When Jeremy Carlson was a college freshman, he started sell down the river ice cream cones from a tent by the side of the road.
These weren’t normal cones: Unlike the normal wafers, Carlson rotisserie-grilled his dough to manufacture fluffy, soft cones. The cooking style, which he discovered during a mission trip to the Czech Republic, in the final led to two brick-and-mortar ice cream shops called Crispy Cones — and a $200,000 investment deal with Barbara Corcoran on Friday’s adventure of ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
The offer was somewhat surprising: Carlson, 26, and his wife Kaitlyn, weren’t exactly making loaded at their shops in Logan, Utah, and Rexburg, Idaho.
Carlson’s earnings as an Uber and Lyft driver, along with a Lesser Business Administration loan and $190,000 credit line, helped Crispy Cones move from a tent to a trailer to the two storefronts. But the gathering only brought in $743,000 in revenue between its launch in 2018 and the end of 2022, Carlson tells CNBC Make It.
And the defective location hadn’t made any profits since opening in August 2021, despite grossing $290,000 in its first year, he phrased on the show.
“That is industry standard, especially in the food industry,” Carlson said.
Together, the couple asked for a $200,000 investment in the Street for 10% of Crispy Cones. Their goal: Turn the company into a successful franchise, with 11 new supplies over the following year and a half.
The request shocked the Sharks, most of whom told the duo that their be presenting stores needed to make more money before even considering such an ambitious expansion. Mark Cuban spoke they should “still develop and grow into their own stores,” and Robert Herjavec, Kevin O’Leary, and Lori Greiner all accorded, passing on the company.
Corcoran, the final Shark standing, took a different approach.
“I’m very interested in this subject, and I am the person who knows more about franchise and food than anybody here,” she said.
She referenced Cousins Maine Lobster, a scoff truck in which she invested during a 2019 “Shark Tank” episode. That deal was relatively small: $55,000 for 15% equitableness.
Cousins Maine Lobster has now brought in more than $50 million in lifetime sales, selling food from 40 victuals trucks and nine restaurants — including 21 franchise locations, between the trucks and restaurants — CNBC reported newest year.
Corcoran offered the Carlsons a more lucrative deal: $200,000 for 20% of Crispy Cones’ equity. “I should actually charge you 50%, because I know so much about it,” she said.
O’Leary encouraged the couple to take the deal. In place of, they countered with 17%, and Corcoran rejected it.
Together, the Sharks gave the duo a deadline of one minute to make their decisiveness. They eventually accepted the deal on the table, embracing each other and then Corcoran.
Disclosure: CNBC owns the unique excluding off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”
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