S08.E23: Thompson Tee, Wallet Buckle, Rumi Spice, Peoples Design

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

U.S. Army veterans from Chicago hope to empower farmers in a war-torn country by helping them cultivate and harvest saffron. Other pitches include an undershirt that prevents embarrassing sweat stains; a belt buckle that doubles as a wallet; and a multipurpose mixing bowl with a unique spout. Also: a follow-up with the founders of the 3-D greeting cards LovePop, which Kevin O'Leary invested in during Season 7.

[starri]

I see Lori's decision-making skills are as inscrutable as ever.

[Showthyme]

I will buy that bowl when it comes in white.

[LittleIggy]

I'm very heat sensitive, but I would prefer a bra made with that technology since an extra layer under a blouse would just make me hotter.

[starri]

"You have a great product, but I don't like saffron, so I'm out."  So we can add that to the list of her dislike of honey and her lemon allergy.

"I wear undershirts, so I'm in."

Brilliant decision-making from our venture capitalists.

[Primetimer]

Daymond John decries gadgets that people buy and never use. Dammit, Daymond, that's Shark Tank's entire raison d'etre!

View the full article

[Quickbeam]

I really hate it when Lori drones on and on, then goes out. 

[hkit]

That bowl was a perfect Lori product. I know she isn't that popular around these parts, but I don't see any other shark able to make that work. 

Very surprised that Mark went with the saffron people. I doubt it gets out of due diligence. I agree with Kevin - you can't invest in someone who pulls profitability numbers out of their ass.  And if they do, they have to at least be attractive. If they hit their 5% on $1.5m next year, that's a whopping $75,000. Mark isn't going to recoup his investment. Wonder if he wanted something from their Afghanistan connection, otherwise, the deal made no sense. 

[starri]

From Rumi Spice's social media, it appears that it did go through.  It's not on Mark's website yet, but he doesn't instantly update them.

[KHenry14]

I have to say that I think Rumi Spice might have a future. If they do have a better product, every fine dining restaurant in the world will want it. Obviously working with people in Afganistan has its issues, and clearly the company has to fix it's business model, but I can see this working out. And if they can scale it some they can bring the price down too.  I'll interested to follow their progress

[Ketzel]

All I could think while watching Tyler pitch his self-scraping bowl was - what about the age-old tradition of  Mom or Grandmom mixing the cake/cookie/brownie batter, pouring it into the pans and then giving the kids the bowl so they can fight over the last bits of the batter?

[Wings]

I was shocked the bowl guy didn't jump at Lori's offer; I assumed he came on with her in mind.  I would never buy it,  you cannot nest other bowls inside so storage is a problem.  But I don't want it because what it does is so easy to do without it!  

Shocked that Mark made the saffron deal.  Maybe he does have something else in mind @hkit.   Even if they sold to every restaurant that used saffron it doesn't amount to much.  One thread of it goes a long, long way. 

There are other belt buckles that do this so I was not surprised they got no offer. 

The undershirt is a good idea if it is comfortable to wear.  I missed them saying what fabrics are used and don't feel like googling.  Anyone remember?  

The Asian woman with Rumi Spice was wearing her glasses very low; the top of the frame barely cleared her eyeballs.  I would think that would be distracting to her, it was to me! 

[Jamoche]

1 hour ago, Ketzel said:

All I could think while watching Tyler pitch his self-scraping bowl was - what about the age-old tradition of  Mom or Grandmom mixing the cake/cookie/brownie batter, pouring it into the pans and then giving the kids the bowl so they can fight over the last bits of the batter?

Oh, now you can buy tubs of raw "edible" cookie dough, thanks to Shark Tank. I've seen it in my grocery store - can't imagine why you'd want 8 oz of something that is really only good for one or two finger-swipes off a bowl, but hey! now your kids will avoid the teeny risk of a finger-swipes' worth of raw egg and all those fond memories!

[basiltherat]

Lick the bowl at  your own risk, kiddies!

Wasn't there a belt buckle that flipped down so you can rest your beer on it a few years ago?

