So last Tuesday night I’m scrolling YouTube when that iconic Shark Tank intro pops up. Baobab? Had zero clue what that was – just knew somebody was begging rich people for cash again. Grabbed my notebook thinking “Bet this’ll be a trainwreck”. Spoiler alert – I was dead wrong.
The Prep Work Mess
First things first: dug out my ancient laptop ’cause my tablet died mid-search. Took forever just getting to Season 14 Episode 11. Kept typing “Babob Shark Tank” like an idiot before finally nailing the spelling. Made coffee – spilled half of it reaching for my pen. Typical.
Set up shop with three browser tabs: Shark Tank clip, Baobab’s actual website, and my crappy spreadsheet. Needed to cross-check their claims real-time. Remembered past pitchers exaggerating numbers til Kevin O’Leary rips ’em apart.
The Nail-Biting Pitch Breakdown
Baobab’s founder walked in holding these weird fruit bars. Whole time I’m scribbling:
- Valuation ask : $2 million for 10%
- Actual sales : $1.7 million last year?!
- Cost per bar : $1.25 – marked up crazy at retail
Barbara starts grilling him about shelf life. My hand cramped writing “organic + 2 year expiry = BULLSEYE”. Could see Daymond’s eyes light up. Then Lori chimes in about online sales growth rates – flipped to their Shopify backend and yep, graphs matched his slides.
The real twist? Robert shut down completely until the guy mentioned African sourcing partnerships. Suddenly he’s throwing term sheets! My coffee went cold rewinding that part three times.
Post-Pitch Reality Check
Spent thirty minutes afterward pacing my kitchen. That deal felt too smooth – $400k for 20% plus royalties? Googled like mad for updates. Found forum posts confirming supply chain nightmares after filming. Classic Shark Tank pattern: killer pitch, brutal execution phase.
Worth it? Honestly rewinding Lori’s negotiation tactics gave me heartburn. But seeing Daymond calculate margins live taught me more than any business podcast. Might try drafting term sheets tomorrow just for kicks. Pretty sure my cat’s judging me.
