Shark Tank, a television series that features up-and-coming entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to a panel of investors, premiered in August 2009 on ABC and has stayed one of the network’s biggest shows ever since. The “Tank” is a place where anyone with a sellable creation and the means to make it can succeed — although putting together a decent pitch and having a little bit of business sense certainly doesn’t hurt.
From zany feats of creativity like “I Want To Draw a Cat For You!” to well-crafted startups like Simple Sugars, dozens of businesses have found their success by surviving the Sharks. Here, we’ve ranked the IMDb ratings of each episode featuring one of the show’s 10 best-selling products.
10 Simply Fit Board ($160 Million) – 6.8
Season 7, Episode 7, which introduced the Simply Fit Board (created by mother-daughter duo Linda Clark and Gloria Hoffman), is the lowest-rated episode on our list. This doesn’t seem to have put a damper on the balance board’s sales, however, as since the episode’s airing the muscle-toning workout tool has brought in more than $160 million, making it the 4th-best-selling Shark Tank investment.
The episode also featured a sketch in which Jimmy Kimmel attempted to pitch a series of increasingly wacky inventions to the perturbed panel.
9 Lovepop ($80 Million) – 6.9
“Lovepop” first made an appearance on Shark Tank in Season 7, Episode 11, a Christmas-themed special. Architecture students Wombi Rose and John Wise, the brains behind the company, managed to land a deal with the notoriously demanding Kevin O’Leary, impressing him with their selection of pop-up greeting cards.
Four years later, their bright idea has collected more than $80 million in sales.
8 Squatty Potty ($164 Million) – 7.1
Squatty Potty was an innovative bathroom footstool devised by entrepreneur Bobby Edwards to help prevent constipation. The creator got a chance to pitch it to the Shark Tank on Season 6, Episode 9 of the series, quickly attracting the attention of Lori Greiner, who purchased a 10% stake in the company for a cool $350,000.
Now, with the company reporting $164 million in sales, that’s one of the investment decisions she’s certainly most proud of.
7 Sleep Styler ($100 Million) – 7.2
Tara Brown pitched Sleep Styler, her unique brand of hair rollers that let you either straighten or curl your hair “effortlessly [and] with no heat” while you sleep, to the Sharks in Season 8, Episode 19.
The creative — if somewhat strange — idea won over “Queen of QVC” Lori Greiner, whose involvement in the company helped it skyrocket to a monumental $100 million in sales by October 2019.
6 Tipsy Elves ($125 Million) – 7.2
Ugly sweaters are such a time-honored hallmark of Christmas celebrations that it was only a matter of time before a company came along that sold only ugly Christmas sweaters. Enter Tipsy Elves, created by Evan Mendelsohn and Nicklaus Morton.
After watching the duo’s irreverent but business-minded pitch, Robert Herjavec loved the idea so much that he offered the brand’s co-creators $100,000 for a 10% stake in the company, a deal they gladly accepted. Years after its fairly well-received episode aired, the company has made over $125 million in sales.
5 The Bouqs ($100 Million) – 7.3
Some of the most successful companies to appear on Shark Tank actually failed to make a deal with even one member of the panel. In the case of Ring, a video doorbell, the company actually went on to sell to Amazon for $1 billion nearly 5 years after the Sharks rejected it. John Tabis, who co-founded The Bouqs (a flower-delivery service) with fellow Notre Dame student Juan Pablo Montufar, was initially cast to the same fate during his appearance on the show’s Season 5, Episode 27.
However, three years later, Robert Herjavec changed his mind and decided to make an investment after using Tabis’ service to great success at his wedding. The company has now made a total of $100 million in sales.
4 Cousins Maine Lobster ($65 Million) – 7.4
A seafood truck doesn’t seem quite like an idea that could pull $65 million in sales, but if you add in the ambition of Cousins Maine Lobster’s California-based co-founders Sabin Lomac and Jim Tselikis, what results is a recipe for success.
Barbara Corcoran — using her status as Shark to get a foot in the seafood business — invested $55,000 in the company, and from there it quickly grew. Now Cousins Maine Lobster operates more than 20 food trucks across the United States.
3 Scrub Daddy ($209 Million) – 7.4
The Daddy of successful Shark Tank ventures, Scrub Daddy was founded by Aaron Krause. The former detailer was inspired to create his own line of sponges to use on cars before realizing their potential around the house. When he gave the Sharks the rundown on Scrub Daddy during Season 4, Episode 7, Greiner saw the opportunity for yet another successful QVC product, offering Krause a killer $200,000 deal.
With the company currently being valued at $209 million, she now recognizes that decision as one of the best investments she’s ever made.
2 The Original Comfy ($150 Million) – 7.5
The Comfy, a product which can be described simply as “a blanket you wear!”, first appeared on Shark Tank‘s Season 9, Episode 12. This time, Barbara Corcoran was the first to bite, offering brothers Brian and Michael Speciale $50,000 for a 30% equity stake in their company.
Just three years after that fateful episode’s airdate, the company has made an extraordinary $150 million in sales, and they’re showing no signs of slowing down.
1 Bombas ($225 Million) – 7.6
It’s only fitting that the show’s all-time best-selling product be relegated to one of its most lauded episodes, and so it is with Bombas. The apparel brand caught the attention of Shark Daymond John for its promise to donate one pair of socks to a homeless shelter for every pair sold — a result of founders David Heath and Randy Goldberg learning that socks were the #1 most requested item at homeless shelters.
To date, Bombas has donated more than 35 million pairs of socks and made more than $225 million in sales.
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