[EAG46]

Maybe Kevin should make bets with the other Sharks to see if whatever THEY offer will be accepted over anything HE offers.

[rhys]

What's wrong with using your pocket for your credit/debit card?

Also, "armpit diaper" was hilarious to me.

[UsernameFatigue]

3 hours ago, wings707 said:

 

The Asian woman with Rumi Spice was wearing her glasses very low; the top of the frame barely cleared her eyeballs.  I would think that would be distracting to her, it was to me! 

When I see someone wearing their glasses that way, I always assume that they are wearing them for looks, rather than needing them to actually see. She struck me as someone who would do that. But ya, I kept wanting to reach through the screen and push them back up her nose. That, and slap her. I found her really annoying. 

I really like the bowl guy, and his product. If I still had use for one I would buy it. 

I also wondered why if someone only wanted to carry a credit/debit card rather than a wallet, why they would not just put it in a pocket? Robert made a comment about the size of the buckle in relation to the credit card that I didn't really understand as it seems credit/debit cards are pretty standard in size. In any case I don't know anyone who would buy that buckle. 

A comment about how impressed the Sharks were that two of the saffron people were Harvard grads - I read a book years ago written by a guy who was in Harvard Medical School. He wanted to drop out, and the powers that be there went to great lengths to try to get him to stay in. He also said that once you are accepted, it is virtually impossible to fail. They do everything they can to get you to graduation as they feel it reflects badly on them if their students do not graduate. I have never forgotten that - lol. Not sure if that is the case with all disciplines. I did laugh at the Asian woman saying she had only graduated a year ago as her excuse for not knowing her numbers. She reminded me of several people I know who have graduated a top university here in Canada - book smart but not terribly smart at real life. 

[Wings]

19 minutes ago, rhys said:

What's wrong with using your pocket for your credit/debit card?

 

Pick pockets.  Happens all the time.  

[mjc570]

I liked this episode, for a change, since I liked several of the products.  I'm not really into cooking any more, but I would totally buy some of the saffron - I was impressed by all three of those young people, they seem to have a great business model and I liked the fact that it helps to undo the damage we as a country (and other countries, like Russia) have done in Afghanistan.  While it is expensive, a little saffron goes a long way and adds a unique taste.  I had to laugh at Lori, the self-professed foodie, saying how much she loves truffles, including truffle oil, which almost always does not actually contain truffles.

 I also liked the T-shirt - both the product and the guys.  I'm surprised there wasn't mention of a licensing deal, if they have a patented technology.  I don't know how the price compares to "regular" undershirts, but if I were going on a job interview or some important event, I would definitely want one. 

I thought the bowl was gimmicky, and generally, I'm not a fan of plastic bowls.  I guess it is a useful kind of thing, but I am used to doing things the traditional way, I guess.

I couldn't understand the fawning over the Wallet Buckle people - I thought they were annoying and tiresome.  If you don't want to carry a wallet, can't you stash a few cards in your phone case?  That's what I do, on the limited occasions when I don't want to bother with a bag.  I agree with the sharks that the market is limited  - I can't even imagine anyone around here (why, yes, I do live in a major metropolitan area on the east coast, how did you know) wearing one.

It was great that the LovePop guys are doing so well.  I liked them and their product, although it never occurs to me to buy the cards.

[KaveDweller]

I knew Lori was going to invest in the bowls. Her face while watching pretty much showed that she wanted in on it. This usually doesn't happen to me, but I am tempted to buy it.

6 hours ago, hkit said:

Very surprised that Mark went with the saffron people. I doubt it gets out of due diligence. I agree with Kevin - you can't invest in someone who pulls profitability numbers out of their ass.  And if they do, they have to at least be attractive. If they hit their 5% on $1.5m next year, that's a whopping $75,000. Mark isn't going to recoup his investment. Wonder if he wanted something from their Afghanistan connection, otherwise, the deal made no sense. 

