Lori Greiner’s Best Shark Tank Investments
Before Shark Tank, Lori Greiner was best known as the charming QVC network host, and the creator of the show Clever and Unique Creations. As a prolific inventor and businesswoman, Greiner has launched over 400 products, holds over 120 patents globally, and is a best-selling author. She takes her passion to Shark Tank and is fondly known as “The Warm Blooded Shark”. However, she is no less fierce when it comes to identifying and securing a good deal. Greiner is the most active Shark, investing in approximately 20% of all pitches heard, and has a 90% success rate on new items launched. Here are some of Lori Greiner’s greatest investments on ABC’s Shark Tank:
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Scrub Daddy
Mentioned already on this site, Scrub Daddy must again be discussed as it is, without a doubt, one of Lori Greiner’s best investments to come out of Shark Tank. In fact, Scrub Daddy is one of the greatest Shark Tank success stories in general.
A clever sponge for cleaning cooking utensils, Greiner made a deal with founder Aaron Krause during Season 4, investing $200,000 in exchange for a 20% stake of the business. To date, Scrub Daddy has brought in roughly $141 million retail sales. Greiner herself sold over 2 million sponges in one day on QVC, proving once again why she deserves the title “QVC Queen”.
The Sleep Styler
In mid-2017, during Season 8 of Shark Tank, entrepreneur and self-taught inventor Tara Brown presented her idea for The Sleep Styler. The Sleep Styler is a hair care product which allows the user to go to bed with wet hair and wake with perfectly styled curls in the morning.
Within a record 20 minutes of entering the Shark Tank, Brown and Greiner had struck a deal – $75,000 investment for a 25% stake in the business. Greiner saw a great marketable opportunity, saying “I felt this would be a perfect infomercial product and that I could shoot a test for a two-minute spot quickly and, if successful, I could take a lot of the work off Tara’s hands.” This is exactly what happened. After getting on board with Greiner, The Sleep Styler made $100 million in retail sales in 6 months.
Drop Stop
Very simply, the patented Drop Stop prevents items such as coins or keys falling into the dreaded “carmuda triangle”, the area beside your seat where items are prone to fall and impossible to recover.
In Season 4, Greiner struck a deal with the company’s founders, Marc Newburger & Jeffrey Simon, for a $300,000 investment, in exchange for a 20% equity stake. Greiner’s magic touch struck again and, since appearing on the show, Drop Stop has gone on to make a whopping $25 million in sales.
CordaRoy’s Convertible Beanbags
CordaRoy’s Convertible Beanbags were presented to the Sharks in Season 4 by Byron Young. This really clever product had Lori Greiner’s name stamped all over it, and is one of those items that you can’t believe nobody thought of before. These comfortable beanbag chairs convert into a full-sized bed and are a perfect addition to the home.
For a 58% equity stake, Greiner made a deal to invest $200,000 in the company. On its first appearance on QVC, CordaRoy’s Convertible Beanbags sold out. They have continued to sell incredibly successfully, and have gone on to make over $4.2 million in sales in four years.
Roominate
Stanford engineering graduates Alice Brooks and Bettina Chen had a mission to empower young girls and promote technical and engineering skills in a fun way. They developed Roominate, and took their line of toys to the Shark Tank during Season 6.
Lori Greiner, along with Mark Cuban, offered to invest in this wonderful product, as both felt it was so much more than just a range of toys. The purpose of helping young girls develop a love for math, science, engineering, and technology would encourage them to gain access to currently quite male-dominated fields. Both Sharks happily offered the requested $500,000 investment for a mere 5% equity. Roominate went on to make over $4.5 million in sales and continues its mission of bringing science and engineer toys to girls.
Biaggi
Stephen Hersh brought the idea for foldable luggage to the Sharks in Season 6 when he was looking for a $500,000 investment for 33% equity in his company. His business, Biaggi, was struggling under debts and Hersh was in the process of selling it when he appeared on the show in 2014.
Whilst the business was not in the best of health, the product, however, was sound. Both Lori Greiner and Daymond John made an offer. Upon consideration though, John backed out, admitting to the entrepreneur that Greiner would be a better fit for his company. He was right. Greiner held their first sale on QVC after the airing of the Shark Tank episode, selling 6,000 bags in eight minutes. Hersh has said that they continue to sell approximately $20,000 worth of bags per minute on each of their monthly QVC appearances.
Urbio
In a modern world, where living space is limited, Jared Aller and Beau Oyler took their innovative idea to the Sharks in Season 4. Urbio were magnetic modular-style wall compartments, for urban gardening and small space organization. They were stylish and reasonably priced, and were exactly the type of clever and inventive product that Lori Greiner loved.
After a heated battle amongst the Sharks, the entrepreneurial couple decided to make a deal with Greiner, knowing that her QVC connection would be an ideal outlet for their product. They accepted a $300,000 investment for 15% equity in the company. Since then, Urbio is stocked in many large retail chains across the US, features regularly on QVC selling thousands of units each time, and have widely expanded their product range.
Better Life
The range of cleaning products made by Better Life are eco-friendly, child and pet safe, and are just as effective as the more harsh cleaning chemicals available on the market. During Season 5, Kevin Tibbs and Tim Barklage brought their product line to Shark Tank and impressed all five Sharks.
In another example where Greiner was specifically chosen by the entrepreneurs, all five Sharks made an offer to the entrepreneurial duo. They accepted Greiner’s offer of a $400,000 investment for a 17% stake. This would drop to 7% once the investment was repaid.
With Greiner’s help, Better Life products have since made it onto the shelves of Target and Walgreens, are available in Whole Foods, Crate and Barrel, Bristol Markets, and have a wide selection of products for sale on Amazon. Better Life have also recently invested in sustainable energy sources for their manufacturing process, by installing solar panels on their plant in St. Louis.
PhoneSoap
Another cleaning innovation, this device uses a UV-C lamp to clean your phone whilst charging it simultaneously. It kills 99.99% of bacteria and will fully disinfect your phone within 5 minutes. Founders Dan Barnes and Wesley LaPorte successfully pitched their product in Season 6, which led to a deal with Lori Greiner for 10% of their company in return for a $300,000 investment.
PhoneSoap was immediately popular after its appearance on the show. Quickly, the company partnered with QVC, selling 100,000 units in the year after their Shark Tank episode aired, with annual sales continually growing. They have also since closed a deal to stock their product in Bed, Bath & Beyond. With Greiner’s help, this company’s successes are set to continue.
