Narrator: Tonight, it's Sharkoween in the Tank,
and scarier than ever. [ Wolf howls ]
And Jason Blum, the King of Horror
and the founder of game-changing production company Blumhouse,
joins the Tank.
I have a lot of scary experience.
Why are you here?
We're full-time professional weirdos.
Yeah, baby.
Who's ready to raise the dead with me? We are!
In the spirit of Halloween, I came here to get a deal.
-Are you making any money? -No.
-You are a very brave man. -Are you getting creepy?
[ Transylvanian accent ] Very, very scary.
Ooh, I love how scary it is in the Tank.
It's going to get scarier.
-Ooh! I'm excited. -Oh, boy.
I love it! I love it.
♪♪
Narrator: First in the Tank is an entrepreneur
in the business of chills and thrills.
♪♪
[ Thunder cracks ]
Hello, Sharks.
My name is Guy Kitchell, and I'm a serial thriller
from Madison, Wisconsin,
and the CEO of Thrill Builders.
[ Wolf howls ]
I'm seeking $250,000
for a 20% share in my company.
Sharks, Thrill Builders has created
some of the greatest attractions for the largest names
in the industry -- everything from escape rooms,
mini golf, animated props, haunted attractions,
and special effects.
We're the best in the biz
when it comes to all things thrill-inducing.
Now, I love Halloween,
but the problem is it only happens one day a year.
Why can't it be every day?
Well, that's where Thrill Builders comes in.
We're building Thrill Factory,
a 50,000-square-foot indoor entertainment center
for adults and kids that actually rocks.
[ Squeaking ]
Thrill Factory will have 12 amazing activities,
like Wizard's Adventure,
where kids will use real magic wands to solve puzzles
and explore the Enchanted Forest,
or Hyper Bowling,
where interactive bumpers allow you to score points
by hitting the moving targets.
And, of course, our signature haaaaunted houses
that let you blast animatronic monsters
as you navigate a haunted maze.
Our activities are a barrel of fun.
-[ Laughs ] -Oh, wow.
Thrill Factory will be fully immersive,
with attention to detail and incredible theming
like only Thrill Builders can do.
We know what works, we know what people like,
and we know what makes the most money.
So, Sharks, who's ready to raise the dead with me
and build the next big thing in family entertainment?
Well, you other Sharks may not know this,
but we have had a Blumhouse of Horrors,
which is a live-event haunted house
for many, many years.
They're very, very hard to make money at.
So my hat's off to you.
I'd love to know a little bit more about your numbers
that you achieved in the earlier haunted houses
that you've already done.
Yeah, so we've only done one haunted house.
It was called Wisconsin Scary Land.
And you're right --
haunted houses don't make a lot of money...
[ Laughs ] No problem.
...which is why we're moving into
family entertainment centers, which do make a ton of money.
But our haunted house, we had 68 actors,
so that ate up most of our budget.
How many nights was it open?
We were only open 11 nights, so you're right.
You make a couple hundred thousand bucks for the season.
And how much did you spend? About that?
No, we probably grossed about 450 and netted under 2.
Oh, that's -- I mean, that's impressive. Well, you netted --
Did better than me. My hat's off to you.
We've owned our own haunted house.
We've owned our own escape-room complex,
small family-entertainment center,
and now we're building a big-scale one,
a 50,000-square-foot one.
And are you buying a building,
renting a building, leasing a building?
How much are you gonna have to invest in total?
'Cause that does not sound cheap.
No, our current project is in a mall,
and in the 50,000 square feet,
our GC work is $1.8 million,
and then the whole project will be $7.2 million.
Where's that money coming from? Corcoran and Greiner: Wow.
So we've raised $1.7 million in cash,
and I have a loan for $5 million backed by the SBA.
You are a very brave man. Very brave.
Or you're nuts, one or the other.
How much money are you expecting to make?
We project to gross $5.5 mil the first year...
Really? ...and ramp that up to $10 mil.
And are you selling merchandise and food?
And what else are you doing?
Can I do a birthday party there?
We have birthday parties. We have bowling.
Hyper bowling is new. It's for little kids.
It's got 200 different games
that you can play with the bumpers.
What's your ticket price?
There's no ticket price to get in. No?
It's just per-attraction.
Let me get this deal -- $250,000 for 20%.
Am I getting a piece of your existing business
selling scary stuff to other guys,
or just this facility?
This is a real-estate play in some ways.
I'm open to either. So our existing business,
Thrill Builders, will do $4.2 million this year in sales. Yeah.
We did 3.2 last year, and we've done
in the last six years $12.2 million.
And it's profitable, too. What did you make last year?
Last year, we made $975,000 profit.
Blum: And do you own 100% of your business now?
No, I've sold 17% to get the $1.7 million. Got it.
Guy, let me just clear the deck a little.
I'm going to go out,
and it's not that I don't believe in you.
And I imagine you'll do very well.
