S12.E09: Electra; ALL33; His and Her Bar; Trophy Smack

[JTMacc99]

Quote

Electra; healthier sports hydration drink filled with fruity flavors and none of the processed additives of a typical sports drink, ALL33; chair made to fix back posture to avoid back pain, His and Her Bar; lifestyle aphrodisiac snack bar, Trophy Smack; customizable fantasy trophies usable for props, parties, or events 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

The Electra Sports Drink woman was so charismatic, and had a great product.   I'm glad she got a deal, and I think Barbara will be a great partner for her.   Too bad Mark didn't want to join in with that too.

All33 fitness chair, lots of competition, very full market for office chairs/ergonomic chairs, and I'm not surprised he didn't get a deal.     

The His & Her Aphrodisiac bar.    I'm not surprised they didn't get a deal, and I hate sob stories.  I don't know what his story was, because when the tears fall, I reach for the mute button.    

Trophy Smack, very unique, and great business, with great margins.   Mark will be a wonderful partner for them.  

Edited January 9, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[basiltherat]

Not meaning to be cruel, but I cannot see Crying Michael in a high-stress job like a fireman.  Glad for everyone's sake that he didn't pass the test. 

[mjc570]

Man, I think Shark Tank has jumped the shark,  I've bought (and liked) lots of products over the years, but this was pretty awful. I don't know if I'm going to waste my time watching this any more.   In no particular order:

Electra: As a woman and the mother of a daughter, I am a huge supporter of women's sports generally and the WNBA in particular, but I recognize that being a professional BB player is not the same for a woman in a lot of ways. Yes, I'm sure that woman is an elite athlete with a strong competitive streak, but the product was just a generic sports drink (almost all of them taste good), her marketing plan was horrendous (take the laundry detergent approach, and sell in bottles for direct sales, if she could get shelf space, and develop a formulation for on-line sales where the consumer adds their own water), it was completely premature.  And what was her catchphrase, something about grabbing ass?

The Sex candy: I thought this was a joke pitch, given the poor quality product and packaging, the whackadoodle couple, the crying (fake at that), the complete lack of any business sense.  I really wish the Sharks had called them out on the crying.  And the rock. And the tell them another story. 

The office chair: I don't know anything about this market (I am sitting in the same crappy chair I've used for years, with no ergonomic benefit whatsoever) but the chair looked good to me,  I don't know why the guy didn't get a deal, but they seemed to really take against him.  I wonder if there was a lot edited out.  

The trophy stuff - this could have been done in two minutes (especially if they gave the other sharks a bathroom break) , they intro the product, Mark makes a deal and they accept.  

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, basiltherat said:

Not meaning to be cruel, but I cannot see Crying Michael in a high-stress job like a fireman.  Glad for everyone's sake that he didn't pass the test. 

He said he was a fireman but was let go from the job because he didn’t fit in, IIRC. What does that mean anyway? From the Sharks’ reactions, it seemed as if that product was too spicy hot.

[Vermicious Knid]

I knew as soon as the dancing and singing started they were going to be toast. Was the literal sob story he had a brain tumor? And then it wasn't followed up at all. He needs a read job with health insurance if so. Can't stand Bieber so my response would have been I'm out just for that. My company some years back invested in pricey, ergonomic chairs that required an instructor to come in and show us how to work them. I never found it comfortable. Moved to another department for a while and the old, battered, fake leather chair was so much better.

Can totally see pretend jocks winning fantasy leagues and ordering a custom trophy to lord over their friends. Hell, I can see someone doing it for finishing a D&D campaign. This one has legs.

[nlkm9]

What was truly pathetic is the wife saying “ tell them the story” as if she thought him revealing he had a brain anuerysm would change the outcome . I truly felt sorry for him but was also embarassed for him at same time . I too would like to know more about him not “ fitting in” at his fire Dept . I do wish them the best though, he seems very fragile

[TVbitch]

My group of friends have a weekly online poker tournament, and I took my old tennis trophy and glued a poker chip where the little gold guy was holding up a raquet. It's brilliant and has been the source of a lot of laughs. Everybody wants their name on that trophy. 

