A BYU entrepreneur scored big on “Shark Tank,” a reality television series on ABC that features entrepreneur business pitches to a panel of billionaires, which aired Oct. 26.
With the televised pitch barely a week away, Spencer Quinn, co-founder of Fiberfix, showed no hint of nervousness other than the prospect of being overloaded by even more product demand.
“We are very excited. … I never thought we would audition for ‘Shark Tank,’” he said.
Quinn and co-founder Eric Child pitched Fiberfix, which is a woven tape wrap used to fix heavy-duty projects around the house, to “the sharks.”
The pitch included an infomercial-like demonstration in which Quinn used a hammer made of two by fours, secured by Fiberfix, to brake a cinder block.
The duo also displayed tools that had been fixed using the product such as shovels and pipes.
They also revealed that the fiber wrap is 100 times stronger than duct tape due to an amplified resin weave, which it solidifies shortly after applying.
Quinn and Child asked “the sharks” for $90,000 for a 10 percent stake in the company.
Three of the five “sharks” bid against each other.
Robert Herjavec, the technology innovator “shark,” offered exactly what the entrepreneurs asked for.
Kevin O’Leary, the venture capitalist “shark,” offered $90,000 for no stake but a 70 cents-per-unit royalty (which would drop to 10 cents when $90,000 was recouped).
And finally, Lori Greiner, “the Queen of QVC,” offered $250,000 for a 15 percent stake in the company.
After a short discussion, Quinn and Child decided to counter the three offers by proposing a new offer of $120,000 dollars for a 12 percent stake plus a $2 million line of credit. As a result, two of the three “sharks” revoked their offers, leaving Greiner the only bidder on the table.
Greiner rejected the$2 million line of credit but agreed to $120,000 dollars for 12 percent of the company with a promise to finance purchase orders.
Quinn and Child sealed the deal with Greiner, exiting “the tank” richer than when they had entered.
Garrett Gee, founder of Scan Inc. and fellow BYU entrepreneur, also had a shot on “Shark Tank” earlier this month. However, Gee was unsuccessful in earning an investment from the show’s panel.
Quinn advised other BYU entrepreneurs to identify skill sets they need, surround themselves with people who have those skills and learn from them.
