Highlights
- Scott Martin, also known as “Scotty Claus,” presents The Living Christmas Company, a live Christmas tree rental service.
- He enters seeking $150,000 for 30% equity on Shark Tank.
- Despite initial success, the business did not scale beyond its original location.
Overview
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | The Living Christmas Company |
| Founder | Scott “Scotty Claus” Martin |
| Industry | Holiday Services, Green Business |
| Product | Live Christmas tree rental service |
| Funding | Secured $150,000 from Mark Cuban for 40% equity |
| Investment Ask | $150,000 |
| Equity Offered | 30% |
| Valuation | $500,000 |
The Living Christmas Company is a live Christmas Tree rental service based out of Redondo Beach, California. Scott “Scotty Claus” Martin provides the holiday spirit in episode 409 by explaining how his rental service works. Scott used to deliver Christmas Trees for a local nursery and found it sad when he saw all the trees on the curb for trash pick-up in the weeks following Christmas. This is a truly green business; customers rent a potted tree for use during the Christmas season for a fee and Scotty or one of his elves deliver it right to your door. Once Christmas is over, they pick it back up and care for it until the next Christmas. It’s a simple concept. The Living Christmas Tree Company has About $150K in sales to date.
The Living Christmas Company in the Shark Tank
Scott, dressed in a Santa hat, pitched The Living Christmas Tree Company to the panel of five Sharks for the Holiday Themed episode. He was seeking $150k for a 30% share in the business.
Did The Living Christmas Get A Deal?
Mr. Wonderful hates the seasonal aspect of the business and goes out. Daymond, with the funny line of the night, goes out despite always wanting “to be in business with a guy with a handlebar moustache. ” Daymond followed by saying he always wanted to be in business with a woman with a handlebar moustache! Robert doesn’t see potential for growth, so he’s out. Barbara doesn’t like the sales numbers, so she’s out too. That leaves Mark.
Mark likes the business, but he wants to help Scotty figure out a way to scale it. Scotty hires veterans to deliver trees and Mark likes that. The company creates around 200 seasonal jobs. Cuban offers $150K for 40% of the business and says “the money’s easy. Doing the right thing isn’t always.” Scotty accepts the deal and Mark Cuban becomes The Shark who saved Christmas!
The Living Christmas Company Shark Tank Update
Scotty closed the deal with Mark and explains what happened in the aftermath of Shark Tank in an interview with Shark Tank Blog. The company is in a slow growth mode, but Living Christmas reveals its progress in an update segment in episode 610.
In the update, Scotty says Mark’s investment helped him move to a larger lot with high efficiency irrigation, which allows for more inventory. The company continues to hire Veterans for their business and they are starting a retail test with Whole Foods Markets in the San Francisco Bay area. They also employ the homeless and ex-convicts. Since Shark Tank, the Company has earned in excess of $300K, which is only a ONE MONTH Christmas season!
Sales remained at that level through the years as the business never scaled further than the one location. Scotty never drew a salary. The whole time he ran the business, he was a Global Partnerships Manager at Mediators Beyond Borders International. 2020 was a challenging year to say the least, but they delivered trees. As of December, 2021, the site is renting trees for delivery by Christmas. They delivered over 1000 trees this season! The business took the 2022 Christmas season off, claiming that “after 14 years and two challenging COVID years, Scotty Claus and the Elves have decided to take a season off.” They say they’ll be back for 2023.
As of August, 2023, they have not posted delivery dates for Christmas, 2023.
Posts About The Living Christmas Company on SharkTankBlog
Company Information
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Good for Mark for “doing the right thing”.
Every old tree I see on the curb is a sad sight indeed
Great idea. Would love to lease some of my land in New Hampshire. For 10 years we bought live trees and planted them. They are now 30 feet tall.
I created the original potted Christmas tree company in Portland Oregon in 1992 in my last year was 2023.