And there are good numbers associated with it,
but it would scare the heck out of me.
I don't know a thing about it. So for that reason, I'm out.
All right, thank you.
Well, I'm happy to say, if it sweetens the pot,
I'm happy to have all of your investment
secured by Thrill Builders,
and I understand you're taking a risk.
O'Leary: Well, I think I would need that.
I mean, I'm intrigued. I have nothing like this
in my portfolio. I love real estate.
It's funny -- I actually like the business
that he had before the event. Right.
Seems to me like you're biting off way more than you can chew,
but I don't have any real-estate experience.
I have a lot of scary experience,
so if there was some way to get ownership
of your core business, that's actually
very interesting to me. Well, he's willing to guarantee.
But I want a piece of the whole thing.
Well, I love it. I do. I love it. I can see it.
I think you need to make this for kids and adults.
There's something for everyone, right?
All right, Guy, listen. I -- no. Stop. Wait.
I'm gonna make an offer. I'm gonna make an offer. Whoa! Whoa!
I'm gonna make an offer. Whoa, Nelly!
♪♪
Narrator: One Shark is out, but Kevin, Lori, and Jason
seem interested in Guy's scary entertainment company,
Thrill Builders.
O'Leary: I think it's an interesting play on real estate.
I'll do the $250,000 for 25%.
I'm willing to do the whole thing myself
or split it with anybody who wants to split.
I do want to do a deal with you...
But it's the whole business. ...because I love it.
Yeah, the whole business.
I would like to do the $250,000.
I would do it for 25%.
How about three Sharks?
Between me and Blumhouse, we have 3 million followers.
And on getting people who love scary stuff to your events,
we're pretty good at that.
-Well... -I mean, you can't go wrong.
...each with a different specialty
You've got -- between the three of us,
you've got everything covered here.
And you're raising from 20% to 25%?
Well, if it's three Sharks, you gotta give us 30
so it's 10 each.
Could you work out a line of credit for our next opening?
Well, I'm interested in going to finance this.
If these numbers are real,
you're gonna come with me to some foreign countries.
I've always wanted to go to Dubai, so...
No, because that's what I do. That's why I'm interested.
Guy, your numbers don't add up, then,
because you said you made $970,000
from Thrill Builders, right?
That's in one year? Or is that lifetime?
No, that was our net off of $3.2 mil.
-Last year, right? -Yeah.
So let's just make it $1 million to simplify it.
So for $250,000 for 30%, you're gonna write them a check
at the end of the year for $300,000
for giving you $250,000.
I know I'm undervaluing the company,
but it's very important to me that I get a deal.
Guy, why is it so important you get a deal from a Shark?
I don't get that at these terms. I don't understand.
Well, it's not the money for this one.
It's for expansion.
I want to build nine of these in the next five years.
That's the part I like. So if you had this one --
Right. You guys, why are you such naysayers?
You're throwing away your business, Guy.
Do the math. All right, I'm restating the deal here...
Blum: They're trying to unsell our deal here.
I'm not trying to go in. I'm trying to help the guy.
Greiner: Okay, so it's the three of us.
It's $250,000, 30% for the entire business.
And we'll be in it to win it with you together.
What do you think? This is so exciting. I'm interested.
All right, so you want to raise it to 30%, 10% each.
Will you go to $300,000 then?
-I'd do that. -I would do that.
-All right. Let's make a deal.
Whoo! Okay. Yay!
I'm so excited. I love this!
-Oh, we're gonna hug. -Yes! I'm thrilled.
-I'm gonna give you a hug, too. -All right. Thank you.
-Great job, great job. -I think it's so smart.
He just gave away 30% of his company for nothing.
Remember the watermelon? The watermelon and the grape?
-Exactly, Mark. -That's right.
But the watermelon and the grape --
You know what? Mark always does this
when he doesn't get a deal...
-'Cause I didn't get the deal? -He's upset.
-Yes! Jelly. -No, I'm not upset.
This is Mark waiting for a deal.
Thank you, everybody.
Do I want to give up 30%?
No, but I see the bigger picture of Thrill Factory.
Rather than capping out our current business
at $5 or $6 million a year,
we're gonna be doing over $100 million a year.
And I'd much rather have those Sharks on board
and give up a portion to them to make that happen.
[ Transylvanian accent ] Very, very scary.
Yes, for him.
I was born in Los Angeles in 1969.
My mother is a retired professor of art history.
My father started an art gallery.
My father took risks by buying paintings from artists
that no one heard of and no one liked.
I watched my dad take risks as an entrepreneur,
which paid off for him,
and it deeply affected my professional path.
My first job out of school,
I sold cable television door to door.
Turned out I was a very good salesman.
And in a way, what I still do is primarily sales.
My second job -- by day I was a real-estate agent,
and at night I was producing theater.
I got together with a group called Malaparte,
run by Ethan Hawke, and I had this amazing group
of colleagues at a very young age.
