S14.E17: Crispy Cones; Chubby Buttons; Autio; Tngnt Ski Bikes

[JTMacc99]

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First into the Tank is a husband and wife from St. Anthony, Idaho, who are revolutionizing soft serve with their twist on a traditional ice cream cone. Next into the Tank are entrepreneurs from New York City who introduce their wearable wireless product designed to help control your phone safely while on the move; while an entrepreneur from Santa Barbara, California, brings the Sharks on a trip with his smart application designed to take travel to the next level. Last into the Tank are entrepreneurs from Salt Lake City who present their innovative high-performance equipment designed for avid winter enthusiasts to shred down a resort run.

  

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In a Shark Tank update, Mikaila Ulmer from Austin, Texas, updates us on Bee Sweet Lemonade, her business thriving in sales after securing a deal with Daymond John.  

The Sharks in this episode are Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec and Kevin O'Leary.

 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Sharks-Kevin, Robert, Lori, Barbara, Kevin

Crispy Cones-soft ice cream franchise with rotisserie grilled cones.  I don’t see the attraction.   I like waffle cones.  Freshly made rotisserie cones, covered in cinnamon and sugar, made to order. Different spreads, ice cream, and sauces.    Kevin says it tastes like a donut.  Started in a tent by the road, then a trailer.  Projected to $500k this year.  Opened storefronts in Utah, and now Idaho.  Cost $1.50 to make and sells for $7.50.   The rotisserie is a little three slot device.   They’re opening 3 franchises in Arizona soon.    Mark and Robert say it’s too early to franchise, and they need more experience.   Kevin goes out too. Lori goes out too, and dislikes the franchise model.   Leaving only Barbara.

Barbara offers $200k for 20%.    Barbara makes the deal.

Chubby Buttons-wearable wireless for controlling your blue tooth device with gloves on, or while busy with something else.  You connect your phone via Bluetooth, slide the wristband with the big buttons, and you can control your phone easily.   Everyone else dropped out, but Kevin makes a royalty offer. 

No deal.

Autio-a newly rebranded travel story telling app, aimed for road trips.  Kevin Costner is an investor.  He wants $1 million for 5%, so 20 million valuation.    Mobile entertainment app that tells you about the location your’re going next to.   They have 9,000 stories, with a variety of famous narrators, like Kevin Costner.    There’s a free app, with five free stories, and for $36 a year for a subscription.   They have the #1 podcast and broadcast company is an investor, AAA is contracted with them.  They have 15,000 paid subscribers, and 500,000 downloads.  No Shark likes the valuation of $20 million.   Kevin offers $1 million for 15%.   Seller and Kevin negotiate.

No deal.

Tngnt Ski Bikes (pronounced Tangent)-a mountain ski bike.    They want $200k for 20% equity in their company.  The ski bike was actually invented in 1949.  So, mountain bike enthusiasts can ride in the winter.   Gravity powered.   They've been selling these for 6 years.   $500k, over 6 years, and are selling well in 2022, and 2023.    Kevin asks if they can ski at all ski resorts?   There are competing products.  120 U.S. resorts allow the bikes, and 200 more overseas.   The competing bikes are $6k and up, and the closest price competitor doesn't have a patent, that Tngnt does.   Bikes are about $1500, cost $500 to make.  They do on-mountain rentals too. 

Mark suggest they join with the two competitors, and join to promote the bikes.  Barbara says the ski lift seats are an issue, taking the bike up the mountain will take up the lift.  Robert makes an offer, and will hook them up with his friend that's an Olympic Gold Medalist in a winter sport (Shaun White), who may be interested in joining with them. $200k for 40% is Robert's offer, and it's contingent.   I wonder if Shaun White or another spokesperson coming on board is part of the contingency, so Robert will give that person half of his shares, and the name and logo will definitely have to change.  You actually have to sign a liability waiver to buy the bikes.  They used to have a tricycle configuration for ski bikes, called the ski bob. 

