Beard King is the creation of Nicholas and Alessia Gelekovic. They present their product in Shark Tank Season 7, Episode 714 and score a deal with Lori Greiner.
Beard King products are also available on Amazon through their Prime service which gives free shipping on their second-day delivery.
Beard King explodes after show deal goes south
According to an article in Forbes Magazine, Nicholas and Alessia found their business taking off about the time the episode aired and no longer needed the deal with Lori. Their company did $700,000 in 2016 and tracked towards 1.7 million dollars in 2017.
Their marketing efforts and the impact of Shark Tank generates a significant amount of revenue for their business. Beard King is proof that online marketing works using social media, video, and blogs to sell products and services online. They have a robust website with great hosting to ensure their sales process.
Season: 7 Episode 714
First Run: 2016/1/15
Shark: Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Chris Sacca
Company: Beard King
Entrepreneurs: Nicholas & Alessia Galekovic
Ask: $100k for20% equity
Deal: Lori Greiner – $100,000 for 45% equity
Beard King came into Shark Tank with $140,000 in sales in the first eight months and did $80,000 in the month before making their pitch. The cost to build the kit is $7 and sells for $29.
Nicholas and Alessia solved the problem of facial hairs getting all over the place, and Alessia points out she is the one stuck cleaning it up. They needed to solve the problem, so they created the Beard Bib. The couple applied for a Patent that is currently pending.
The Sharks initially thought it was a joke, as Robert acknowledged, but they quickly changed once they heard the sales numbers.
Beard King needs money for manufacturing due to the margins being only 40% during the first seven months, going forward, the margins are better as they have it up to 75%.
Sales projections for the following year is $400,000 which is blown out of the water after appearing on Shark Tank. Many distributors approached them to do deals, but they choose to focus on online sales.
So what do the Sharks say about Beard King?
Robert Herjavec tells them they should continue to bootstrap the business as they make enough money and don’t need it from the Sharks.
Mark Cuban asks about the core content. Are they focusing on just the Beard King or are they looking for other products that they could sell? He’s interested in their ability to create viral videos, but they stay focused on the Beard King, and Mark Cuban is out. I don’t think they quite understood what Mark is thinking at the time of their pitch.
Kevin sees this as just a single product and doesn’t think there is a way for him to get his money back. He’s missed an opportunity, as clearly defined by the Beard King sales.
Chris admits, he is not sure how he can help them, so he goes out.
Lori is the only Shark left, and she initially goes out, but they ask her to wait as they are going to sweeten the deal. She needs 51% of the deal, so she goes out. They ask her to wait before going out, and would she do 45%. They even have a crown and robe for her, hidden behind their props. Alessia brings it out to sweeten the deal. Lori accepts the agreement. Keep in mind; the deal fell apart after the pitch.