My first official job in entertainment
was working as vice president of acquisitions
for Arrow Entertainment.
In 1996, I went to the big leagues,
which is Miramax.
When I got to my late 20s,
I started my own company, but after two and a half years,
that company completely went down the tubes.
I almost went to go work for somebody else.
But something in me says,
"You have to do this on your own,"
and out of the sky,
I got a first-look deal at Paramount.
I got money to keep my company running,
and that was really the beginning of Blumhouse.
"Paranormal Activity" was the movie that changed my life.
Every studio had passed on the movie,
and I called the filmmaker, and I said,
"Let me try and get this movie into movie theaters.
And if you make anything over $500,000, I want X percent."
The budget of "Paranormal Activity"
was $15,000,
and the movie wound up grossing $193 million.
We made six
"Paranormal Activity" movies after that.
The total worldwide gross of all seven movies
is approaching $1 billion.
What "Paranormal Activity" did for me was teach me
that there was a way to make independent movies
that could be incredibly lucrative,
and the way we do that is we make
very, very low-budgeted movies,
and we own a big piece of the revenue
because we've worked for nothing up front.
We and the director and the actors don't get paid up front.
If the movies work, everyone does very, very well,
and if they don't, no one gets too hurt
because the movies didn't cost
very much money in the first place.
It was a new model.
It was a different approach to making movies.
One of the proudest moments I had
was when Harvard asked to do a case study on Blumhouse.
When we did that case study,
we had 13 of the top 25
most profitable movies ever made.
Can we get like 10% out of the budget?
Blumhouse is a multimedia company.
We do massive horror franchises --
"The Exorcist," "Halloween," "M3GAN."
We've been able to reach outside of horror --
"Whiplash," for which we were nominated for an Academy Award.
We were nominated for Best Picture
for "BlacKkKlansman,"
the ultimate horror movie, "Get Out."
I'm always afraid of failure,
but you can't be an entrepreneur and not fail.
No, we need it sooner than that.
It's got to be ready by Halloween.
I've been a fan of "Shark Tank" for a long time.
It's an incredibly important show
because I think people almost watch "Shark Tank"
in the same way they watch the Academy Awards.
Someone always says, "I remember when I was little
and I watched the Academy Awards, I thought,
someday I'll make it to this stage."
And I think "Shark Tank" is a very similar thing.
It gives people hope that, like, "Hey, if they did it,
I can do it, too."
♪♪
[ Evil laughing ]
[ Creaking ]
Narrator: Next up is a healthier version
of a sweet-and-spicy Mexican treat.
[ Playing mariachi "Shark Tank" music ]
♪♪
Sounds cool with a band, doesn't it?
♪♪
Hola, Sharks. My name is Annie Leal,
and I am from Monterrey, Mexico,
and today I am seeking $300,000
in exchange for a 5% equity stake in my company,
I Love Chamoy.
Sharks, when I think of Halloween candy,
I don't think of chocolates, caramels, or licorice.
No, that's boring. I think of Mexican candy.
And it's not just me. Consumers of all backgrounds
can't get enough of its sweet, spicy, and tangy flavors,
and no other product encompasses the flavors
and versatility of Mexican candy like Chamoy.
[ Plays up-tempo song ]
[ Chuckles ]
Chamoy is a traditional Mexican candy sauce
that is enjoyed over fruits, vegetables,
drinks, popcorns, chips, and even by itself.
I Love Chamoy is sugar-free...
carb-free...
and calorie-free.
Soon after we moved to America,
my dad was diagnosed with diabetes
and could no longer enjoy the sugary staple we grew up loving.
Seeing him struggle to find something
that reminded him of home that he could still enjoy
inspired me to create what was missing in the market.
I Love Chamoy is a love letter to my dad,
my culture, and my community.
So, Sharks, who wants to join I Love Chamoy
and make Mexican candy accessible to all?
Sharks, give it up to my wonderful mariachi.
-Whoo! Whoo! -Wonderful.
-Whoo-hoo! -Thank you, guys.
[ Playing mariachi "Shark Tank" music ]
Sounds good.
So, Sharks, in front of you,
you have three of the most popular ways
that our customers love to eat I Love Chamoy.
You have a fruta cup and chamoy.
You also have a mangonada, which is a nondairy
ice cream smoothie with mango, lime,
and, of course, I Love Chamoy.
And then you have a margarita rimmed with I Love Chamoy.
So these are sweetened by monk fruit?
Correct. It's sweetened with pure monk fruit.
It's an all-natural sweetener, sugar-free,
carb-free, and calorie-free.
And it complements the Chamoy quite well.
-Excellent. -Interesting.
And sugar-free products are really popular... Ooh, that is good.
...but when it came to the Mexican candy category,
there was nothing like this.
So why are you calling it a candy?
It's really a condiment or a sauce.
I grew up with it being a Mexican candy sauce.
We also have an additional product line
that I haven't showed you guys yet.
