Biggest Shark Tank Successes & Failures

Episode Air Date: May 10, 2013 
Total Revenue to Date: $400,000
Verdict: Failure

Squirrel Boss is a squirrel-proof bird feeder. Squirrels love getting into food that isn’t for them, and one Shark Tank inventor, Michael J. Desanti, from Hawley, PA, discovered a way to squirrel-proof bird feeders. Squirrel Boss is an interactive feeder, and it has a remote that you can use to give squirrels a gentle static shock when they try to break in.

Squirrel Boss @Every Shark Tank Product / Youtube.com @Michelle Sanchez / Facebook.com

Desanti assured people that it wasn’t harmful to the squirrel, and it was similar to a tingle. Desanti went on Shark Tank looking for a $130,000 investment with 40% equity, but he didn’t seal the deal. Now, Wild Bills makes his bird feeder, which sells on Amazon for $49 each – but years later, the product has failed to really become mainstream.

Though Squirrel Boss hasn’t really been a smash-hit success, it did rack up a few sales on Amazon. It got a 3.2/5 stars. Many of the negative reviews have pointed out that the squirrels have managed to outsmart the feeder. They hold on to the perches and pole, which aren’t electrified, bypassing the system entirely.

Episode Air Date: March 28, 2015
Total Revenue to Date: $2 million*
Verdict: Success 

Lollacup struggled to find an audience before it was on Shark Tank. Entrepreneurs Hanna and Mark Lim invented the device, which is a spill-proof cup ideal for young kids learning how to sip. The Lims had faced a lot of rejection before they were on Shark Tank, and they waited in line for seven hours to audition for the show.

Lollacup @Kimber - The Pinning Mama / Pinterest.com

Moments before they were set to go onstage, billionaire Netflix investor Mark Cuban spilled water on his shirt. That spark of serendipity nudged him towards investing in Lollacup,  landing Cuban and Lollaland a massive success. Lollacup currently sells for $16, and it has raked in more than $2 million in sales over the last few years.

Lollacup is a top-selling baby product on sites like Amazon. The weighted straw sippy cup has a 4.4/5-star rating. As time has gone on, Shark Tank fans have looked at the weighted cup’s pitch as one of the top unforgettable deals on the show. Everyone wanted the Lim family to win, and we’re happy to report that it appears that they did.

Episode Air Date: February 3, 2012 
Total Revenue to Date: Unknown 
Verdict: Failure 

Young entrepreneur Megan Cummins appeared on Shark Tank with an idea for a product called You Smell Soap. Following her pitch, she actually turned down offers from Barbara Corcoran and Mark Cuban, instead offering to cut a deal with software mogul Rob Herjavec. Herjavec paid her $55,000 for 20% of her company.

You Smell Soap @Dieline / @Emmaline Bride® / Pinterest.com

Herjavec and Cummins’ deal later soured, with Cummins saying she never even received the money promised by the BRAK Systems CEO. Herjavec mailed Cummins a contract that was different from the original offer. He offered $55,000 for half the company, and Cummins rejected that deal. 

Cummins also said that You Smell Soap’s publicity on Shark Tank had a downside. She got too many orders to fill, something that led to her company folding.  As it turns out, the investors lost faith in the idea – which eventually proved to be true, as You Smell Soap’s later incorporations never successfully materialized with much revenue.  

Episode Air Date: April 6, 2012 
Total Revenue to Date: $13 million*
Verdict: Success 

Rick Hopper founded ReadeREST after he noticed that he kept losing his reading glasses after turning forty. So, he began making prototypes for a magnetic eyeglass holder. Hopper later discovered that his prototype had already been invented, but he was able to buy the patent and start his own company.

ReadeREST @readerest / Facebook.com

Friends and family, originally, were his most numerous clients. Even strangers would ask him about his ReadeREST, wanting their own. After he bought the patent, Hopper went to farmer’s markets, gun shows, golf shows, and quilt shows, seeking to get a better concept of who his target audience was and what they wanted.  

He appeared on Shark Tank in 2012, landing a deal with Lori Greiner. Since then, his product has made millions thanks to air time on QVCC and availability at big box retailers like Ace Hardware, Staples and Walmart. In addition to glasses, ReadeREST can hold earbuds and ID badges. 

Episode Air Date: February 10, 2012 
Total Revenue to Date: $15,000*
Verdict: Failure 

Shelly Ehler founded ShowNo Towels. The entrepreneur’s invention was a poncho-like towel that was far different from your average rectangular towels typically seen on the market. She connected with Lori Greiner at first, but even a deal with a shark wasn’t enough to get the company off the ground.

ShowNo Towels @shownotowels / Twitter.com

The ShowNo was a deal that people thought would be super lucrative, especially as Greiner took the towels with her on The Today Show, which led her to get a deal with Walt Disney water parks. However, that deal fell through. Ehler said that, at first, she “cursed” Lori Greiner for “kicking [her] to the curb,” but she later realized she had to “thank her” for teaching her about “so much more” than “business.”