Anuerysm guy's cry was dry, but he did look devastated as he realized all the Sharks were going out. That couple is making one bad decision after another and seem to be in some kind of magical thinking place. Kevin is always the one to interrupt the sob stories.... "Okay look, you are not ready for an investor." 

 

[Koalagirl]

I was really annoyed by that guy’s feeble attempt to sway the Sharks with his tears.  Lori looked like she was buying it for a hot minute but the rest of them were definitely over it.  It’s one thing if you have a product that’s going to cure cancer but theirs was laughable.  And if you really have a brain aneurysm why the hell are you even putting yourself in such a stressful situation trying to pitch your product, not to mention doing it during Covid (even with safety protocols).

Edited January 9, 2021 by Koalagirl

[basiltherat]

Chair:  If Beebs likes it so much, let HIM invest.  Also, Sharks didn't trust the spokesdude not because they didn't like him, but because he only owned 5% and how do the sharks know if the "inventor" owns the rest and just how many others own a piece and who makes the decisions.  Its just too muddy.  

[DrSpaceman73]

I hated all these but the trophy guys.  Good idea and sounds like they can make them quicker and more unique, customized rather than generic looking things.  

Sports drink .....too many competitors and selling online?   No one is going to order them online.  She will get crushed.  

That chair.....$800 because it's supposedly better for your back somehow?  You know like every other chair also claims.  No thanks

 

And those two with the aphrodisiac bars?  Not joking that guy probably has some mental problems. For one his stories went nowhere and seemed unrelated to the questions asked.  Not good for business to go off on tangents unrelated to the question.  Second, seriously who the hell is going to buy that at $4 a bar?   That's her great idea?  Go back and try something else.  They seemed very naive and inexperienced.  

Awful show. 

[theatremouse]

Herman Miller Aeron is pretty much the gold standard office chair, and the All33 chair's price was in line with that. So I've got no issue with the chair's price. I also thought it was weird they were dismissive of him about the 5% thing because he said he's the CEO. It's not odd to me that the CEO would be in charge of the pitch. I have no idea if it actually works or is a good product but those two beefs struck me as a bit odd.

The aphrodisiac couple embarrassed themselves from beginning to end. Their performance was like a bad high-school group project sketch. Then once they spoke they kept making it worse.

[seacliffsal]

The His/Her bar couple seem to believe the "I'll come up with a million dollar idea" trope and forget that, no, not every idea will be successful or worth a million dollars.  When the wife said that everyone told her that she was crazy, delusional, etc., she had pride in her tone that she refused to listen to them.  My father (and his father before him) was a firefighter and there is an essential element of effectively working together so I was very interested in his story about failing the test, being hired, and then being released (unless he was released from the fire academy and never actually hired-his stories were a bit confusing). I feel bad for them and the issues that they seem to consistently face, but perhaps they need to take a moment and reflect and/or seek help rather than just run to the next idea.

I was not impressed with the sports drink presentation/product.  We have seen so many of these presentations over the years.

I did like the idea of the sports fantasy trophies and think they will be a strong business.

[KaveDweller]

22 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

He said he was a fireman but was let go from the job because he didn’t fit in, IIRC. What does that mean anyway? From the Sharks’ reactions, it seemed as if that product was too spicy hot.

I think it means everyone hated him and complained about him to their boss.

He said he was a fireman, but then he talked about failing the test. I guess he eventually passed. I do feel bad about his health issues, but he is not owed a deal for that. I hate when people cry to try and get a deal.

8 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Herman Miller Aeron is pretty much the gold standard office chair, and the chair's price was in line with that. So I've got no issue with the chair's price. I also thought it was weird they were dismissive of him about the 5% thing because he said he's the CEO. It's not odd to me that the CEO would be in charge of the pitch. I have no idea if it actually works or is a good product but those two beefs struck me as a bit odd.

