Shark Tank
The type of business that Jake is pitching to the sharks is a restaurant business that is a cultural blend of Asian (Korean) and Mexican food: Jake calls it Chi’Lantro and it serves Korean BBQ tacos out of food trucks and restaurants. The entrepreneur’s offer is 15% of his business for $600,000.
4 of the 5 sharks passed on the offer. One said that he was not into growth capital but rather was into helping to launch a new idea: he did not see Chi’Lantro as really being a new idea, so he passed. Another said he did not like investing in restaurants because of the constraints on the business model—such as location (if location is not good, the business suffers and that eats at the investment). Two others said they did not like investing in restaurants because there is too much risk, too much involvement that is required, and just not something they were into doing. Finally, the last shark—Barbara—had had some positive experiences with investing in restaurants and had helped franchise a successful restaurant in the past. She liked Jake’s attitude, his drive, his food, and his concept—so she invested and was the only one of the sharks to bite. She did, however, ask for 30% of the company.
Barbara was thanked by Jake for her offer, but 30% was too much for him to yield up, so he countered with 20%. Barbara thought about it for a minute and accepted. So Jake got his $600,000...
In Barbara, he was not only getting an investor but someone who knew how to grow a restaurant and make it very successful for everyone.
The most interesting thing about the pitch of Jake’s proposal was his food, which was a nice blend of Asian cuisine and fast food: it had a hip, urban, street vibe to it that was also cultured and appealing. Jake showed that he had experience, was able to save money and grow his business (Mark commended him for this, in fact). I also found Jake’s enthusiasm to be honest and pleasant and it showed that he was willing to work hard and do a good job. From his pitch, I learned that integrity and authenticity are what really help to sell a product to investors—and Jake had integrity and his food was authentic. His business looked attractive to Barbara who actually knew a good restaurant concept when she saw one, and so she bought in. Undoubtedly, this will be a good investment for her—especially since she walks away with a 20% stake for only $600,000.
If I was an investor, I would have invested in this business prospect—and I especially would have invested (or even doubled my investment) once I saw that Barbara was on board, too. Her background in helping…