Interesting idea, he seemed pretty defensive of the saffron people when Kevin was attacking them. But the Sharks can be weird. This lady said she guessed at her numbers and Kevin hated it. There was a woman a few episodes ago (workout-related) who admitted she didn't know how to come up with a valuation and she got a deal. But Mark seemed to be really interested in that deal and I didn't get why. Usually he doesn't go for premium products like that.

Do you think the Love Pop people's update was filmed before the Oscars? All I could think about during their award show thing was how it would have solved their wrong envelope problem.

[hkit]

3 hours ago, wings707 said:

Pick pockets.  Happens all the time.  

In addition- I've bent more than one card to the point where it is unusable by keeping it in my pocket at a music fest. 

I'd use this product, if the buckles were less rodeo/Americana and more biker chic. I like a big buckle. Just not something with a flag and rhinestones. 

[Kenz]

The guy with the bowl was such a sweet person that I wanted to give him an offer myself, not that I could afford it. I think I would have cried if he hadn't received a deal. (Maybe I just had an emotional night.)

[KHenry14]

I'm getting tired of all these people coming in with ridiculous valuations that we know they wont get. I'm pretty sure they get told to do that so the Sharks can all roll their eyes and yell at them about it. At least Bowl Guy was reasonable about it

[basiltherat]

For the belt buckles, couldn't they license it (is there a patent?) to music fests so they could sell, say,  Jason Aldean buckles at his concerts?

[aemom]

14 hours ago, PreviouslyTV said:

Daymond John decries gadgets that people buy and never use. Dammit, Daymond, that's Shark Tank's entire raison d'etre!

View the full article

Thank you so much for all the snarky references to Kevin's now-defunct political career.

[LittleIggy]

Re: the glasses, my nose has a low bridge so my glasses never stay up. It's not an affectation. 

[RemoteControlFreak]

On 5/6/2017 at 1:34 PM, wings707 said:

The Asian woman with Rumi Spice was wearing her glasses very low; the top of the frame barely cleared her eyeballs.  I would think that would be distracting to her, it was to me! 

Some people, especially Asian people, have lower nose bridges.  There are actually special  Asian fit glasses sold. I don't care whether her glasses fit or not, but I've grown tired of the "I was in the army, so you must love my not very well thought out business" Shark Tank pitch. 

Also, the Scooping Bowl is ridiculous. Rather than eliminating multiple bowls, a colander and a spatula, it introduces an additional bowl that can only be used for a few specific tasks: rinsing batches of fruits and vegetables, pouring batter and possibly separating eggs, though his egg separating demo was not very impressive.  It's also going to be hard to clean, has a lot of moving parts that can break, and the plastic construction will be a no-go for many people who cook.  People on QVC will buy them in hordes and then never use them.  

Edited May 10, 2017 by RemoteControlFreak

[cooksdelight]

20 hours ago, basiltherat said:

Wasn't there a belt buckle that flipped down so you can rest your beer on it a few years ago?

Yes, the "Ba-Bam!!" Guy, he didn't get a deal either.

I cook a LOT but I'd never buy that bowl. I put my vegetables or whatever in a colander to rinse them, the colander drains in the sink rack. I have a rubber spatula for getting all the cake batter out of my bowl. And an egg separator? Use your hands, your fingers work the same way. I also have a little metal thing my grandmother uses that works great. Like this one:

https://www.rubylane.com/item/11055-003166/Vintage-Primitive-Wire-Bee-Hive-Spiral?gclid=CL-u_p6O3tMCFYMCaQodktoBJQ

Mine has a notch in the handle that allows you to attach it and position it on the rim of the bowl and use both hands to crack the egg.

I appreciate all the guy is doing to feed people, but that bowl is a no-buy for me.

The valuations were insane. No one will take you seriously when you value your company too high. 

Saffron....rarely use it. I'm not their customer either.

[needschocolate]

The bowl is an answer to problems that already have answers. He put all the answers in one product that is more difficult to store that the individual answers.  

I had to laugh at him going through the long list of ways he defied the odds starting with his birth and then Laurie immediately asks "What is your story?"