And in order to show you that, I'm gonna need
the help of Mr. Jason.
Can I borrow you for a little bit?
-Go ahead, Mr. Jason. -Beautiful.
So you're gonna stand right here.
Okay. So, guys, in Mexican culture,
the way we like to break piñatas
is we usually fill them with something really special,
and then you can go to town with -- Okay. Great.
Okay. So I'm gonna get your weapon of choice.
Go with the baseball bat.
Sharks, usually when we break piñatas,
we count from one to five in Spanish.
Do you guys want to help me out?
-Okay. -Yeah.
All: Uno!
Oh! Dos! Dos!
All: Dos!
Tres!
-There we go! -Whoo!
-You took some candy. -It's open.
Didn't that feel good?
I mean, this is part of the celebration.
There we go! What a mess.
-This is our new candy category. -Oh!
So it's Mexican candy, but it's sugar-free
chili-watermelon flavor.
This is a new product line that we soft-launched
a few months ago, and it was a great success.
-Chamoy gummies? -Chamoy gummies.
-Let me try one. Ready? -Absolutely.
It's spicy, it's sweet, it's tangy.
Ay, Chihuahua, caramba!
-There we go. -Mmm!
-Oh, it's got a kick to it. -And where were you selling it?
We're selling it direct to consumer
completely through our website.
And in our first full year in business,
which was last year, 2022,
we closed the year in $550,000 in sales. Wow.
Year-to-date, we've done $1.3 million.
-Wow. -Good for you. Well done.
And we're projected to close the year
between $3.8 and $4 million.
-Oh, my God! -Dang!
-Wow. And what is your -- -Wow!
Now, wait, is that the -- That's not even the candy.
You didn't even launch that. That's just these.
The candy is only $30,000 because we soft-launched it.
It's all coming from the pink bottle.
How did you build that customer?
That's a huge jump.
Are you spending a lot on advertising to do it?
No, we've -- 80%, 90% of our sales
are completely organic.
It's been entirely online through social media. Really?
And I started posting about my inspiration,
the fact that I wanted to find something healthier for my dad
and there wasn't anything like that available.
How many followers do you have?
Half a million followers across different social channels.
We're in around 250 grocery stores in Texas.
We're proudly made in Texas. We're in H-E-Bs.
We're also in a nationwide retailer
that specializes in home goods.
Is it just you, Annie, or do you have a team?
It's just me. I talk in "we" a lot.
You're doing all of this yourself?! Correct. Yes.
So, Annie, walk us through the numbers.
How much does it cost to make? What do you sell it for? Yes.
What's the wholesale price to retail?
So we make it between $1.60 and $2.
And we sell it direct to consumer
for $12 on our website.
We sell it to retailers between $3.90 and $4,
and they sell it to their customers between $6 to $7.
So being direct to consumer,
putting profits before anything else,
making sure we have cash flow -- all of that has made
such an incredible difference in my business.
You have no debt right now? Any debt? No debt.
Annie, you've got to be making just a boatload of money.
Our profits for this year is projected to be 1.5.
-Good for you. -Thank you.
Are you trying to get it outside
of the Mexican community? Absolutely.
So our customer base is not just exclusive
to Hispanics or Latinos.
I want to have a bigger footprint in retail.
No matter how we expand on retail,
I never plan on dropping the ball
on the social-media aspect.
Corcoran: Annie, I think you're underestimating
your insurmountable charm and salesmanship
that you're doing on social media.
None of that applies to retail.
So if you're in for the retail ride,
I'm not with you, so I'm out.
Thank you, Barbara.
O'Leary: Well, listen, I've heard enough, Annie.
I'm gonna make you an offer.
I'll give you the $300,000 for 15%.
Thank you so much for your offer.
Annie, I don't want to take a chunk of your business.
I think you can do this.
I'll be a consumer but not a partner.
-Thank you so much, Lori. -I'm out.
Really appreciate it.
Well, I too -- I'm a fan of your product.
But what I am particularly impressed by
is your way to talk about your business.
You're really doing everything right.
I would only be money to you.
This is so far afield from anything
I really have any experience in,
so I couldn't lend that much expertise to you.
So I'm out, but I hope you make a deal with another Shark.
Thank you so much.
Annie, you've earned that spot right there.
I mean, you're doing everything right.
You've gone to social. You didn't just do it
like a traditional consumer food product.
Everything's perfect, except it's not my taste.
I just couldn't be out there saying it's a great product,
but it's not great for me.
So, unfortunately, for those reasons, I'm out.
Well, all Sharks are out,
and all chamoy leads to Mr. Wonderful.
[ Thunder rumbles ]
What do you want to do, Annie?
♪♪
Narrator: Four Sharks are out.
Kevin has offered Annie $300,000 for a 15% stake
in her sweet-and-spicy sauce and candy business,
I Love Chamoy, but it's a much bigger stake
than the 5% she came in offering.