I remember another product where the person pitching wasn't the majority owner, and the Sharks were not happy about that either.  It does seem kind of strange that if you are the majority owner you would not show up for the Shark Tank pitch, even if you let someone else do most of the talking. 

I liked the energy drink woman, even if he product didn't seem like anything special. I was impressed that when Mark told her she had no choice but to accept Barbara's offer, and she told him she always had a choice.

[eel21788]

15 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I did like the idea of the sports fantasy trophies and think they will be a strong business.

In our current Participation Trophy World, they have hit goldmine.

[eel21788]

On 1/8/2021 at 9:45 PM, mjc570 said:

The Sex candy: I thought this was a joke pitch, given the poor quality product and packaging, the whackadoodle couple, the crying (fake at that), the complete lack of any business sense.  I really wish the Sharks had called them out on the crying.  And the rock. And the tell them another story. 

More and more, I keep thinking people are dying to get on Snark Tank (sarcasm, not a typo), so they decide to invent something just to get themselves on TV, rather than have a real existing business that needs the help of the snarks. These people were a beautiful example of that. I think their logic was, "We have a killer sob story, so all we have to do is get our feet in the tank, and then we'll be the next rags to riches story. The snarks and viewers love that. Now what can we 'invent'?" Kevin should have told them to take it behind the barn and shoot it. 

ETA: I checked out their website. 1) It is full of typos (what can you expect from people who can't even get the name of their product grammatically correct: It should be "His and Hers," or, "Him and Her.")  2) They make all kinds of health claims with no research to back it up. 3) There is no option to buy fewer than 12 bars, so you can't even find out if you like the taste before you have to spend a lot of money with no offer of a satisfaction guaranteed or your money back. 4) They have already tried to cover pretty much every social media platform for other reasons before starting this "business." I think my supposition about they haven't validated themselves until they made it to television, too was pretty accurate 5) I seriously think her marketing degree may have been nothing more than a participation trophy. 6) I have an inherent distrust for people who claim to be superior because they are vegan.

Further editing: 7) They claim their bars are shelf stable; however, they add to their costs by shipping them with ice packs and recommend they be kept refrigerated. That sounds like a big contradiction to me.

Edited January 11, 2021 by eel21788

[bilgistic]

I got the distinct feeling that the "His & Her Bar" guy is a gay man and he was let go from the firehouse because he "didn't get along" with his coworkers, i.e., his bigoted coworkers/chief didn't want to work with him.

Their product was stupid. The logo was stupid (cursive for women!). They were annoying with their "rapping". If he was a firefighter, he is most likely also an EMT and would have no trouble getting a job right now/eight months ago/when this was filmed.

I hated the trophy crap. Trophy companies have existed since people began playing sports. (Well, not exactly, but you get the point.) There are also companies that make corporate "trophies" to celebrate buildings sold, best salesperson, etc. I had to order such trophies when I worked in commercial real estate. This company isn't doing anything new or better. I can't believe they got a deal.

Meh to the chair. I would've thrown the guy and his chair out of the tank as soon as he showed Justin Bieber using it.

Edited January 10, 2021 by bilgistic

[Cotypubby]

1 hour ago, bilgistic said:

I got the distinct feeling that the "His & Her Bar" guy is a gay man and he was let go from the firehouse because he "didn't get along" with his coworkers, i.e., his bigoted coworkers/chief didn't want to work to work with him

I had the exact same feeling. Plus the over-the-top performative display of all the tons of sexy-times they’re for sure having together. Their whole routine felt very fake. “I cried and said I had a brain aneurysm, why aren’t they throwing money at me??!”