My mother has a little bag of saffron stashed away.  My brother and I refer to it is our inheritance.  

If the t-shirt stops sweat from leaking through, it would probably stop air flow too, which would make your armpits really hot.  

14 hours ago, hkit said:

I'd use this product, if the buckles were less rodeo/Americana and more biker chic. I like a big buckle. Just not something with a flag and rhinestones. 

The ones they gave out to the sharks were decorated for each shark.  I thought they were going to say that you can personalize them, but they never mentioned it.  

[cooksdelight]

8 minutes ago, needschocolate said:

If the t-shirt stops sweat from leaking through, it would probably stop air flow too, which would make your armpits really hot.

I think the space-age material that's in there prevents you from getting hotter, according to what they were pitching.

[aemom]

I really liked the bowl guy. Unlike the previous pitchers with their insane valuations, he was far more reasonable. 

Lori is the perfect person because this type of thing is made for QVC.  I hope he does well.

I thought the bowl was neat and the price was ok.  I suffered a hand injury 10 years ago and I have trouble gripping heavy things in my dominant hand. A bowl like this could help get the bulk of your stuff scooped out quickly and being plastic, makes it lightweight.  I could see this being useful for older cooks facing problems like arthritis. 

[Jesse]

23 hours ago, mjc570 said:

It was great that the LovePop guys are doing so well.  I liked them and their product, although it never occurs to me to buy the cards.

I used to walk by their kiosk in the fancy mall in Boston all the time, and thought it was a weird location, but I wonder if it's just there so it's in people's minds, rather than that they get so much walk-by business.

[cooksdelight]

I see LovePop ads on Facebook all the time. Glad they are doing so well.

And I'm going to watch a little of the Billboard Music Awards just to see people's reactions to the award envelopes.

[UsernameFatigue]

22 hours ago, KHenry14 said:

I'm getting tired of all these people coming in with ridiculous valuations that we know they wont get. I'm pretty sure they get told to do that so the Sharks can all roll their eyes and yell at them about it. At least Bowl Guy was reasonable about it

Besides liking his product, I was very impressed with Bowl guy's valuation. I wanted to give him a deal if the Sharks didn't.

I have several Asian friends who wear glasses. They have no problem finding glasses that fit properly. 

I wonder how much of the population really needs the underarm diaper? My hubby always wears a t-shirt underneath when he wears a long sleeved shirt. (As Robert does). It seems to solve the problem. I also don't think their example of Robert sweating through his LS shirt was realistic as he was not expecting to be doing chin ups while wearing it. But if they have made/make some money, good for them. 

Edited May 8, 2017 by UsernameFatigue

[Thriftykins]

On 5/6/2017 at 2:02 PM, Jamoche said:

Oh, now you can buy tubs of raw "edible" cookie dough, thanks to Shark Tank. I've seen it in my grocery store - can't imagine why you'd want 8 oz of something that is really only good for one or two finger-swipes off a bowl, but hey! now your kids will avoid the teeny risk of a finger-swipes' worth of raw egg and all those fond memories!

Pre-made cookie dough has been available in supermarkets for years....

[starri]

I think what's been talking about is eggless cookie dough that's meant to be eaten raw.

The slice n' bake cookies aren't pasteurized.  There was an outbreak of Nestle dough that was contaminated with E. coli about ten years ago.  Because it happened at the same time as that peanut butter thing, it didn't get as much play in the media.

[Jamoche]

1 hour ago, Thriftykins said:

Pre-made cookie dough has been available in supermarkets for years....

 

 

1 hour ago, starri said:

I think what's been talking about is eggless cookie dough that's meant to be eaten raw.

Yeah, this is meant to be eaten raw - it can't be turned into cookies. I'm all for nostalgia food, but this and "cereal milk" seem more like nostalgia leftovers - I just don't get it.

[Thriftykins]

4 hours ago, starri said:

I think what's been talking about is eggless cookie dough that's meant to be eaten raw.