Well, all Sharks are out
and all chamoy leads to Mr. Wonderful.
What do you want to do, Annie?
Mr. Wonderful, would you consider doing
$350,000 for 7%?
No. Here's my concerns.
I think retail is harder than you think.
You've heard that already from the Sharks.
We've all been through the retail meat grinder.
I'm a big believer in what you've done on social.
But then there's the factor that I was worried about.
And, you know, it's Halloween here,
and there's tombstones and skulls.
Are you getting creepy?
No, I'm thinking you get run over by a truck. The risk.
Well, I was gonna say -- And you're gonna walk in
and just operate the company, right?
-You know what? I mean... -You're the whole deal.
...that is not a legitimate reason.
We've built a really, really strong brand.
And I just want to say, when it comes to moving
into retail and taking --
I'm a big fan of taking calculated risks.
Obviously, and it shows.
I don't necessarily agree about getting --
if you get hit by a truck, those are other problems.
But you do have the money to hire another business partner,
which I would definitely,
whether you make a deal or not...
You countered, and you're allowed to say no, Annie.
Honestly, Annie, what if he got hit by a truck?
That's right, Kevin.
-Then I would take his chair. -I look at it this way.
I have a whole team of people that work with me,
and they have for decades. They're Team Wonderful.
Everybody knows that. And you'll meet them.
But, you know, there's enough risk in this deal
because the big guys in this space can easily knock you off.
And then all you've got
is whatever the brand is at that point,
'cause they can fight on price, they can fight on distribution.
I get all that.
I've made you an offer I'm comfortable with.
You're not dead to me right now. You could be in a minute.
Stick to your guns, Annie. Stick to your guns.
15% is too much. I've been --
I'm gonna stick with my guns, too, Annie.
I'll do the deal. I'll give you $300,000 for 15%,
and you've got a partner,
and we ride into the mariachi sunset.
You're brutal.
I'm not brutal. I'm Mr. Wonderful.
I came here to make a deal, but this is breaking my heart.
I'm not competing with anybody, just myself.
And I'll tell you this -- I came here to get a deal,
to make my parents proud, to make my community proud.
And because I truly believe... You already have.
...in how far this -- thank you --
how far this company can go,
would you consider doing $300,000 for 8%,
and we have a deal?
Well, I haven't been flexible yet,
but I'll go to 12 1/2 and I'll do it there.
That's my final offer.
12 is so high. In the spirit of Halloween --
-It's not so high. -In the spirit of Halloween.
I've been working really hard to make all of these sales...
Annie, you're insanely profitable.
That's the difference. Thank you.
If you were losing money,
then the 3%, 5% doesn't really matter.
Meet in the middle, guys. It's a great deal.
O'Leary: All of this is interesting,
but none of them are making you an offer.
I'm the only Shark that really believes in you
with his money. I'll do it at 12.5%.
My final offer, Annie.
-I can't take the 12.5%. -I appreciate it.
Yay! Good for you.
-Thank you so much. Bye, guys. -Great job, Annie.
Greiner: Good job, Annie. Congratulations.
Leal: That was a blood-sucking offer that Kevin made.
His ask, 12.5%, was just way too high.
I've worked really hard for I Love Chamoy.
We're profitable.
We have so many new things coming out, and it's just --
I wasn't able to meet him at that number.
Narrator: For our milestone 15th season,
we're counting down the top 15 Shark Tank companies
with the highest total retail sales.
Number 3 is Scrub Daddy with $926 million.
Number 2 is Everlywell with a whopping $1.1 billion.
And the top spot goes to Bombas
with $1.3 billion in retail sales.
♪♪
Narrator: Next up are two artists
with a passion for pumpkins.
♪♪
[ Thunder rumbles ]
Hey Sharks. I'm Marc Evan.
And I'm Chris Soria.
We're from New York, and we're the co-founders
of a crazy carving company.
We are...
[ Laughter ]
Together: ...Maniac Pumpkin Carvers.
We're lifelong artists, Halloween lovers,
and professional carvers who have been honing our skills
and techniques for decades.
We produce custom pieces that have been featured
and displayed in prestigious museums,
events, and installations across the country.
From detailed portraits
to re-creations of famous works of art
and iconic insignia.
We've carved out our niche, elevating this nostalgic pastime
to an ephemeral art form.
And now we're here to help all of you with our...
Together: ...School of Pumpkin.
We'll feature online carving classes,
teaching a wide variety of pumpkin techniques
to help unlock your true pumpkin potential.
And we'll offer all the tools and resources
one needs to carve the perfect pumpkin.
Our School of Pumpkin is still growing on the vine.
That's why we're seeking $150,000 for 8% equity
to really help it thrive.
So, Sharks, who wants to get pumped up with us and...
Together: ...pumpkin like a pro?
So how would you guys release my pumpkin-carving potential?
Well, we've been teaching art
for over a decade in various forms.
Our courses will get you through the steps
to carve something that you're really proud of.