I think overall this was one of the worst episodes ever. The sports drink was dumb and no different from the 100s of other sports drinks already on the market. To me that lady came across as a huckster. She had no business plan of how to actually get shelf space other than “I always win and I’m coming to get that ass!” as if that is supposed to mean something. And notice how worried she started to look when Barbara said she had to get one of the sponsors for the deal to go through. She knows she isn’t getting any sponsor, that deal is going to implode, I would bet on it. 
 

The chair seemed like a good product, but for $799 fuck that, and that guy only owned 5% so they couldn’t even negotiate with him. And having Bieber as a spokesman makes me like it even less. 
 

Sports trophy guys seemed like a couple of douchey dude-bros. Guess they found a good partner in Mark but that’s a boring product for a stupid niche market. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Cotypubby

[aemom]

On 1/8/2021 at 10:11 PM, basiltherat said:

Not meaning to be cruel, but I cannot see Crying Michael in a high-stress job like a fireman.  Glad for everyone's sake that he didn't pass the test. 

He did at some point because he was later let go as a firefighter. 

On 1/9/2021 at 2:30 AM, Vermicious Knid said:

Was the literal sob story he had a brain tumor?

Brain anuerysm.  And I know someone who survived a brain anuerysm with no ill effects which is uncommon. But I did not understand what he was talking about when he said that he was still going through it. Perhaps counseling or something, but he didn't seem to have any lasting physical issues because he was dancing all over the stage and had no speech impediment. 

On 1/9/2021 at 7:20 AM, nlkm9 said:

I truly felt sorry for him but was also embarassed for him at same time . I too would like to know more about him not “ fitting in” at his fire Dept . I do wish them the best though, he seems very fragile

I felt the same way.

On 1/9/2021 at 11:32 AM, basiltherat said:

Chair:  If Beebs likes it so much, let HIM invest.

Hee.

I confess that as someone who is currently nursing another instance of my back going out, I would love a chance to sit in the chair to see if it's worth all the fuss.

2 hours ago, eel21788 said:

In our current Participation Trophy World, they have hit goldmine.

I just had a conversation about this two days ago. I was trying to figure out why as a society it seems to be such a struggle to get everyone to do what is needed for the greater good (masks, stay home, etc.) Why are people being so selfish? The thought was that we have raised a bunch of kids to think that everyone's a winner and that we can have and do everything we want at all times. All those participation trophies...

I'm not really surprised that their business is doing well, because people do seem to love winning and lording it over people.

[DEL901]

18 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

The His/Her bar couple seem to believe the "I'll come up with a million dollar idea" trope and forget that, no, not every idea will be successful or worth a million dollars.  When the wife said that everyone told her that she was crazy, delusional, etc., she had pride in her tone that she refused to listen to them. 

She doesn’t get the difference between persistence with a good idea and throwing good money after bad.   It is like on American Idol and other competition shows where people think wanting something badly is enough.  Or working hard is enough.  Both are part of success, but so is talent (or in this case, a good idea) and a little luck.   

Personally, I also blame Erin Brocovich (or the folks that made the movie) for this. She fought the naysayers and saved lives and got rich.  I saw her speak a decade ago.  She truly is an idiot who got lucky.  She had nothing of value to say and when a woman asked for guidance on a fight she was involved in, Erin just said to ignore the experts and go with her gut.  Erin actually won her case because she found evidence produced by experts that the water was contaminated.  Without that, she wouldn’t have gotten anywhere.  It wasn’t the experts who were at fault, it was the greedy corporate executives who suppressed the experts evidence.   Anyway, sorry for the rant, but I have when people “go with their gut” when science, common sense etc. Are involved. Sexy bar folks were ignoring everyone and everything but their gut that they had a million $$ idea.  

[eel21788]

oops! see above.