Robert makes the deal, at 40%.    I'm wondering if this deal will actually close after due diligence, and if the logo and name change will work to increase business.    At least I think that's the contingent offer, but since I only went off of articles, I'm not sure. (My viewing station actually lost signal for a few minutes at the end of the show, thunderstorms).     

Update:  Bee Sweet Lemonade, now called Me and the Bees.   I can’t believe Mikaila Ulmer is 18 now, and going to Emory University!  She was only 9 when she appeared on Shark Tank.    Investor was Daymond John.    They’ve contributed $250k to bee saving organizations.  

Edited March 19, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[tired and hungry]

Crispy Cones was a good product. If they post their stuff online they can surely get lot of views like those instagram/tiktok popular foods. A lot of people would be interested in trying those. But they could get knocked off easily by a lot of other brands.

Chubby Buttons definitely has some uses but overall product was just meh.

Autio guy didn't really need a shark since he was already having such big deals outside the tank. It's a good app for people who travel a lot.

Tngnt - OMG! That Name and Logo! I'm glad they addressed it! Both were horrible!!! They could have just named it Tangent, but they had to be cool and remove the vowels. Those 2 G's on the logo made no sense!! Also, I wonder why they picked a regular bike frame to integrate with skis instead of a frame from maybe a mountain bike. The bicycle part of it seemed a little too janky.. Agreed with Barbara, it takes up space. Maybe they can make a foldable version as well. The founders seemed like two regular ol' Joe's who didn't know a lot about having a business. They definitely need a lot of help. They are lucky they got a deal with Robert and doubly lucky that he's friend's with a winter sports olympian..

Edited March 18, 2023 by tired and hungry

[seacliffsal]

I think the chubby button would do really well in nursing homes and with people who are suffering mobility issues-and this is an ever expanding market.  I think it would have been a good investment (any type of activity in which one's hands are dirty, in gloves, etc., [gardening, mechanics, etc.]).

I really didn't like the autio presenter or product.  It's probably just me, but I think researching/reading about the areas to which I am traveling is part of the fun.  He basically took one of the old AAA Tour Books and created software for it (by the way, AAA no longer print their tour books but now offer them via-you guessed it-an app [but I don't think it's an audio app]).

Robert was the best shark for the ski bikes as if he can make a sporting product work, he will.  I don't know about the potential market for this though, I could see a lot of accidents (at least initially).

[DrSpaceman73]

I like the ice cream cone idea. If it was near me I'd go. But I agree it may be too early to franchise.  I'd stay small and focus on growth.  Franchises you have to spread out watch for eating up your own markets. 

I like the deal the ski bike guys made because that's what they need to grow the business. More exposure. And a better logo amd name.  Very amateurish but then that's what they are literally. Cuban was right too 3 companies that small should work together so they all grow. Or just merge with the other company that was Making similarly priced products. The 3rd was more high priced. 

Was chubby button proprietary?  Seems like it could be knocked off easily. Also seems they are missing markets by focus on just skiing certain sports.  

That auto guy thought it was boring. Didn't seem like a huge amount of material.  And sounds like stuff you could find on Wikipedia or online.   If you're alone sure maybe but a yearly fee for that?   And why was the valuation so high?   $20 million for an npr-esque app to read random snippets as you drive?

 

 

[eel21788]

11 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I really didn't like the autio presenter or product.  It's probably just me, but I think researching/reading about the areas to which I am traveling is part of the fun.  

I drove from one end of this country to the other many, many times back in the days before we had internet, cell towers or any other of this technology. I did just fine without having an ap narrating to me about where I was going.

With 500K in downloads only generating 15K in subscriptions, that is only 3% of the people listening to their 5 free stories who want to pay the $36 a year to continue listening. That also makes his lifetime sales $540K total. Where the hell did he come up with a $20million valuation, and why did he think he needed a $1million investment? The guy had serious delusions of grandeur. 