And even if your first one is not a masterpiece,
we're still gonna help you get away
from the classic jack-o'-lantern that you've done in the past
and do something really fun.
Tell us about the business. What are we buying into?
And what is the tangible thing that the consumer is buying?
The last three years
were a real game-changer in our business,
which a lot of it depended on live, in-person events.
And with the pandemic,
we immediately transitioned to doing online classes,
online events and demonstrations.
Are you making any money?
In the last three years,
we sold over $170,000 worth of virtual-class experiences...
-Wow. -Good for you.
...and $90,000 of tool kits.
So you do have a tool kit. We just don't see it.
Our tool kits currently are hand-selected items
that we've been using that we love and recommend.
But we do have dreams
of releasing our own proprietary tools.
Just in the last year, how much did you make?
Last year our gross sales were $294,000.
But that's for pumpkins, not classes.
No, our business, we do all different types of things
pumpkin-related, including events,
classes, demonstrations, and custom carving orders.
If I want to order Mr. Wonderful pumpkin,
do I send you a picture? And he will.
For sure he will.
How do I get my face in 3D?
Are you using laser cutters? How are you doing this?
We do all the artwork by hand.
And that's real pumpkin?
These are real pumpkins carved by hand.
We're lifelong artists.
People hire us to do portraits and logos and movie posters,
all kinds of amazing designs.
So somebody watching on television --
can they go to a website and upload a picture,
and you'll send them a pumpkin? Or does it have to be local?
We do ship pumpkins all over the country.
The cost of shipping a live pumpkin is a little prohibitive.
Nothing would make me happier
than sending a picture of Mr. Wonderful....
Yeah! ...and you sending me a carved 3D pumpkin
of Mr. Wonderful so I can smash it on Halloween night.
Or it could have a spike in its head, like, yeah.
-Even better. See? -Even better.
I think we should offer a Wonder special.
And I'll get a 7% royalty. What would that cost?
So a portrait of Mr. Wonderful would probably be
somewhere in the $600 to $800 range.
Oh, so worth it.
You have to do the work yourself,
or do you have a lot of carvers working for you?
We do. We have a team of artists
that we staff mostly for the peak weeks of October.
The rest of the time, we're cranking out
as much of it as we can.
But you're all pumpkin all the time now,
'cause it sounds to me like you're pulling out
between $150,000 and $200,000 each a year as pumpkin dudes.
No, they're all pumpkin all the time one month a year.
Well, except I'm thinking maybe I want to do a little
pumpkin action off season. Can I do that?
When we first started the business,
our season was really the week or two before Halloween.
Now our season is a quarter of the year.
So in August and September,
we're carving tons of things that are gonna be used
in product placements and advertisements. Ah.
It's really content creation.
Could you carve my face on a watermelon?
-Absolutely. -Absolutely.
Could you put Mark Cuban's on the grape?
Guys! [ Laughter ]
I have a more kind of
philosophical question for you guys.
You have this great thing going.
It's small. It's seasonal.
It seems tricky to scale,
and you have a great thing going.
So why are you here?
We really want to get into the direct-consumer market.
Halloween is a $10-billion-a-year industry.
-Yeah, baby! -Yes, it is.
149 million people are expected
to carve pumpkins this year.
We want all of those people to be using our tools
and downloading our streaming classes.
-But you don't have tools. -You don't have the tools, yeah.
You gotta have tools with your name on. Yeah.
You got to have Maniac Pumpkin Carvers knives.
Knives!
How quickly are your online classes growing now?
So far we haven't been
offering them direct to consumer.
Oh, small detail.
Oh, you don't have classes to people? Who are you selling them to?
To corporate clients.
They have us do a live Zoom class or webinar.
It's a great, fun team-building exercise.
Yeah, but you know what?
You're barking up the wrong tree.
Why not apply your skills to another market?
Do you ever do sand castles?
That's temporary. It takes artistic talent.
Why curtail your whole business into four months a year?
I don't see the potential in it.
So for that reason, I'm out.
Okay. Thank you. I think you guys have done a fantastic job
articulating a market I'd never heard of.
But, guys, I don't see a scalable business here.
Your deal itself is very, very scary.
So I'm out.
Look, guys, you're looking for a way to scale.
That's the hard part, right? I just don't know that
online pumpkin-carving classes will be huge.
That makes it a tough investment.
So for those reasons, I'm out.
But congrats on what you've accomplished.
-Thank you. -Thank you.
Listen, there's a lot of pumpkin-carving tools
out there, actually, and there's diagrams
and stencils and things like that.
I don't think trying to compete with what else
is out there already really makes any sense.
So I'm not gonna take the journey, I'm sorry.
I wish you good luck, but I'm out.
Thank you.
Guys, my business today is really managing the line
between art and commerce,
taking artists who make movies and TV shows
and making those movies and television shows profitable.
And what I see today is two terrific artists
with a fabulous seasonal activity,
which is fun for you guys to do.
