This week on Shark Tank Australia, there’s a trail bike, whoop-de-doos talk, and a pitch from a confident bloke who doesn’t need the money. What? Really? Yes, really.
Pre-pitch small talk always delivers. When Shark Rob Herjavec sees the first pitch has something to do with trail bikes, he needs to tell us that raced cars for many years. Of course, he did.
“Oh yeah, at a very high level until I started crashing them all.”
With that, the current hosts of Australian Top Gear are on notice.
Solestream’s Rick Soley rides in on a trail bike. This is how all pitches must start. The only better way to start a pitch is to ride in on a camel. Rob-Gear is ecstatic.
Solestream is a “game-changing hydration system”. You press a red button on your motorbike handlebars or on a steering wheel and water jets into your mouth.
Rick came up with the idea while racing motocross. You can’t risk taking your hand off the handlebars, and this is when the technical language kicks in: “They’ve got whoops that are this deep, that they’re driving through …”
What’s a whoop, someone asks. He explains that whoops are a wave of small jumps that a rider has to ride over…. Whoop…whoop…whoop de doo!
Rob-Gear loves this but he needs to tell us he raced cars… again. When he did, he had a tank of water he’d suck at through a hose.
But the pitch speed wobbles. Total sales of only $70,000 and the founders have spent $750,000 on it already. It’s a battle to get the $250,000 for a 20% stake they want.
$750,000 is a lot and nobody thinks there’s money in this business. Top Gear Rob even begs them to stop putting money into it.
Rick and co-founder Jodie take the fall but vow to ride on.
Backstage, Brooke from Marrowz is nervous. “You got this, we got this. We can do it,” she urges her pitch partner, Sam the Schnauzer.
Marrowz is a healthy marrow-based chew for dogs that Brooke invented during lockdown. It works like chewing gum. Each chew is handmade by workers with disability and she wants $200,000 for a 10% stake.
Brooke’s not like the smooth-talking Sharks and many of the contestants on this show – she’s much more comfortable in the factory. But we quickly learn Brooke is an incredible SME owner – $305,000 in her first year, and $1 million projected in the next.
It’s all through word of mouth. Brooke has spent zero dollars on advertising and social media. She had to take down her Facebook page in 2021 because she couldn’t keep up with demand.
The Sharks howl at the moon.
Brooke says the fire comes from her ADHD and that she’s been battling cancer throughout the business’ life. She’s cancer-free now and woweee, this is a ridiculously good SME story.
Shark Jane Lu thinks Marrowz should be on social media but isn’t sure if it’s the right path for Brooke so she’s out. True, why hand over tens of thousands to Meta and digital consultants when you’re already hitting it out of the park?
Davie Fogarty cites his own ADHD and wonders whether “they are using it as a superpower, or are they letting it make them lose focus? You are so focused”. He loves dogs too, so he offers $200,000 for a 25% stake.
Nick Bell says he knows how to scale business. He offers $200,000 for 25%. Once the money is paid back, his stake would go down to 20%.
Brooke goes with Davie. It’s a beautiful, teary moment.
Kings of Neon design and make neon signs. It’s sold 30,000 to some of the world’s biggest brands, and $6.7 million in sales last year lights the Sharks up.
Steve, the King of Neon, asks for $300,000 for a 3% – yes, a 3% stake. The Sharks love his audacity.
We find out that 15% of the company is owned by his first employee, a bloke called Mark. The Sharks hate the potential of owning less of the business than the IT guy does.
Then this episode’s mic drop.
“To be honest, I don’t need the money!” says Steve.
Huh? What? Mate!? What are you talking about?
Instead, he wants the Sharks’ expertise. The Sharks start swimming away.
Top Gear Rob sees that Steve is a great salesman and without Steve, it’s just a production business in a saturated market.
Nick knows lead generation and that’s what Steve needs. He offers $300,000 for a 20% stake.
Steve counters with $300,000 for 6%. Nick goes down to 17%. Steve refuses, and politely walks out.
“Man, you got guts!” Rob cries.
Emma Clegg and Molly Rogers came up with the idea of their accessible clothing brand while they were working in disability support. Go to their website to see that you can shop depending on your specific needs.
Helping their strong pitch were models, Jatima and Digby, who showed off clothes designed for their own needs. Digby proudly showed off a linen shirt with magnetic buttons that just snapped on and satisfyingly snapped off with a flourish. Genius!
The founders want $100,000 for a 10% stake. The Sharks’ consensus is that the clothes are too cheap – the jacket is $159, which seems reasonable compared to similar clothes in the big chains.
Rob thinks they should be more than $300-$400. Where do you shop, Rob?
The founders’ response to that is perfect.
“I don’t think it’d be fair for someone who, just because they have difficulty with buttons, to then have to pay three times the price. People with disabilities should have the same amount of options and the same ability to go out and buy a shirt, just like I can.”
Meanwhile, Maxine thinks they need a ‘mindset change’.
Davie’s out and Nick says he would offer $100,000 for an 80% stake but he knows they won’t accept. He’s out too.
Showpo founder Jane loves it but no more fashion for her.
Out of nowhere, Maxine offers $100,000 for 50% and the founders eventually take it.
“I’m going to whip them into shape,” Maxine announces.
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