The slice n' bake cookies aren't pasteurized.  There was an outbreak of Nestle dough that was contaminated with E. coli about ten years ago.  Because it happened at the same time as that peanut butter thing, it didn't get as much play in the media.

I thought the big players -- Nestle, Pilsbury etc., -- were already using egg substitute.

[starri]

They may be doing that now, but they used to carry a warning on the back not to eat them raw.

[HawaiiTVGuy]

As the one who doesn't usually cook in the family but is the dishwasher, I would love having to just wash out a single bowl compared to multiple. I wonder if the scraper can be detached for easier storage?

[columbot]

Thank you, Shark Tank Update, for reminding me that there is a person in this world named "Womby".

[RemoteControlFreak]

On 5/8/2017 at 3:55 PM, HawaiiTVGuy said:

As the one who doesn't usually cook in the family but is the dishwasher, I would love having to just wash out a single bowl compared to multiple. I wonder if the scraper can be detached for easier storage?

As someone who both cooks and washes dishes, I cannot think of a single cooking task that would be reduced from multiple bowls to just one bowl because of the Scooper Bowl.

[Thriftykins]

Condensing multiple bowls into one seems.... useless.  The upside to having multiple bowls is that, while there are more bowls to clean, it means that you don't have to clean each one after each use.  I live alone, but I have 7 plates.  That way, I can eat all week and only have to wash them on the weekend, instead of washing the same dish every day, or multiple times a day.

[cooksdelight]

I never use multiple bowls when I make a cake or brownies. It all goes in one bowl. I've been sitting here trying to figure out what I make that requires more than one bowl, can't think of anything, and I cook a lot. The only other container I use is a measuring cup.

[KaveDweller]

6 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

I never use multiple bowls when I make a cake or brownies. It all goes in one bowl. I've been sitting here trying to figure out what I make that requires more than one bowl, can't think of anything, and I cook a lot. The only other container I use is a measuring cup.

Yeah, I never use multiple bowls for baking. Sometimes recipes tell you to mix dry ingredients in one bowl and the rest in another and then combine them, but I never do that. So this bowl would be great for baking because of the combined spatula.  If you really wanted to make it better though you could build the measuring cup into the bowl. 

I also thought that it might be useful if baking with fruit because you can take out the colander and just rinse than start mixing other stuff in. But they were sold out when I went to their site. It seemed like a pretty crappy site though, which made me not want to buy it anyway.

[cooksdelight]

The one bowl I use with attachments is on my KitchenAid mixer. It does everything I need, and then some.

[sasha206]

On 5/6/2017 at 5:40 PM, mjc570 said:

I couldn't understand the fawning over the Wallet Buckle people - I thought they were annoying and tiresome.  If you don't want to carry a wallet, can't you stash a few cards in your phone case?  That's what I do, on the limited occasions when I don't want to bother with a bag.  I agree with the sharks that the market is limited  - I can't even imagine anyone around here (why, yes, I do live in a major metropolitan area on the east coast, how did you know) wearing one.

My first thought was credit card phone cases.  I own them.  I'm sure a lot of men do as well.  You may forget your wallet; you rarely forget your phone. That's why having the phone cases with a wallet works.

[Jersey Guy 87]

On 5/6/2017 at 10:37 AM, Quickbeam said:

I really hate it when Lori drones on and on, then goes out. 

You can easily tell when Lori is going out - she talks more.  When she wants to make an offer she tends to get right to the point.

On 5/6/2017 at 5:21 PM, UsernameFatigue said:

When I see someone wearing their glasses that way, I always assume that they are wearing them for looks, rather than needing them to actually see. She struck me as someone who would do that. But ya, I kept wanting to reach through the screen and push them back up her nose. That, and slap her. I found her really annoying. 

 

It's possible they're reading glasses, so she keeps them low for when she's reading.  When I first started to need corrective lenses for reading I just used cheap ones bought from a pharmacy, the problem I ran into was I never seemed to have them on my person when I needed them.  Since then I've gone to multifocal contact lenses and don't use reading glasses anymore.