Hiccup – Shark Tank Season 16

The Shark Investors Engage In A Discussion With The Hiccup Founder

Highlights

• Kristina Smithe approaches the Shark investors with Hiccup in the eighth episode.
• The budding entrepreneur seeks $200K for 10% equity in her cup brand.
• Kristina receives apprehensions regarding the scalability of Hiccup.

Overview

Aspiring entrepreneur Kristina Smithe tries to convince the Shark investors to invest in her environmentally conscious venture Hiccup. Kristina starts her pitch by giving a backdrop of how marathon runners throw their water cups while running on the course and create a huge mess.

To curb the issue, the entrepreneur has come up with her reusable cup service for aid stations at running events. Hiccup offers silicon cups that are collected post-race and cleaned for reuse at another event.

Kristina claims that with every event they serve, they are moving closer to making cup waste a thing of the past.

Hiccup Shark Tank: What Happened On Season 16

Kristina Smithe appears in the eighth episode of season 16 seeking $200K for 10% equity. Robert Herjavec, who has run many marathons, loves the idea. He is curious about the difference in cost between what the organizers pay for normal cups versus Kristina’s products.

The entrepreneur says that Hiccup’s cups are priced at 15 cents per piece. She rents them out by the thousands. Whereas, as per Kristina, paper cups are currently priced at 7 cents. She adds that after 10,000 cups are rented, Hiccup lowers the cost to 10 cents per cup for all of the preceding thousands.

Kevin O’Leary thinks the range is closer but still 30% more. Mark Cuban wants to know about Hiccup’s sales. Kristina claims that her silicon cup brand had made $67K in 2023. The maximum number of cups that she has sold before Shark Tank is 50,000. Revenue made through it was $6,500.

Mark asks her how big Hiccup can become. The entrepreneur replies, ‘two million cups for the world’s major marathons.’

Lori Greiner is curious to know her motivation to come up with the environmentally conscious Hiccup. Kristina replies that the idea hit her from a personal marathon experience in California.

She added that at that time, she worked on a tugboat and watched a lot of Shark Tank. The Sharks are amused to learn this.

Kevin wants to know if Kristina has been associated with any major marathons. She replies saying that she piloted at the Chicago Marathon. Kevin asks why she has not got any sponsors’ logos on the cups. Kristina says it was because she was ‘busy washing the cups.’ Kevin is not happy with the answer.

Kristina runs Hiccup all on her own.

 

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Did Hiccup Shark Tank Get A Deal?

Robert says that he does see a demand for Hiccup but is not assured of its scalability. So, he exits the Hiccup Shark Tank deal. Lori Greiner is the next one out of the deal. Although she admires Kristina’s thoughts for the environment, Lori feels Hiccup is not the right business for her.

Daniel steps out of the Hiccup Shark Tank deal for a reason same as Robert. Kevin interrupts and says he would like to interpret Daniel’s views. Mr. Wonderful then states that ‘Hiccup sucks.’ While his fellow Sharks disagree, Kevin continues and says that Kristina’s business is ‘horrible.’

He further adds, ‘They’re not going to give you a dime. Do not keep going. Shut this thing down. You obviously have talents you can pursue.’

Disagreeing with Kevin’s harsh feedback, Mark says that the problem with Hiccup is that it is ‘not a big enough business for an investor.’ The only thing Kristina needs to do is to lock in a big marathon. Once that is done, things will ease down for investors.

Mark adds that she could make a 30% share of the market and make millions of dollars a year. But he is not sure how much bigger she could get than 30% of the market. This is why he, too, opts out of the Hiccup Shark Tank deal.

As a result, Kristina walks out without a deal in the sixteenth season.

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