[Tango64]

The ice cream cone thing seemed like too much. At first I thought the cone looks interesting and tasty, but then they put sauce on the inside, ice cream, toppings, cookies, and more sauce. 
The glutton in me said yes but only tentatively. The adult in me shuddered at how many calories and how much sugar that must be. 
It reminds me of that recent craze for gourmet cupcakes, which were cupcakes with ridiculous heaps of frosting and toppings. I love the frosting on a cupcake, but even fat me has limits. After a visit or two to those places, it was just gross. 

[DrSpaceman73]

13 hours ago, Tango64 said:

The ice cream cone thing seemed like too much. At first I thought the cone looks interesting and tasty, but then they put sauce on the inside, ice cream, toppings, cookies, and more sauce. 
The glutton in me said yes but only tentatively. The adult in me shuddered at how many calories and how much sugar that must be. 
It reminds me of that recent craze for gourmet cupcakes, which were cupcakes with ridiculous heaps of frosting and toppings. I love the frosting on a cupcake, but even fat me has limits. After a visit or two to those places, it was just gross. 

I think you underestimate the gluttonous nature of the average American.  

[aemom]

Crispy Cones: I like ice cream, but I consider it a very occasional treat for myself.  I prefer it in a bowl because I don't want the extra calories of a cone.  And then they come up with this! To me, the cone is a dessert in and of itself, and reminds me of a classic Beaver Tail: https://beavertails.com/products/  Definitely not for me.

Chubby Buttons: Is it really so hard for people to put their phone away for a few hours while they go skiing?  Most people don't need to be at someone's beck and call all the time.  Maybe I'm just getting old and grumpy.

Autio: Interesting idea, but I think that you'd need a lot more stories to be successful and the valuation was insane at the present time.

Tngnt Ski Bikes: Robert is the right Shark for them and hopefully they close the deal.  Interesting product, but definitely not for me.

Bee Sweet Lemonade update:  I don't remember this pitch, but she seemed delightful and I'm glad that she's doing well and encouraging other young people.

[DrSpaceman73]

Just an aside....my wife hates ice cream cones because she feels stressed trying to eat the cone snd ice cream before it melts.  Likes to take her time. 

[Kenz]

Am I just old and super cautious, but does the ski bike look a little too dangerous? I don't like the thought of the equipment tangling me up when I crash on the ski slope.

[LuvMyShows]

On 3/18/2023 at 7:07 AM, tired and hungry said:

Tngnt - OMG! That Name and Logo! I'm glad they addressed it! Both were horrible!!! They could have just named it Tangent, but they had to be cool and remove the vowels. Those 2 G's on the logo made no sense!! Also, I wonder why they picked a regular bike frame to integrate with skis instead of a frame from maybe a mountain bike. The bicycle part of it seemed a little too janky.. Agreed with Barbara, it takes up space. Maybe they can make a foldable version as well. The founders seemed like two regular ol' Joe's who didn't know a lot about having a business. They definitely need a lot of help. They are lucky they got a deal with Robert and doubly lucky that he's friend's with a winter sports olympian..

I took a look at the website.  Same logo, same name, and no Shaun White.  Wonder if the deal fell through.  If it did, they apparently decided to ignore the Sharks' (very correct) advice.

On 3/20/2023 at 12:09 PM, Kenz said:

Am I just old and super cautious, but does the ski bike look a little too dangerous? I don't like the thought of the equipment tangling me up when I crash on the ski slope.

I would have thought it would have some time of a wider base or legs, to help with the center of gravity.

On 3/18/2023 at 9:51 AM, seacliffsal said:

I think the chubby button would do really well in nursing homes and with people who are suffering mobility issues-and this is an ever expanding market.  I think it would have been a good investment (any type of activity in which one's hands are dirty, in gloves, etc., [gardening, mechanics, etc.]).

Great idea about gardening!  I am considering buying this because I detest trying to tap my ear for controls, even if I'm just sitting around doing nothing.