And I actually think
if you had more business running through your veins --
you'd be selling images and everything else --
I think if you actually did that,
you would be very, very unhappy.
And an unhappy entrepreneur is not a successful entrepreneur.
So for that reason, I'm out.
-Have fun, guys. Congrats. -Get ready for those orders.
-Thank you for sharing with us. -Thank you very much.
Cuban: Congrats, guys.
Evan: We are disappointed that we didn't get an investment,
but it's not gonna stop us from doing what we do.
We're just gonna keep moving forward,
making pumpkin art, teaching pumpkin classes.
It's October. This is our busy season.
We have to get back to the studio and get carving.
It's gonna be a crazy season no matter what.
♪♪
Narrator: Next into the Tank is a way to experience
some of life's dark mysteries.
[ Snarls ]
♪♪
[ Thunder rumbles ]
Hi, Sharks. My name is Mike Huberty.
And I'm Allison Jornlin.
And we're asking for $250,000 for 15% of our company.
Can ghosts make you rich?
September 24th, 1869 -- the first Black Friday.
The price of gold collapses.
The United States stock market is devastated.
Except for one tycoon who anticipated the disaster
and came out on top.
Cornelius Vanderbilt.
Because he had a secret.
He was living with a psychic medium
who would hold séances in his house
and ask the spirits what the future
of the stock market might hold.
When asked how other business leaders could experience
similar success, Vanderbilt said...
"Do as I do..."
[ Evil laughter ]
"...consult the spirits."
Sharks, it's real haunted history like this
that inspired my sister and I to found
American Ghost Walks --
deeply researched history tours
of beautiful locations with haunted pasts.
Our tours are entertaining presentations
of remarkable facts
so that even nonbelievers have a wickedly good time.
So, Sharks, Cornelius Vanderbilt knew
that ghosts could make you rich.
So who's ready to consult the spirits
and join American Ghost Walks for some real ghost stories
and real spooky fun?
What is your business? It's tours or it's virtual?
It's live, guided haunted history tours.
Now we're in seven states and Puerto Rico.
Good for you. How many people do you have giving the tours?
We have about 32 employees.
-Wow. -I thought you guys were a joke.
You have a real business here.
Are the tour guides -- are they playing a part,
or are they just very neutral and explaining a story?
Great question. The tour guides are people
who are engaged and love the paranormal.
Blum: Almost every horror movie that we make,
there has to be one authority.
The audience, at least, has to believe
that this person is an authority
and really believes in the paranormal.
So the casting of your tour guides
is extraordinarily important, I would imagine.
Absolutely. Which is why we hire people
who have a passion for this already.
It's people who already had an interest
in true crime and ghost stories,
and they were doing this already for fun
and taking their friends around.
But we write a script,
do the research, find the stories.
Like, in Los Angeles and Chicago, it's easy.
There's a ton of public spaces.
You've got buildings that have been around for 100 years
that have history, that have ghost stories.
You go right in front of them.
Some of the smaller towns are exciting
because you're finding stories that nobody else has.
How long has the business been going on
and how much are you making?
Allison started in 2008 in Milwaukee,
and then I started in Madison in 2010.
Started a tour in Minneapolis. The next year was Saint Paul.
Next year was a vacation town.
Were they all equally successful?
No. [ Laughter ]
All these are cities in the north.
What do you do in the winter? "No." "No."
Well, in the winter time, a lot of them close down.
But so in 2020, Minnesota and Wisconsin are our only states.
So we made $92,000.
Made as means profit or grossed, when you say 92,000?
That is grossed. You grossed $92,000.
And so then we grossed in 2021,
when we added Illinois, $392,000.
-How much did you spend? -Ooh, that's a lot.
We spent -- let's see, it was $392,000.
We spent $300,000. Wow. That's a lot.
-So you made $92,000 in profit? -Correct.
Right. Continue. What about now?
2022, we moved to $546,000.
What was the net of 2022?
Net of '22 was negative.
Negative. Okay. How much did you lose?
-We lost $42,000. -Got it.
We reinvested in the business that year.
So that's when we spent money buying a tour in Chicago.
You bought one that existed? That's interesting.
Yes, acquisitions are very important in this business.
How much did you spend on the acquisitions?
About $115,000.
What's your projected gross in '23?
We're projecting about $650,000.
And what's your projected spend in '23?
$600,000.
Right, so tiny profit. So right now --
And are you guys doing this full-time?
Oh, we quit our jobs. We quit our jobs.
So this is it. We're full-time professional weirdos.
How much are you pulling out of the business right now?
I usually, I budget, and then when I see the bills,
I pull out enough to pay the bills.
About how much? 'Cause you're talking about bringing in an investor.
They gotta pull something out too, right?
Absolutely. You got to wet your beak on a deal.
Well, they're in a growth stage.
Right, we are definitely -- thank you, Jason,
for for saying that. You're welcome.
We're in a growth position right now.
