, you've got to understand something.

I don't do good deals. I do great deals. I remember the cupcake lady.

Her daughter started crying when she didn't deal with you.

And today, she's a millionaire.

Next into the tank is an artful twist to a healthy dining concept.

Hello, sharks.

My name is Guy Vaknin, and I'm the chef and owner of Beyond Sushi.

I'm seeking a $1.5 million investment in exchange for 25% of our planned venture

on the West Coast and 5% of our current operation on the East Coast.

Beyond Sushi is a multi-unit vegan restaurant operating in New York City.

We take a modern approach to traditional sushi by creating unique flavor profiles

using vegetables, fruits, and whole grains without relying on fake meats

while having a balance between nutrition and flavor.

Our extensive menu includes salads, wraps, dumplings, and rolls.

We're one of the pioneers of the vegan sushi movement in creating a better,

healthier, much more sustainable way of eating.

Sharks, if you dive into this deal with me, there'll be plenty of fish for you

guys to swim with.

Do we get samples? Of course.

Let's eat. Yeah.

I brought you three of our bestseller rolls.

I'm hungry, but then I'm always hungry.

Ah, this looks amazing.

Amazing. Amazing.

We have the mighty mushroom, which has four grain rice, baked tofu inside

shiitake, enoki, micro arugula, and a truffle. That looks good. Shiitake

sauce. Right next to it, we have the sunny side. It has braised fanno, sun

-dried tomato, avocado, roasted butternut squash, and pesto sauce on

top. So good.

Yeah, they're a little bit more intricate.

That mushroom one is the truth. Thank you very much. How do the calories

compare to normal sushi?

So it averages, with the sauce, at 280 calories.

For a roll? For a roll. And a roll is eight pieces.

So it's about the same?

Yeah. What does it cost for eight pieces?

Okay, you can buy eight pieces, which is one roll.

And it will cost you $750.

It cost me about $150 to make. I love it. So we have six locations.

I opened my first one in July 2012.

Took all my life savings, which was $70,000.

I had 12 seats and a counter and one employee.

Now we have all over Manhattan.

On our bigger units, we do about $2 million a year.

And then when you do... How many square feet is a bigger unit? It's big. It's 2

,500 square feet. Wow.

The first one I opened was 280 square feet, which I did a million dollars out

of. Wow. And I have one that is 108 square feet that I do 600,000 out of.

The whole idea of this, it's a commissary-based business. So we have

one big kitchen that supplies everything.

And the restaurants could be as small as 600 square feet? They could be as small

as 250.

So you're a grab-and-grow restaurant, right? You're not a sit here and watch

us make this? No, we're grab-and-grow. It's fast casual, but we do have another

model, and that's a 2,500 square feet that we opened recently.

And then what made you pivot to this 2,500 square foot model?

At the end of 2015, I partnered up with the founder of Ruby Tuesdays. Sandy

Beal, right? Sandy Beal, yes. Yeah, great guy. He has 25%.

And you have 75?

75, yes. So when you talk about 25%, that's of the East Coast, right? Yes.

And I'm guessing you own 100% of the West Coast because you haven't really

started it yet. Tell us for the last year what your sales have been and

whether you're profitable or not.

So last year we did $4 million in sales. What did you net on it? So last year was

the year that we made basically the change. So I took a commissary.

I opened two big locations, so I was negative 272. How much did you invest

last year? I put $160,000 out of my own pocket into the business just to keep it

running because we did lose money, right? The year before that, we were

doing $2.4 million.

I put in my pocket $600,000, and we're projecting $5.6 for this year. What will

you make on the $5.6, do you think? This year, we're going to make around $300

,000.

Chef, I understand the space really well. I have a number of different

investments and pizza. I'm actually on a board with Sandy.

Yes. So I know the space very well. I want to go a little deeper. Tell me what

your average cover side is.

Dinner time, we do about $22 a head.

