'Shark Tank' is a place where entrepreneurial dreams come true, but founders have to go through harsh scrutiny and often criticism by Kevin O’Leary. He doesn't use sharp words to intimidate people but to see how they would react in case of a crisis. However, the scrutiny can get a bit too much at times. But for Raquel Graham, it worked out quite well for her in the longer run.
She started her company, Roq Innovation, back in 2014 and specialized in crafting innovative clothing items. She made her way onto the Shark Tank stage with a new product called Headlightz. The concept is simple - hats and headbands with removable and rechargeable LED lights that would massively help out if you’re out in the dark and have your hands full. Naturally, the Sharks loved the idea.
What made Raquel Graham so emotional?
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O’Leary, as usual, stepped up with some tough questions that seemed to catch Graham off-guard for a bit. Since she was the only employee of the company, the veteran investor was unsure what would happen to the assets in case of an untimely passing. Nonetheless, he was still interested in the idea. The mistake he made was that he called her a “crazy cat”.
That seemed to hit a nerve for the entrepreneur who had to struggle to get to where she was. She had numerous health scares, including fungal pneumonia, a stroke, and lung failure, a few years before the pandemic. Then came COVID and it forced a factory to shut down as per Forbes. She narrated her story with tears in her eyes as the Sharks listened in awe of the challenges she had overcome in her life. “You championed over adversity, that’s good,” O’Leary said as per CNBC.
It was then cleared that O’Leary meant “crazy cat” as someone energetic and not all over the place. The numbers were there to prove it. Roq Innovations had earned $2.4 million in lifetime sales at the time of recording and Graham was projecting $1.7 million in revenue by the end of that year. However, she did not quite get the deal she was hoping for initially.
Graham wanted $200,000 for a 15% stake in Roq Innovations. O’Leary did not want part ownership of the brand but said that he would be willing to pay the money for a $2 royalty for each unit. Once he made the money back, that would drop to $1. Unfortunately, Graham wanted to steer clear of royalties but thankfully, she had a second offer in hand.
Guest shark, Peter Jones offered the money for a 25% percent stake in the company. After a bit of back and forth, the two Sharks reached a common ground. They would split the investment amount equally - $100,000 each - for 20% of the company and $1 royalty per unit until they made $600,000. That was good enough for Graham who seemed more than happy with the offer.
Roq Innovations had tasted success before on multiple occasions. Back in 2016, when her children complained about wearing baggy scarves, Graham created “NEKZ neck wraps”, a product that was sold out within 16 minutes of her releasing it on Home Shopping Network (HSN) in 2016 as per Forbes. Her clothing line was also included by Oprah Winfrey in her “Favorite Things 2021 List.”
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