Shark Tank is one of the most popular shows on television. It features aspiring entrepreneurs who put their ideas before a panel of venture capitalists. Their goal is to get start-up capital from the latter. The show has been on air since 2009. There have been 233 episodes. In this post, we’re going to look into the best episodes of Shark Tank.
Each episode has its own heady mix of drama, excitement, and tension. Everyone who watches the show probably has their favorite episodes. But these are the episodes that I consider to be the best ones to date:
1. AVA the Elephant—Season 1, Episode 1
This episode kicked off the entire series. It featured Tiffany Krumins, who came to the show with her invention called Trio. The latter was meant to convince kids to take their medicine. The trouble was she had no patent on the product. Nevertheless, venture capitalists, Barbara Corcoran agreed to give Tiffany $50,000 for a 50% state in her company AVA the Elephant.
This deal helped Tiffany get her company off the ground. AVA the Elephant can now be found in 10 countries in over 10,000 retail outlets.
2. Cat Doodles Are No Joke—Season 3, Episode 2
This episode was a real fan favorite. Businessman Steve Gadlin put on quite a show for the panel. He proved that he could earn real money by drawing stick-figure cats for $10 each with his business I want to Draw a Cat for You.
Venture capitalist Mark Cuban was especially impressed with his pitch and offered him $25,000 for a 33% in the business. The thing I like best about it is the strange and rather goofy pitch that still managed to win the approval of one of the country’s most successful money men.
3. Kisstixx Sharks Smack Lips—Season 3, Episode 7
Dallas Robinson and Mike Buonomo pitched a lip balm, which, according to the duo, was guaranteed to make people look good. Hosts Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary provided a kind of proof of concept when they kissed each other on air.
Mark Cuban offered the rising entrepreneurs $200,000 for 40% of their company. It worked. Kisstixx is now available in 30 countries.
4. ChordBuddy—Season 3, Episode 3
Travis Perry invented ChordBuddy, a device to help musicians play the guitar. It is meant to help people new to the instrument learn chords quickly. What makes this episode stand out is that country must star John Rich was looking for a way to teach his daughter how to play the guitar. He loved the idea of ChordBuddy so much that he decided to become its spokesperson.
5. Reade Rest—Season 3, Episode 6
Rick Hopper pitched his invention Reade Rest to the Shark Tank panel. The product gives people who wear glasses the ability to secure them to their clothes using a magnetic clip. The entrepreneur demonstrated the usefulness of his creation when he pretended to fall. The glasses he was wearing remained safely on him thanks to Reade Rest.
The demo impressed Lori Greiner who offered $150,000 for a 65% share in the company, with the promise that she would make Rick Hopper millions when the product started showing on QVC. Mr. Hopper made $8 million in sales when Reade Rest went live on QVC.
6. Scrub Daddy—Season 4, Episode 7
Aspiring entrepreneur Aaron Krause pitched what he called the ultimate bath sponge to the panel. Krause’s rather charming and appealing smile as he demonstrated the superiority of his invention are what made the show such a sensation.
Lori Greiner offered Krause $200,000 for 20% of the company if he took her on as a co-owner. Scrub Daddy can now be found in Bed Bath & Beyond and Wal-Mart. Sales have reached over $18 million since their agreement.
7. The No Fly Cone-Season 4, Episode 8
This episode featured Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane, who came on the show to help his friend and horseback-riding instructor Bruce Gaither sell a new kind of fly trap known as The No Fly Cone. The added star power did not help. The venture capitalists were much more interested in other pitches.
Michael Tseng’s Plate Topper—a plastic container that makes it much easier to store food—got more attention. Indeed, there was a highly dramatic back-and-forth between Tseng and investors about the value of his product and the conditions for investment. He eventually struck a deal with Lori Greiner who convinced him to give her exclusive rights over the invention.
Unfortunately, nothing came of the idea. The manufacturing costs were too high to make the product viable.
8. Ten Thirty-One Productions—Season 5, Episode 6
Rising entrepreneur Melissa Carbone made one of the best deals of the series in this episode. She came onto the show with a production company that was already in operation. Her goal was to seek more funding to expand it.
She explained to the panel that her company, Ten Thirty One Productions, which specializes in live horror attractions in Los Angeles, brought in $1.8 million in revenue from a Halloween haunted hayride. It earned $600,000 in profit.
Mark Cuban agreed to invest $2 million for a 20% stake in the company. The company is now nationwide thanks to Cuban’s help and sales have reached over $3 million.
9. The Kids Episode—Season 5, Episode 20
This one featured kid entrepreneurs who got to show what they could. The episode one the hearts of fans. It included some really great inventions, including Boo Boo Goo, a paint-on band-aid and iRetron, which helps kids trade in used electronics.
It just goes to show that good business ideas have no age limit.
10. Groove Book—Season 5, Episode 13
This episode featured married entrepreneur couple Brian and Julie Whiteman who invented Groovebook, which provides an affordable way for people to print out photos from their phone. The couple received $150,000 from Mark Cuban and Brian O’Leary in exchange for 80% of their licensing profit.
Eventually, the company was bought out by Shutterfly Inc. This deal earned the couple millions.