Greiner initially made a lot of money selling towels at water parks, but these sales turned out to be seasonal, and thus, unsustainable. Despite appearing on Shark Tank with QVCC Greiner, there was no influx of orders. The failure of ShowNo Towels was a combination of low capital and little universal appeal, as it really only marketed to parents. These days Ehler works as a motivational speaker.

Episode Air Date: January 10, 2014 
Total Revenue to Date: $3 million*
Verdict: Success 

Groovebook founder Julie Whiteman was inspired to start her monthly photo album creator when she accidentally lost thousands of family photos that were on her phone. She and her husband decided to start the subscription photo album-maker, which costs $3.99 per month.

GrooveBook @Shark Tank / Pinterest.com

Groovebook was pitched on Shark Tank, where it landed a deal with Kevin O’Leary, the $400 million founder of SoftKey Software Products. Later, in 2014, Shutterfly bought the company for $14.5 million – over nineteen times what O’Leary had offered for it. Groovebook became the first company on Shark Tank to be acquired by a publicly-traded company.

KidTrail listed Groovebook as one of the best apps of its kind. It has competition in the market from apps like Chatbooks, Snapfish, Blurb, and Artifact Uprising, but the acquisition by Shutterfly is a heavy-hitter in Groovebook’s corner. Shutterfly is worth $2.7 billion, and it is owned by Apollo Global Management.

Episode Air Date: May 6, 2011 
Total Revenue to Date: $5 million*
Verdict: Failure 

Hy-Conn LLC is owned by Jeff Stroope, who went on Shark Tank seeking $500,000 for 40% equity in his idea. Hy-Conn was a fire-hose hardware manufacturer that made super-fast connectors. Firefighters could connect the Hy-Conn in seconds to a fire hydrant, saving time and, possibly, lives.

Hy-Conn @Hy-Conn Inc / Youtube.com

Mark Cuban wanted to license the design for $1.25 million, in addition to a three-year employment deal of $300,000 and 7.5% royalties in perpetuity. At first the product succeeded, but the deal eventually fell through after the episode aired. Today Hy-Conn is worth $5 million – considerably less than initially hoped.  

Jeff Stroope didn’t really elaborate on why the deal with the Netflix investor fell through. The company itself isn’t a failure, so much as it was a Shark Tank one. Had the deal gone through, it would have likely led the company’s valuation to be much higher. However, not all Shark Tank deals work out behind-the-scenes.  

Episode Air Date: November 18, 2015 
Total Revenue to Date: $10 million*
Verdict:  Success 

In February of 2020, Shark Tank selected LuminAID as one of its “Greatest of All Time” companies. The LuminAID episode (which was watched live by over eight million people) featured Anna Stork and Andrea Sreshta, the founders of the company, which sells lightweight, waterproof, and inflatable solar-powered lights. Mark Cuban cut a deal with the founders, becoming LuminAID’s first-ever investor.

LuminAID @LuminAID / Youtube.com

Cuban called the company “ingenious,” stating that it has especially been helpful and “ubiquitous” in dealing with disasters and emergencies. While sales for LuminAID have gone through the roof in recent years, the company remains privately-owned and not publicly traded. Its revenue is estimated at $10 million.

The latest news on this solar startup, which competes against companies like AES and NextEra, is that it is still releasing new products. Solar energy is the gift that keeps on giving, and LuminAID released its new PackLite Titan 2-in-1 Phone Charger. The versatile lantern is targeted for campers and hikers, who need to keep their phones on them at all times but lack outlets in nature. The PackLite was released in late August of 2020.

Episode Air Date: February 5, 2010
Total Revenue to Date: $60 million*
Verdict: Failure 

Qubits Toys was one of the first companies featured on Shark Tank, and it remains a fan favorite. These interlinking toys were STEM-based, and the pitch itself was, according to the company’s founder, “unorthodox” and “clumsy” at best – making it one of the weirdest pitches the sharks ever saw.

Qubits @QubitsToy / Facebook.com

Shark Tank investors questioned whether Qubit would be able to compete with billion-dollar companies like LEGO, which had just inked an industry-dominating deal with Disney. In the end, this “David and Goliath” effect was why the Sharks didn’t invest. Qubit is still available to buy on Amazon, but it has yet to truly crack the mainstream toy market..  

Qubits has continued to sell, but it likely hasn’t done as well as it would have had it been a Shark Tank success. However, it did win the Mission Main Street Award from Chase Bank, and it has inked deals with classrooms and museums, so maybe one of the Sharks will reconsider. 

