5 Million-Dollar Businesses That Turned Down ‘Shark Tank’ Deals

If you're an aspiring entrepreneur, you probably know all about ABC's "Shark Tank" show. If you don't, here's a quick rundown:

On the show, a team of "Sharks" — a panel of business-savvy individuals, including billionaire Mark Cuban, real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran and venture capitalist Kevin O' Leary, among others — hear aspiring entrepreneurs' business ideas. The entrepreneurs' goal is to get at least one of the Sharks to fund their ideas, and the Sharks' goal is to find a potentially good investment and own a piece of the business.

Sometimes, the Sharks like their ideas, but other times the deals don't fall through after the show's taping. And in some cases, the entrepreneurs don't want to give up ownership and end up turning down the deals. Still, that doesn't mean those businesses don't end up making a ton of money after walking away from "Shark Tank.

1. Coffee Meets Bagel
Sisters Arum, Dawoon, and Soo Kang founded dating network Coffee Meets Bagel, which matches users with friends of friends. When the sisters appeared on Season 6 of "Shark Tank," they were asking for $500,000 for a 5 percent equity stake.

The Sharks were impressed — Mark Cuban was wowed enough to offer $30 million to buy the whole company outright, the biggest offer in "Shark Tank" history. The Kang sisters were not looking to part with the business, however, and left the Tank without a deal.

Coffee Meets Bagel still got its needed funding, raising $7.8 million in Series A funding as of February 2015, reports TechCrunch. The app also expanded to the Hong Kong market in March 2015, with further international expansions planned, reports Forbes.

Since the show aired, Coffee Meets Bagel has tripled its user base. "We also released a lot of cool features such as Send a Woo and Photo Lab," said Dawoon Kang.

2. Voyage-Air Guitar
Jeff Cohen first appeared on the first season of "Shark Tank," trying to convince the investors to give him $500,000 for 5 percent of Voyage-Air Guitars, which makes guitars that fold in half for easier transportation. The investors were intrigued by his product but concerned by his aggressive valuation when they found out Voyage-Air Guitars wasn't turning a profit.
Kevin O'Leary offered $500,000 for a 51 percent stake, and Kevin Harrington offered to join the deal and bring his infomercial know-how to the table. Cohen was unwilling to part with a majority share of his business and declined, prompting O'Leary to utter some now-famous quotes, calling Cohen "a human tragedy," and stating, "You're dead to me."
O'Leary was still interested, however, and Cohen returned for a taping in Season 3. The negotiations between the two got so detailed they couldn't be edited down for inclusion in an aired episode, Cohen told CNBC. Eventually, however, O'Leary and Cohen settled on a deal, and in Season 4, "Shark Tank" aired an update on Voyage-Air Guitar, reporting that the business makes millions of dollars a year.
And today, the business continues to grow and thrive. "Voyage-Air Guitar is doing quite well and, as the producers tell me, remains one of the best remembered and talked-about products ever featured on 'Shark Tank,'" said Cohen.

3. Chef Big Shake
Shawn Davis pitched his specialty burger business on Season 2 of "Shark Tank." No sharks took Davis up on his offer to get a 25 percent equity stake of the company for $200,000, however, and he walked away without a deal made.
After the episode featuring Davis' shrimp burgers and other unique fare aired, however, capital from angel investors starting coming in, and Chef Big Shake's revenue grew from $30,000 to $5 million in a year, according to CNBC. In fact, Cuban said on "Good Morning America" that passing on Chef Big Shake was one of his biggest missed opportunities on "Shark Tank."
In December 2015, Davis entered a multimillion-dollar venture deal to expand his fast-casual restaurant concept, Big Shake's Hot Chicken. Currently, the restaurant is only in Franklin, Tenn. But, the new deal is expected to open three new locations in 2016: two in Lexington, Ky., and one in Nashville, Tenn. According to Big Shake's reps, five new locations are expected to open in 2017.

4. Hy-Conn LLC
Hy-Conn owner Jeff Stroope asked for $500,000 for a 40 percent equity stake in his fire hose hardware manufacturing company during the second season. In front of the Sharks, Stroope demonstrated that his connector shaves valuable seconds off the time it takes to connect a hose to a fire hydrant, potentially saving lives.
Cuban saw a big opportunity to license the design for consumer hoses and offered $1.25 million plus a three-year employment deal worth $300,000 to buy the company, with 7.5 percent royalties in perpetuity. Stroope took the deal, but the agreement later fell through (in a Facebook post, Stroope blamed Cuban's "ego"). Hy-Conn kept at it, however, and Stroope's passion for the product helped grow it to a company worth $5 million, per NerdWallet.

5. First Defense Nasal Screens
Joseph Moore appeared on the second season of "Shark Tank," seeking $500,000 for 10 percent of his company that makes nasal air filters, First Defense Nasal Screens. With an $8 million overseas contract in hand, several Sharks saw the potential and gave him offers, including a $4 million bid from Robert Herjavec, the largest offer on "Shark Tank" up to that point.
On air, Moore opted for a loan offer from Cuban, O'Leary and Daymond John, worth $750,000 for a 30 percent equity stake; however, Moore ultimately decided not to go through with it. Turning down the "Shark Tank" money doesn't seem to have hurt the company: Moore told CNBC in 2014 that First Defense Nasal Screens are now sold in 30 countries around the world and are protected under two patents (more are pending).
Recently, Moore told GOBankingRates.com that First Defense Nasal Screens is now a multimillion-dollar company that's debt-free and still privately owned with licensing and distribution contacts all over the world.