Dare-u-Go!
Dare-u-Go! is a company with a unique product invented by an entrepreneurial mother of two from Los Angeles, CA, that is supposedly designed to help children eat better foods in an easier way. What it looks like is a rubber dog food bowl with three compartments and a spork that is hung around a kid's neck. Not exactly sure how this helps them "eat better foods" but it might be easier in the same way that a feedbag is easier for a horse to eat from. One aspect that is certainly easier for the parents though is that, after the feedbag is removed, the "bib" portion can be wrapped around doggie bowl to seal in whatever kibble hasn't been eaten.
The entrepreneur had formerly appeared on America's Next Top Model before becoming a mother and claims to be an enormous fan of the show. However, she committed full-time to creating the "Bib Bowl" and has been issued a design patent for it.[1]
The Bib Bowl has been on market for three months and has made $100,000 in sales. In fact, parents seem to be... eating it up and Dare-u-Go! made $23,000 in sales in just the last month. Each Bib Bowl costs $2.68 to produce and retails at a suggested price of $22.99, which is claimed to be competitive with other bibs. She claims that the company is currently in talks with three different distributors bidding over exclusive rights to distribute the Bib Bowl.
In terms of investment, the only investment that has been made in Dare-u-Go! thus far is the $250,000 the entrepreneur has put into the business.
This deal aired on Episode 10.17.
Making A Deal
When the entrepreneur begins to talk about the size of the baby products market, Mark accuses her of lying. She was clearly lying, he claimed, because if she had truly watched the show, then she wouldn't have violated the First Rule of Shark Tank by talking about the overall market size and not the real sales she projected to make. Because of this, he goes out.
Mr. Wonderful makes the first real offer of $100,000 in exchange for 15% equity and the other $250,000 as a loan.
Lori believes that the entrepreneur's knowledge on how to run the business is weak and opts to exit the deal.
With Lori out, Kevin revises his deal to $100,000 in exchange for 20% equity, citing the shrinking number of potential offers now available.
Barbara states that she likes the story of the company but that she finds the entrepreneur to be a little scattered. As such, she believes that the entrepreneur needs a partner who can help bring stability. As such, she offers $350,000 in exchange for fully half the company in order to be a full partner.
Kevin, sensing weakness, again revises his offer, this time to $100,000 for 25% equity with the rest as a loan. When Robert declines to make an offer and exits, Kevin brings his offer up to 30% equity.
Barbara changes her offer to $150,000 in exchange for 35% equity with the remaining $200,000 as debt and the entrepreneur, faced with a choice between Kevin and Barbara, chooses Barbara despite the enormous $3,071,429 bite from her initial $3,500,000 valuation[2] and Dare-u-Go! leaves the tank with a deal.
Notes
- ↑ The design patent is Patent No D811,700 for a product simply called "Bib bowl".
- ↑ Just to clarify how things like the company value are calculated on Stats For Sharks, in an Equity/Debt deal like this, only the amount of money exchanged for equity is calculated into the company's valuation. Because $350,000 at 10% equity would have an implied valuation of $3,500,000, a money offer of $100,000 in exchange for 35% can likewise be valued at a total market value of $428,571. This is done, admittedly as a shorthand because, while debt can have an effect on the market value of the company, that can't really be done without knowing the full debt load and, for a private company, it's always difficult to know how private investors would place their value. With cash for stock, however, it's a little bit more clear.