At lunchtime, it's...

fifteen dollars okay give me your traction how you've been doing you've

been growing and covering oh yeah so we've been growing like i said for the

whole company i told you we were two million fifty thousand the year before

that we were nine hundred and seventy eight thousand so we doubled in size in

one year i want to go deeper stay with me on the unit economics right so you

know an ideal qsr yeah or you know fast casual restaurant should be doing 20

profit At the store level. Where are you right now after how many years? So we're

doing 20% on 37%. I'm finding out a lot. So I know nothing about that end of the

retail. Matt asked you, what did you ask him? What is his PR, QR?

Quick service restaurant.

I had no idea what any of that was. And for that reason, I'm out.

Thank you.

I'm struggling with a different problem. I'm going to make the assumption you'll

be as successful on the West Coast as you were on the East Coast. And you're

going to generate after three years.

Five plus million dollars on new operations. If the footprints look the

same. Here's the problem with this. Yeah. You're going to make $300,000 pre

-tax on five plus million in sales. Yes, we agree.

I agree. Okay.

I give you 1.5 million to get 25% ownership in the West Coast.

Okay. I'm basically paying 20 times pre-tax earnings.

I think are insane. The valuation is insane.

I'm out.

Okay. Chef.

Thank you.

Thank you.

What's the vision for the brand, right? In order for these to be successful, it

has to be a strong, sustainable vision. It's not a fad. I want to hear a little

bit more about that. It's not a secret. I mean, you know it because you're in

the food business. It's shifting towards everything plant-based, everything

healthier. This is no imitation. Everything that you see over here is

fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans. Okay, so wait, wait, wait. You're not

alone in doing plant-based sushi and comparable plant-based other options.

The problem is here you are on a mission on the East Coast, which is hard enough.

Then you want to do it again.

And, you know, I didn't see a clone anywhere coming up in the pitch. So my

gut's telling me, no, I'm out.

So here's what I don't like about the deal. I don't like the misalignment of

the fact that I'm getting 5% equity in the concept that already has a lot of

traction. Here it comes. And then I'm paying $1.5 million for what may or may

not work. We all intuitively feel like you're going to do great out here,

right? But I don't know.

And I know you're going to be putting in as much time in New York as you are in L

.A. So there's a misalignment between you and I because I'm going to want you

to spend all your time in L.A.

I need you to align my interests in L.A. and in New York. Okay. How can you do

better by bringing those two together?

Matt is interested in Guy's plant-based sushi business, Beyond Sushi, but he

wants more of the established East Coast business than the current 5% that Guy is

offering. I think that I can go a little bit higher than the one that we have on

the East Coast if that will make the deal happen.

How much higher?

So 10% is where I will go. Here's what we got.

Lori and I are going to come into this deal together. We're going to work

together to change your life. We're going to make this a very big company.

We're going to cross market like crazy. I can help you get into airports and

stadiums all over the country.

This is just up my alley completely.

I think this will do even better on the West Coast personally. I think so too.

Because I think that's the mindset here is even more towards this type of food.

So you get both of us, you get the entire network, but I need to be

incentivized to work hard for you. The offer on the table is 30% in LA, 15% in

New York, and you have a deal.

You have three choices, yes, no, or counter.

I need you to make them fast, and you know why?

So I can eat the rest of that sushi.

Then we do 12%. And 30%.

And at the end of the day, guys, look, as much as I'm going to have all the

access in the world and everything, I'm going to work.

That's what I did with this company. I built it. You guys, I worked three

years. You have two sharks, and we're going to work, too. What's great is once

you become part of my family, you get access to all the different operators.

You want me to own enough in New York to drive it as well. That's a waste if I

don't.

I can feel your energy and your intensity. I love it.

But my offer's firm.

You get both of us, you get the entire network, but I need to be incentivized

to work hard for you.

Let's do it.

All right.

Thank you.

I appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Thank you. Congrats, guys.

Congrats, man.

I really like that guy.

I knew you were going to go, Paul.

It was worth it to give up a little bit more equity. I got two Sharks, and we

can take all their knowledge and take the investment and just go light speed

to where we want to be.

For me, Shark Tank taught me that anyone can be an entrepreneur, no matter your

situation or your age.

So don't make excuses and just go for it.

I'm Kira. I'm Christian.

