Million-dollar Copa Di Vino s(l)ipped away
It’s not easy to get featured on Shark Tank, much less to appear twice. Copa Di Vino, whose concept is premium wine-by-the-glass (made from plastic), actually managed to do just that!
In its first appearance, all the Sharks were interested in its concepts and made several offers. Kevin O’Leary offered $600,000 in exchange for 51% (instead of the 30% James, the founder, asked for) of the company. However, James Martin, the founder of Copa Di Vino, was not impressed as he believed in its potential.
Thankfully for him, his business took off after the show and the sale figures skyrocketed from $500,000 before his pitch on Shark Tank to $14 million in 2015!
With such impressive figures, he was approached to appear for a second time on the show. In his second appearance, he boasted about how his orders were double of his inventory and needed investments from the Sharks to build up his capital.
Again, tempting offers were made but none were good enough for James Martin. He even opened a glass and sipped on it like a boss (okay, he is one)!
Although the business did prove to be a very successful one, when asked if the Sharks regretted not making a deal with him, the answer was ‘no’ because of his attitude.
Millions of dollars may have sipped away (pun intended) from the Sharks’ fins but at the end of the day, it is important to have a good investor-investee relationship.
On the topic of finding investors, if you’re starting up, do check out The Startup Buddy. Getting funding on the Shark Tank might be difficult, but we can definitely make the fundraising process easier for you!
Adapted from: Season 3, Episode 11 of Shark Tank
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