The Coop is the kids place created by Lucinda Lent and Juliet Boydstun. They are pitching their business on Shark Tank Season 4, Episode 411. The company features toys for the kids and a Cappuccino bar for the adults. Sales for the year leading up to the Shark Tank appearance are three-hundred-fifty thousand dollars.
The Coop founders friendship spans eighteen years
Being friends for eighteen years, Juliet and Lucinda wanted to create the Coop, a clean place that isn't like the other Cookie Cutter Party Prison kids places that are nasty and dirty. They are all about cleanliness and atmosphere for both the kids and the adults.
Rock stars, movie stars and TV celebrities are amongst their clientele that sells our their venue every weekend. They do between six to nine parties at $595 to $4,000 for fifteen kids. They are competitively priced in the market, and they profit five thousand dollars plus every weekend. That is after they pay themselves a hundred thousand dollars.
The Coop cost $125,000 to create their first venue, doing a lot of the work themselves.
Company: The Coop
Entrepreneur: Lucinda Lent & Juliet Boydstun
Website: http://www.thecoop-la.com/
Ask: $ 150k for 15% equity
From: Los Angeles, California
Season: Season 4 Episode 411
Sharks: Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec
First Aired: 12/03/2012
Deal: Barbara Corcoran with a personal guarantee from Lucinda and Juliet
Kevin O'Leary explains that companies that successful setup franchises take a geographical area and create five to fifteen locations. They learn how to manage the franchises and then scale it after they perfect the model.
What do the Shark Tank Investors say about The Coop
Mark Cuban said, thank you for the best birthday today. He thinks it will be very difficult to sell to middle America, but it is a big market play. He believes the alternatives with cheaper competition will win in the smaller markets, so he is out.
Daymond John asks if all they want is one-hundred-fifty thousand, and they answered no, they want expertise. Daymond thinks they are rock stars, but he would add no value, so he goes out.
Kevin O'Leary believes their business is potentially franchise-able in the future, but they are coming too early, so he goes out. He loves the numbers, but they haven't proven their concept yet.
Barbara Corcoran offers them the one-hundred-fifty thousand provided they return the money in a two-year timeframe with a personal guarantee from Lucinda and Juliet. They have a deal.
Robert Herjavec thinks they have the energy just to go and open twenty locations, and they should do it. He says they should work on their own because they don't need the resources of the Sharks for their business and he is out.
Kevin O'Leary comments that they are willing to give up fifteen percent of their business just to get a loan. That tells him that banks in America are not willing to give a loan.
The Coop after Shark Tank
Barbara Corcoran appeared on 20/20 with Lucinda and Juliet as they negotiate with Adine Li of San Francisco who is interested in opening another The Coop in her hometown. The Coop negotiations happen on nationwide TV, with Barbara taking the lead. She negotiates the right for The Coop to specify the price in the protected territory with Adine, and she agrees.
Something exciting is The Coop's website is down on the morning of February 19th, 2018, which is the day their episode appears in rerun on CNBC! Hopefully, they will get their website up before the show.
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