[Shark Pup Tank] #104 - From Pizza To Dudes

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Another Shark Tank episode has happened and here is me trying to act as if I have any idea what I am doing. Here are my thoughts that I kept writing while watching the episode and with some added concepts, ideas or introspectives that I have on the matter. Ironically, this time I even had some comparisons to an Austrian company, so be sure to read if you want to find out which one! Let us continue with the fourth episode of the seventh season, which aired on October 16th, 2015.

Table 87 Frozen Coal Oven Pizza
While I understand the fact that his business has proven itself lucrative, even with him going to open a second restaurant, I do not quite believe that there is a necessity to truly expand it in the frozen coal oven industry. While trying to sell a true Brooklyn, New York pie, but I wonder if it would be a smarter idea to actually just open up his restaurant chain into a franchise. His focus won’t truly be on the sale of these frozen pizzas, but also trying to balance his two restaurants. It would almost make more sense to expand his restaurant business with a delivery service, which is something that is quite lucrative. Still, also being able to quickly heat the pizza is quite productive and I believe Mike Cuban actually found the best alternative for avoiding the competitive market but to create up his own sales channel online. While it could be potentially easier, it does allow expansion of his restaurant, but it could become an image issue. Why buy the fresh pizza if I can get the same product online and all I need to heat it up? It could potential cannibal his sales on both fronts and he might end up being fighting himself rather than actual proving himself against his competition. His USP lies in the fresh quality of his food, which I believe would be sold better by focusing on his restaurants and its expansions. Maybe he could even reshape his entire business structure by focusing on his one store, but maybe selling his pizza to restaurants, they don’t have to prepare or cook the pizza and he can still get it to customers outside of his service, but as of his deal I wouldn’t truly invest if the concept isn’t restructured.

EZ-Pee-Z
Besides the fact that this name just makes me laugh and the fact that “Flip your lid!” is its tagline kind of makes me giggle. Trying to help children how to pee and making it easy for adults to teach it, is a nice concept, but besides the fact that it is just a concept as it is only in the prototype phase. That already has me a bit concerned and he doesn’t truly seems quite focused on the toilet, as it seems he owns three gyms. While I agree that the lack of padding does make a huge difference, as one has to make it comfortable for a child, my personal issue is that this is a toilet seat that people have to purchase as soon as they have a child, meaning instead of buying an easy product that you can simply just add on to the toilet, they have to go out of their way of replace it. It simply seems like too much of a hassle to get this product sold, as many people will question how exactly this product could prove itself. Also, this guy is trying way to hard to be someone else rather than sell it on his own merits. While he understands each of the sharks, I never saw him in the presentation.

Milk and Brookies
The combination of a cookie and a brownie is an adorable combination, but it actually looks more like a muffin if you ask me. The specialty brookie combination isn’t anything new to me as an Austrian, as it is a staple of the Zotter chocolate product, which lets you create your own chocolate bar online and have it delivered to you. While I see that this product could potentially prove itself due to the combination, but I simply have a hard time seeing another specialty treat selling or being able to expand. But in addition to them not working full-time could also halt their expansion. A bake-to-order system and customizing each one is quite a difficult task if they don’t have a functioning system behind themselves, which is why Zotter’s system works as they were already established before they actually created this specialization system works. It might even be smarter to try and sell the product through a new distribution channel that will give them enough money so that they can actually start standardizing a functioning production of the brookies. Also, I didn’t quite understand what the point of the milk was exactly and it would have been nice to see how that played into the matter, as it is only a pla yon “milk and cookies”.

DUDE Products
Alright, I just wrote an article on this, but they kind of lost me with the product’s name and them calling themselves the “Dudes”. I don’t quite understand how this product is distinct from any other baby wipes. It being something you can take along with you, but carrying around a wipe in public doesn’t quite seem like something a man does, as who exactly would carry this around in his pocket. It would rather be more effective if it was a wipe made for woman, who would rather be open to carrying this around in her purse. Still, a 40% margin is respectable and the deal with Kroeger is interesting, but how it exactly helps an investor does keep me a bit perplexed. Yet this doesn’t truly sell me on a concept, as their target audience is indirectly the men, but in reality the woman who commonly purchase this product. It being quite fragile doesn’t help the product and with a name that simply does not work for me, as I have a hard time seeing a product sell with an everyday name like that and it just loses me if I would be a potential investor.

It is your turn! What do you think of the products? Would you invest? Do you think I am wrong? Leave a comment below!

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