I'm Kaylee. And we're siblings from Long Island, New York.

Our dad, Keith, was a New York City fireman. He was a firehouse chef.

Everyone always loved his cooking.

Your father made the kitchen a place to feel comfortable, safe, and warm.

Our product was designed by our dad and is created to simplify the way you work

in the kitchen.

My dad was ready to introduce his product to the world, but he put

everything on hold when our mom was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer.

She battled for two years and lost her fight to cancer on August 22, 2012.

That was the hardest day of our lives.

Losing our mom was really hard for our dad, but we all really just encouraged

him to make his dream a reality.

But in 2015, he was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, a cancer that

developed from being a fireman in the cleanup of 9-11.

Our dad fought as hard as he could.

But just three months ago, our dad passed away.

Our dad's funeral was the biggest tribute to who he was.

Over 1,000 people came. The New York City Fire Department had the whole

street closed down, and they just really honored who our dad was as a hero.

I think that it's love that keeps you strong, and the foundation that both our

parents set for the three of us is what gets us through each day.

The Sharks should invest in this product because it's amazing and it has the

support of three really strong kids who love the person that created it.

Hi, Sharks. My name is Kayla Young. I'm Christian Young. I'm Kyra Young. And

we're the Young family.

We're here today seeking $100,000 in exchange for 10% equity in our business.

Our business is... The Cupboard Pro.

Our dad invented the Cupboard Pro, and it was his dream to pitch it on Shark

Tank. Unfortunately, he passed away before he had that chance.

But we're here today to continue his legacy and make that dream a reality.

to tell you more about our dad's invention here's a video our dad made

about demoing the cupboard pro my name is keith young i'm the inventor of the

cupboard pro cupboard pro is really really simple to use open up your cup

slide it in to the tongue and groove in the board i'm going to cut an onion i'm

going to core it i'm going to take all these scraps they're going to go right

into the cup i didn't have to put a bowl under my board i didn't have to stop

Really? Could it be any simpler? It is so easy. So flip your board over.

I'm going to use like a cup of red wine to simulate meat juices.

The routings are directing the juice to go right where they need to be.

I'm not doing anything.

I'm a New York City firefighter. I'm a father, a widower, cookbook author,

cooking with the firehouse chef.

When I'm at home, I have to get things done rapidly because I have three

children. I'm a single parent now.

I have to clean.

and on top of that i have to cook i need to kind of be on my game with my kids

everything revolves around my kitchen really at home that's where the heart of

a regular family's house is we feel honored to be here today and to share a

little bit of keith young in the cupboard pro with you all so who's ready

to make our dad's dream a reality with us that was very moving thank you thank

you your dad sounds like an amazing guy can you tell us a little bit more about

when he invented it and Give us a little more of the story. Yes.

My dad invented this when I was in high school.

And then as he was getting his first prototypes, our mom was diagnosed with

breast cancer.

And he put everything on hold to be by her side. I was 19 at the time.

My brother was 15 and my sister was 9.

On August 22, 2012, God called my mom home.

And my dad...

just showed us what strength was in every moment that he continued to show

up for us and just in life in general he's a true inspiration just like our

mom and then um my dad took a break with the cupboard pro he was asked to be

on chops and he did it and he was a two-time top champion which then gave

him the confidence to start working on this again In December, he got his

delivery of 2,000 boards, and at that time he was diagnosed with cancer, which

is a 9-11-related cancer from being a fireman there.

And he was on hospice in the beginning of the year, and he just passed away

three months ago.

So sorry.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Wow. So we have this amazing invention right here for you guys. We're going to

pass you guys each one. Great.

thank you thank you thank

you thank you oh it's heavy it's my dad was all about quality so it's bamboo

um we have three patents on the board in the cup the tongue and groove is really

important My dad has his fireman logo on the board, and if you see it has the

number of how many firemen died on 9-11. Oh, I didn't notice that. That's on the

back? It's something that really honors the fire department.

