Sabri’s Shark Tank roundup: Why I invested in Get Down even though it has made zero sales

Join Shark Tank Australia shark Sabri Suby for a weekly roundup of each week’s king or queen of the tank, the pitches that were eaten alive, and an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the fishiest tank dynamics.

From vegan ink tattoos to game-changing contraceptives, this week was filled with some mammoth ups and downs in the tank. Dreams were pitched, business battles were fought, and an ‘Uber for laundry’ business became the biggest investment in Shark Tank history. 

EasyTatt Ink co

First in the tank was Pascal from EasyTatt Ink co, which sells vegan ink semi-permanent tattoos. Davie offered Pascal 300,000 as a three-year loan for 30% of the business, which Pascal turned down.

For me, the risk vs reward simply didn’t line up on this one. The lack of print-on-demand was a huge bottleneck I saw in the business’s ability to scale, putting pressure on the business with a lot of cash tied up in inventory. For that reason, I was out. 

Cinnamon Cove

13-year-old best friend duo Myla and Liv were after $80,000 for 30% equity in their tween swimsuit business and walked away with a joint offer from Davie Fogarty and Dr Catriona Wallace who invested the full amount for a 33% share. 

My advice to Myla and Liv? It’s not just about the quality of the products. Cinnamon Cove needs to identify a corner of the market that they can lock in on. They’re entering into a very crowded market, and it will ultimately come down to the quality of their sales and marketing. Fortunately, they’ve got Cat and Davie who can show them how to step around some of the mines up ahead. 

As for when sharks try to rope other sharks into a deal: the show is operating in a free market capitalist environment. Every investor should have the ability to make those decisions for themselves. If you really like it, it really excites you, then you should put your money where your mouth is, and write the cheque yourself.

Chicken ORB

Danielle from Chicken ORB had an interesting product that solved a problem, but ultimately, she fluffed the numbers. When you step into the tank, you need to be laser-focused on your numbers. Business owners should always be — regardless of them pitching or not! If they’re not locked and loaded in the memory bank, you’ve got a huge problem on your hands. Pitching is all about building trust, and it’s impossible to build that trust when your numbers are a mess. For that reason, I was out. 

Get Down

Kat Hanzalek was asking for $160,000 for 20% equity of her female-focused condom brand. I went in with Jane on a joint investment of $160,000 for a 40% equity, with royalties on the first 100,000 units. We made this deal despite the fact that Get Down had not made a single sale. I repeat: Not. A. Single. Sale. 

So why did I still decide to invest? Condoms are a huge, underserved market. Data from the RACPG shows condom use was reported by 47% of Australian women, and yet there is not a single major condom brand marketed to women in Australia. 

It’s an archaic industry with horrible branding, zero copywriting rizz, and cliche stories. Get Down was the exact opposite of the industry standard. I saw a huge gap in the market that I just couldn’t ignore. 

Laundry Lady

Susan Toft from Laundry Lady made history with the biggest investment made in the Shark Tank so far. She initially asked for $750,000 for 10% equity and walked away with Robert’s massive $1 million deal for 30% of the cleaning company.

(L-R) The Laundry Lady CEO Susan Toft, investor Robert Herjavec. Source: Supplied

With the business on a rocket-ship growth trajectory, Robert has a great investment on his hands. For me, though, this one was just too much of a risk to take on. The business model has too much of a reliance on a two-sided marketplace with both the laundry ladies/lads and the customers themselves all needing careful consideration.

As Davie said: I may regret this one in five years, but for right now, I’m out. 

Read more about Shark Tank Australia here.