Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec invested $300k for 30 percent equity in the long skateboard company Hamboards in 2014. Their strategy to grow the business was to focus on selling their hand-crafted boards to boutique stores. After their Shark Tank appearance, sales exceeded $1 million. But the following year, sales reached just $447k, and the company needs to sell about $800k to break even. On Beyond the Tank, Herjavec faces the fact that Hamboards isn’t making money. The company either has to lower costs or increase sales.
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The cautionary tale of Hamboards came up last week on Shark Tank when Slyde, a company that makes handboards for bodysurfing, pitched its business on the show. Although Herjavec revealed that Hamboards’ current distribution strategy wasn’t working, he still made Slyde an offer. But his offer was trumped by an offer from Mark Cuban (investor in Tower Paddle Boards) and guest Shark investor Ashton Kutcher. While convincing the Slyde founders to take their offer, Mark Cuban said of Herjavec, “He hasn’t learned from his mistakes.” Beyond the Tank airs Tuesdays at 10pm on ABC.
