Rapid Rope
Rapid Rope is a company/product from Eagle, ID, that is... well... exactly what it says, actually. It's rope in a package from which it can be dispensed... rapidly. The husband and wife entrepreneurs behind this "ingenius" product demonstrate with a pseudo-zombie invasion scenario where they quickly bind a zombie. (They do not, however, shoot it in the head which everyone knows should be the next step.)
The entrepreneurs behind Rapid Rope have designed a "rapid rope dispensing system" with a top that will cut off the rope where it's at with a quick tearing motion. Each package contains 120-feet of rope rated at 120-pounds carrying weight, which is stronger than it sounds when doubled up. For instance, the rope that the entrepreneurs demonstrated, and that the sharks found simple to cut, was able to lift a shed in a demonstration video.
Since Rapid Rope launched two years befoe, the company has had $172,000 in lifetime sales. Though not exactly "on fire", the entrepreneurs explain that sales weren't what they should have been because their adopted son had health issues that wouldn't allow them to quit their jobs with health insurance and go full time on the product.
60% of Rapid Rope's sales have been retail and the remaining 40% have been direct to consumer online. Each Rapid Rope roll costs $5.65 per unit to manufacture in the United States, wholesales for $14.97, and retails for $24.95.
In terms of investment, all that has been put into the company is the $115,000 the entrepreneurs invested of their own money. Additionally, the business is debt free.
Making A Deal
Lori doesn't waste any time dropping out, stating that she just doesn't know how to "blow up" rope. Kevin, likewise, has the same problem. And while Mark seems to really like the entrepreneurs, he says that he's just not an outdoorsy guy and is also out.
A lot of the sharks, in fact, seem to have trouble understanding how to sell rope. Guest shark Rohan Oza states that he thinks the entrepreneurs are living the "American Dream", and since they just did a charity run for a charity he contributes to he'd be happy to sponsor them $10,000 the next time they do it, but that he just doesn't know what to do with the product.
Lastly, there was Barbara, who also said that she knew nothing about rope. But she said that she did live the entrepreneurs and that the best deals she ever made were with entrepreneurs that she loved, citing specifically Grace & Lace[1] Therefore, she makes an offer of $200,000 in exchange for 30% with the contingency that she will discuss with the entrepreneurs the best way to spend that money.
The entrepreneurs attempt to split the difference between their original 20% and Barbara's 30% offer at 25% but Barbara refuses to budge, stating that she doesn't love them "that much."
In the end, the entrepreneurs accept Barbara's offer and the 33% bite is does to their value but, it seems almost certain having Barbara on board will more than make up for this temporary dip in value.
Notes
- ↑ Grace & Lace was a deal that Barbara made back in season five. In this episode, she stated that, since her investment, the company had reached $46,000,000 in sales and had opened 12 orphanages and two schools in Africa.