Edited January 11, 2021 by eel21788

[Jax7917]

The aphrodisiac couple thought the sob story would get the sharks to change their minds , but I’m pretty sure it just made them happier with their decisions not to invest . The wife saying , “ tell your story “ was ridiculous . He has a small brain aneurysm and got fired from being a fire(haha get it)man because he wasn’t fitting in with the other guys which most likely meant that he was difficult to get along with . Great . How is this selling yourself to the sharks ? 
There have been a lot of people who didn’t get deals on the show who went on to make a lot of money because they had charisma and were confident and didn’t make excuses for everything . And then there’s these two 😳 

[dmeets]

20 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

And notice how worried she started to look when Barbara said she had to get one of the sponsors for the deal to go through. She knows she isn’t getting any sponsor, that deal is going to implode, I would bet on it. 

I love that Barbara called her bluff and made it a contingency on the entire deal. If she had so many potential sponsors lining up that she'll get to choose her favorite, why leave that info out until it was time to negotiate stake in the company? Yeah, somehow I doubt we'll be seeing this product in a future "after the tank" segment.

Could have gone my entire life without hearing Mark Cuban say "NOW who's gettin' that ass?"

[aemom]

4 hours ago, dmeets said:

Could have gone my entire life without hearing Mark Cuban say "NOW who's gettin' that ass?"

These are supposed to be professional business pitches.  Who would say that in a business meeting?

 

What else I never needed to hear: Barbara talk about having her last sexual thought thirty years ago.  I don't need to know about the sexual thoughts or activities of ANY of the sharks.  EVER.

[hula-la]

On 1/10/2021 at 1:24 PM, aemom said:

I just had a conversation about this two days ago. I was trying to figure out why as a society it seems to be such a struggle to get everyone to do what is needed for the greater good (masks, stay home, etc.) Why are people being so selfish? The thought was that we have raised a bunch of kids to think that everyone's a winner and that we can have and do everything we want at all times. All those participation trophies...

I'm not really surprised that their business is doing well, because people do seem to love winning and lording it over people.

I am so not their target market. I dance, and in pre-pandemic days, did a bunch of dance competitions. My group is all adults. We didn't want the medals that we would get, and when we got trophies, we had to convince someone to go on stage and get it, because we knew it meant getting it engraved, and that was work no-one wanted to do.

[Vanderboom]

On 1/9/2021 at 2:01 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

And those two with the aphrodisiac bars?  Not joking that guy probably has some mental problems. For one his stories went nowhere and seemed unrelated to the questions asked.  Not good for business to go off on tangents unrelated to the question.  Second, seriously who the hell is going to buy that at $4 a bar?   That's her great idea?  Go back and try something else.  They seemed very naive and inexperienced.  

I was wondering how those two even ended up in front of the Sharks. The idea doesn't sound good, and neither of them were convincing. They should've been weeded out by production.  And this is on a show that gave money to wine for cats.

[Vermicious Knid]

One half of the sports trophy guys used to work at TMZ.

[lh25]

I might be done with Shark Tank, it's feeling too repetitive and the products often don't interest me.  Like tonight.  1)Mark makes an offer but threatens to retract it if they don't jump on it right now!  2)Sob story that had nothing to do with the pitch.  3)People thinking a maybe decent idea was a business.  And throw in an endorsement from some celeb with no expertise in the area.

[JTMacc99]

6 hours ago, lh25 said:

I might be done with Shark Tank, it's feeling too repetitive and the products often don't interest me.  Like tonight.  1)Mark makes an offer but threatens to retract it if they don't jump on it right now!  2)Sob story that had nothing to do with the pitch.  3)People thinking a maybe decent idea was a business.  And throw in an endorsement from some celeb with no expertise in the area.

I think there will still be great ideas or great entrepreneurs (turns out, I don't know how to spell entrepreneur by the way) that will make this show worth watching.  I will say this, however, I barely made it through the introduction of this episode without thinking "I'm not watching this one."

All I needed to see in the first 30 seconds were clips of energy drink pitch, somebody with $2,000 of sales, and hysterical sobbing guy. If Shark Tank was trying to get ME excited about what was about to happen, that was the opposite of what they needed to do.