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Questions over Shark Tank’s biggest deal

Rival companies suggest a $2.5m Shark Tank deal should wake up and smell the coffee.

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The business which landed Shark Tank‘s record-breaking $2.5 million dollar deal has been attracting headlines for another reason.

Last week Andrew Banks offered a $2.5m investment for a 22.5% stake of Kane Bodiam’s iCapsulate coffee company, which claims to produce Australia’s first biodegradable coffee pods.

But News Corp reports a joint letter from the director of Mad Coffee Capsules, Charlie Stillisano, the director of CoffeeCaps, Tony Rubenstein and the director of Podpac, Toby Strong, suggeted Nespresso compatible brands currently available from Coles and Woolworths included Woolworths private label, Coles private label, Vittoria, Grinders, Republica, Pod-a-licious, L’OR, Lavazza, Cafe Royal.

“In fact, we are not aware of a single major retail store in Australia from which a customer can purchase coffee capsules packed by iCapsulate,” they wrote.

A spokesperson from Endemol Shine Australia, told news.com.au that it “conducts thorough checks before our entrepreneurs enter the tank, and, after the program airs our Sharks manage full due diligence checks prior to deals being finalised.”

Shark Naomi Simson recently told TV Tonight companies that did not pass due diligence would not get the investment offered on the show.

“One of mine didn’t have patents but they said they did,” she said.

“So then we make an assessment: is the business still worth what we thought it was on the show? It is our money so you can’t have us just on the basis of 1 hour.

“The television producers are producing television,” Simson explained. “We’re producing commercially-successful businesses. They are actually two completely different things. They have an agreement to show the process, we have an agreement with these people to check that it is what it says it is.”

4 Responses

  1. Well, now we know why Mr Bodiam is seeking assistance to take his business to the next level. Nothing wrong with that, especially if he has a unique turn on a product in a crowded market.

    Of course, there is no self-interest at all in Messrs Stillisano, Rubenstein, and Strong putting the boot in to a competitor while getting some free publicity for themselves.

  2. Me thinks the $2.5 million dollar ” deal” was a great publicity tool for the show. Let’s see if it gets quietly swept under the carpet in the near future…bit misleading this show isn’t it ? Taking viewers for mugs me thinks.

  3. The truth is that the majority of the deals on Shark Tank don’t end up going through. It’s a problem with the format that ultimately there aren’t many authentic success stories.

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