Is that a different way of saying you can't make any money?
-No, no! -No.
No, it's saying that we've invested in acquisitions
and we've made that money back.
And now we've discovered a scalable business model
that we want to take nationwide, but that's not the limit.
I get it. I get the model. It's a service business.
Right. But, really, you want to be profitable.
Well, let's talk about cruise excursions next,
because we've broken into the cruise market.
That's where we're going to see --
-The haunted cruise? -Yeah.
Guys, I desperately wanted to have
a successful production company.
The first movie we ever did, which was "Paranormal Activity,"
and I thought after we had that movie,
I'm gonna do low-budget horror movies and nothing else.
And I was lucky I had that success when I was 35 years old.
If I was 20, I would have said,
"I want to make the next 'Transformers.'
I want to make a big, expensive..."
But I said, "I want to do nothing
but low-budget horror movies."
And that's how I grew my business
to what it is today.
And what I hear is that you're spread way too thin.
You guys are not spending enough time on what you have.
And if I give you one piece of advice,
is to try and focus on the assets that you have
and make them more profitable before you take in outside money
or before you spend more money, in any case.
And for those reasons, and I wish you the best of luck,
I'm out.
I think it's fun what you're doing,
and I think it's great passion and interest for you.
But I agree with everything that Jason said.
And for those reasons, I'm out.
Well, we appreciate your advice. Absolutely.
The more I listen to you,
on what your plan is, the more confused I am.
But it just dawned on me that I think you're doing
what usually puts most of my entrepreneurs out of business.
It's falling in love with the next rainbow
before you finish the last rainbow. Yeah.
You really haven't given us anything concrete
that makes us feel like your core business
has been profitable, consistent
before you go on to something else.
So for that reason, I'm out, yeah.
Look, guys, you have to be more concrete,
to Barbara's point.
If you would have come out here and said,
"We're good at these tours. We know how to double them.
There's 1,400 of them,
and we want to buy the top 100" --
if you would have been very specific in that strategy,
that might have gotten my interest,
but it was a little bit all over the map.
So for those reasons, I'm out.
Okay, 'cause we also have not broken into merchandise yet.
Number one -- we got a sweet logo.
That logo's gonna look great on t-shirts.
You are not in the merch! You are in the tour business!
-It's true. -You do not listen to my advice!
O'Leary: I'll tell you the trouble I'm having with this deal.
I think you asked for too much money.
I'm so intrigued with it. It's so unique.
The trouble is, it's $250,000,
a quarter of $1 million. Yes.
You can't just take a flyer. So I have to make that back.
Now, my options are I give you the $250,000,
or I buy another watch,
and most of my watches appreciate in value.
That's what happens.
And that's the only reason I work is to buy more watches
and sometimes give it to guys like you.
But you're riskier than a new watch.
If this was 50 or a hunski, maybe.
"A hunski."
And, you know, it's not clear to me how I 10x on this.
I gotta make 2.5 million bucks.
That's what we do in Shark Tank.
We want winners.
It's a $500 million industry, though.
Yeah, yeah, but we can't get near --
You're nowhere near a place to spin enough cash
so that every month I get my $25,000 in distributions.
It's a service business.
We're not gonna take it public.
It's gotta spin cash so that I can wet my beak.
You know, I don't want to ghost the money.
I give it to you and say, "Bye, money! Bye.
I'll never see you again." Right.
I'm sorry, guys. I'm out.
-Thank you. -Good luck, guys.
Cuban: Congrats on what you've accomplished.
All right, well, I think you guys missed out
on the next million-dollar tourism company.
For your sake, I hope you're right.
When you call us next time, it'll be $250,000 for 10%.
[ Laughter ]
-See you, Mike. Congratulations. -Thanks.
-Good luck, guys. -Good luck.
Jornlin: I don't feel disappointed at all.
Who in our line of work
doesn't want to feel what it feels like
to be torn apart by Sharks?
But like ghosts, we'll always come back.
[ Evil laughter ]
Now we can use this place
as a location on our haunted history tours,
because we're the victims of a true crime.
They had something.
They just asked for too much money.
$50,000 I would have given them.
I mean, they should have asked for $50,000,
'cause they would have been lucky to have you.
[ Growling ]
O'Leary: Is that Mindy from casting?
[ Laughter ]
Boy, she looks bad.
I think she looks better.
Every time there's a bad deal, this shows up.
Yeah, exactly.
She's upset we're not making more deals.
-You need a throat lozenge. -Oh, stop. Stop.
Blum: So bad!
O'Leary: What have I done to deserve this?
Don't look at me, baby.
-[ Growling ] -And that's lunch.
...for a chance to win a video chat with a Shark,
"Shark Tank" gear,
or a visit to the "Shark Tank" set.
Go to ABC.com/sharktank for more details.
Winners will be contacted on Instagram.
We can only contact followers
of "Shark Tank"'s official Instagram.
♪♪