Deskview
Deskview is a company from Chicago, IL, that makes a new type of desk, specifically for those who work in high-rises with floor to ceiling windows: window desk. It's pretty much exactly what it sounds like. It's a standing desk that is attached to a window via industrial strength suction cups so the worker always has the best view.
These suction cups are serious. The entrepreneurs claim that they can hold onto glass for "years" with "any" kind of weight. To demonstrate, one entrepreneur lifted the other and stood him on the demo desk. And it doesn't have to be attached just to glass. It can be attached to tiles or, really, any non-porous surface where an ordinary suction cup might be able to find purchase. The entrepreneurs claim that the suction cups are the "strongest suction cups in the industry" and their innovation has been to add a housing to them that will support the desk surface.
The Deskview sells for between $235 and $265. Since April 2018, the company has sold 800 units. This has translated into $162,000 in sales in the year to date. In the month in which the Deskview deal was filmed alone, the company booked $100,000 in sales. The Deskview costs $80 per unit landed and they have been working to reduce costs by 25-30%. Deskview is developing a 14" deep version of the product that will retail for $275.
When the sharks comment that $265 seems expensive for a standing desk, the entrepreneurs respond that they actually think it's a bargain given that standing desks often sell for between $500 and $2,000.
Their main sales market, thus far, has been to businesses redesigning their offices.
One entrepreneur was a lawyer before starting Deskview and developed the first eighteen prototypes with $200 in start-up capital. The other entrepreneur was a real estate broker who saw the market potential of the innovation.
Making A Deal
Barbara is the first shark to drop out, stating that she doesn't think companies will allow this in their offices because of the money they spend to design them. Robert, likewise, drops out because he wouldn't use it himself. Mark says that he thinks it would be used more as a compliment to an existing desk and is more likely to be used at home. Presumably he thought the market was too small if that were the case and he drops out as well.
Kevin offers the rare compliment and says that he thinks their direct to consumer model is a good one. He also makes the first offer, giving them $150,000 in exchange for 15% in a rare straight equity deal for Mr. Wonderful.
Lori stated that she didn't see the Deskview as a product people would use as a permanent desk but said that she did like it as a supplemental desk item. However, she objected to the price and wondered aloud whether the entrepreneurs could work to reduce the price. One of the entrepreneurs responded that he thought the Deskview could cost as little as $45 per unit to be produced. Lori seemed satisfied but said that she felt she had to make a "sharky" offer, and so she does: $150,000 at 33.3% equity in the business so she could be a third partner who would go to factories in order to source it even cheaper. She said that she wasn't interested in moving 900 units, she wanted to move 90,000.
Because of Lori's offer, Kevin revises his offer up to 20% equity from the original 15%. This spurs the entrepreneurs to ask if Lori wouldn't lower her offer to 20% as well but she said no because of the value she believed she was bringing to the business.
In the end, the entrepreneurs accepted Mr. Wonderful's offer even though it bit more than half the value from the company at $1,250,000. Whether this ends up being worth it, naturally, depends on how many units the company can move. But it is interesting the Kevin made this a straight equity deal rather than try to place some kind of royalty on it. Unusually for Kevin O'Leary.