This board is really heavy, really great quality, engineered smart. So this

well... No matter where you put it, it's going to run. The juices will run down

because it's pitched higher in the back. I love it because that's usually the

problem. When you're cutting, you have to push all the stuff off to the side

here and there. Many of them have a well built into the board. But here, you can

take it off, throw it in the dishwasher. Yeah, because when you put the ones with

the well built in there, it doesn't fit straight in the dishwasher.

Yeah, exactly.

It doesn't fit. That's an amazing product. It's incredible.

Thank you.

So what are your sales?

The three of us actually just began three weeks ago selling the board.

Because you have $2,000 in inventory, right? Yes. So you're putting that

online? We just launched our online store three weeks ago. How old are you?

I'm 24.

You're 24? I'm 20.

20? I'm 15.

So your dad wanted to come on Shark Tank. Yes, that was actually his

audition video.

And on 9-11, where was he?

Which part of the city? He was part of the cleanup, so he was at... He was

there for that. And over 2,000 firemen are actually currently sick from 9-11,

just from all the fumes that they were breathing in.

Yeah, I was at Ground Zero on 9-11, spent two years there during the

cleanup, working with the city. I met a lot of brave people like your dad and a

lot of people who lost their lives. So it's great that you're doing this. Thank

you.

What's your cost?

$1,250.

Okay, and you're selling them on the site for?

$40. $40.

How many have you sold so far?

300 in the last three weeks.

Good for you. Wow. How are you selling them? What are you doing to market them?

How are you getting that?

Just through social media and our online store. And then in our living room,

we're all packaging the boards together, writing everyone individual thank you

notes. You guys are real entrepreneurs now, huh? Yeah. What's the money going

to be used for the $100,000?

We have to renew our tooling. And then for marketing and advertising, which is

like $20,000.

All new cutting boards, which would be around $50,000. You mean inventory?

Yeah.

So are you running the business?

Basically, the three of you together, that's it? You're running everything?

Yes. So what overwhelms you right now? Tell us why you're here and what you're

looking for in a shark to help you with. I think, honestly, it's kind of hard to

overwhelm the three of us just because of the amount of stress that you go

through just seeing your loved ones sick.

And we're only able to be here because of how strong our parents were.

You know, is it possible for you just to step out in the hallway for a second?

Sure, sure.

They have inventory, right?

I could sell that off, I feel. Yeah, no heartbeat. We'll get there, we'll get

there. Oh, geez.

not that scary well i hope we get a deal and then it'll be fun so once this story

is out obviously the units they have will ship we just have to keep in mind

we need to take on the new part of the business the new mold and more they just

have to be made at a fraction of what they're bringing i would feel good with

anyone making an offer i feel like we're in a dream right now i know you want to

call back in come on back

You know, the story is amazing, right?

Obviously, you have a million reasons to be proud.

Thank you. And your father will live on forever through each of you and this

product. But rather than us fight it all out, we decided to work together.

Wow. And so all five sharks are going to come together. Which is a rarity. Now,

we're sharks, so we're going to negotiate. In fact, it pretty well never

happened. So we're going to offer you a deal. Okay.

$100,000 for 20%.

And each one of us is going to contribute $20,000 and our expertise so

that we can help you. And so any profits that we earn from our 20%, we're going

to contribute to whatever charity your dad supported for firemen.

that have been sick from 9-11. Oh, my God.

That's our offer.

It's a deal.

It's a deal.

It's a deal.

Oh, my goodness. Thank you. Give me a hug. Thank you so much, David. Thank

you. I know you want to get one in every kitchen in America. Thank you, Lori.

Thank you. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you. Now, we're still going to

make you guys work. Yes, we're ready to work. Because I know you're already hard

workers, so it's not going to be easy. Don't worry. We're not here for easy.

Thank you so much, guys.

Love you.

Awesome.

Oh, my gosh. That was amazing.

You know, this is the beauty of entrepreneurship.

Yeah. They're going to be able to support themselves.

This is a product that will go on forever. I love it. And the beautiful

thing is that they have each other.

Love you guys. Good job. Now that we have all five sharks on board, we can

really make our dad's dream come true. Our dad would probably be so proud of

us.

like so happy that we're continuing on his legacy his dream bring it in bring

it in