Episode Air Date: December 13, 2013 
Total Revenue to Date: $70 million*
Verdict: Success 

Founded by Evan Mendelsohn and Nicklaus Martin, Tipsy Elves was already raking in $600,000 a year in sales before it appeared on Shark Tank. After appearing on the show, however, revenues have surpassed more than $70 million. The company, which was founded in 2011, sells holiday-themed apparel. It is especially famous for its ugly Christmas sweaters.

Tispy Elves @TipsyElves / Twitter.com

Investopedia listed Tipsy Elves as one of the show’s most successful companies. By 2018, it sold over two million products. Robert Herjavec offered $100,000 for ten percent of the company, and Herjavec has, since then, stated that Tipsy Elves is the best investment he’s made since joining the ABC show.

The reviews and publicity speak for themselves. People Magazine called the clothes “sneaky and cheeky,” and hosts on The Today Show wore the buck-tooth reindeer sweaters during their 2011 Ugly Sweater Competition. Best of all, this silly yet successful company donates a portion of its sales to charity. 

Episode Air Date: September 6, 2009 
Total Revenue to Date: N/A
Verdict: Failure 

Barbara Corcoran would later go on to call this her worst investment on Shark Tank. Cactus Jack was the inventor of this strange fitness machine, Body Jac. He brought his daughter, a bodybuilder who was way more in shape than him, onto the show to test it for the judges.

The Body Jac @BodyJac / Facebook.com

The whole concept behind the Body Jac was that it would help everyone do a push-up, no matter their physical condition. The Body Jac stated that it would help you align your body correctly, reducing the risk of injury. Sharks have jumped on the fitness equipment train before, but not with the Body Jac.

Long story short: despite inking a deal on the show, the Body Jac was not a success. Corcoran, the founder of The Corcoran Group, made a deal with Jack for $90,000 (as did Kevin Harrington), but the invention simply failed to sell. Though he rang the NASDAQ bell, the deal fell through. The Body Jac is no longer for sale.

Episode Air Date: September 26, 2014 
Total Revenue to Date: $100 million*
Verdict: Success 

Shark Tank investor Daymond John made a bundle when he invested in Bombas, an inventive sock company. John himself made his wealth from retail, but one thing he was never able to sell well were socks. Bombas, however, offers totally re-engineered athletic socks – and for every pair Bombas sells, the company donates one to charity.

Bombas @bombassocks / Facebok.com

The charities are usually homeless shelters or charities related to homeless prevention, something that the founders have been passionate about according to an interview with CNN. By April of 2020, Bombas announced that it had donated 35 million pairs of socks. A few months later, it released an LGBTQ collection. For every item purchased from that collection, an LGBTQ youth shelter got a pair of socks. 

Founders Randy Goldberg and David Heath were able to win over John with their pitch by convincing him that an online-only model was the best way to sell socks. The charity aspect also helped. John invested $200,000 for 17.5% equity after agreeing that selling socks directly to customers was the way to go.

Episode Air Date: October 23, 2015 
Total Revenue to Date: $4.6 million*
Verdict: Failure 

Belinda Jasmine, an inventor from California, pitched the Skinny Mirror on Shark Tank. This full-length mirror was designed to improve peoples’ self-esteem, as you appeared between five and ten pounds thinner when you looked in the mirror. The mirror, which came in many different sizes, sold for $99.

The Skinny Mirror ©Reddit.com

The Skinny Mirror, according to Jasmine, could help retailers like Target or Kohl’s sell more clothing. According to AJC.com, the trick of using skinny mirrors isn’t exactly new in retail. Retailers use those types of mirrors to get people to buy their clothes, as the better you look in something, the more likely you are to buy it. Skinny Mirror’s founder acknowledged that, but also said that she wanted to help people feel better about themselves.

Jasmine wasn’t able to get a deal on Shark Tank. Seven months later, she ended up closing down the business, stating that the stress simply wasn’t worth it. She did say that she was open to selling the trademark for The Skinny Mirror, though nobody has yet taken her up on the offer.

Episode Air Date: September 14, 2012
Total Revenue to Date: $6.2 billion*
Verdict: Success 

BuggyBeds is a company that is now worth a whopping $6.2 billion, though when it aired on Shark Tank back in season four, the business was still in its infancy. The invention was an early-detection glue trap that could lure and trap bed bugs before they invaded the bed. The Sharks were impressed at the idea from Veronica Periongo and Marcia Curio.

Buggy Beds @Lisa Lamkins / Gazette Review / Pinterest.com

The founders asked for $125,000 for 7%. What they got was $250,000 for 25%. All five Sharks invested in the business. Financial Post has listed BuggyBeds as one of the biggest “Shark Tank success stories.” EW agreed, calling it one of the most “successful investments” for the Sharks.  

The founders couldn’t have picked a better market. Not only are bedbugs very common (found in all fifty states), they are also very hard to get rid of. They’re the #1 pest in America, with 68% of pest control professionals telling CityPests.com that they’re the “hardest [infestations] to control.”