The Sharks Hear Out The Wildcoat Pitch On Shark Tank Season 16
Highlights
- Wildcoat is brought to the Shark Tank panel by budding entrepreneur Carlo DiMeo.
- Carlo seeks $350K for 10% equity in his company.
- Robert Herjavec and Daymond John get competitive to bag a deal with Wildcoat.
Overview
| Category | Details |
| Name | Wildcoat |
| Founder | Carlo DiMeo |
| Industry | Fashion |
| Product | Winter/Skii Coats |
| Funding | $285K |
| Investment Ask | $350K |
| Equity Offered | 10% |
| Valuation | $3.5 million |
An aspiring entrepreneur from Boulder, Colorado, Carlo DiMeo, approaches the investors on Shark Tank Season 16 with ‘Wildcoat.’ He enters playing cool music along with some of his friends and describes himself as the ‘Papa Bear of Wildcoat.’ The entrepreneur claims that he makes the most ‘fun coats’ in the world.
Carlo says that the current skiing clothing options are monochromatic, repetitive, and ‘boring.’ In his attempt to bring up the silly side of skiing sport, he created Wildcoat. His winter coats look ferocious and offer high performance. Plus, they have seven oversized pockets to hold snacks and gear.
Wildcoat also has an adjustable hood that fits over a helmet, a hat/bear head, a magnetic storm flap, and magnetic mitt attachments. The coats are modular and have a temperature rating to ‘rival a real bear.’
Wildcoat: What Happened On Shark Tank Season 16
Carlo enters Shark Tank seeking $350K for 10% equity in his winter coat business. After his pitch presentation, the entrepreneur offers samples to the Shark investors, who love them. The different coats offer the appearance of a polar bear, a panda, a buffalo, a wolf, and a grizzly bear.
Kevin O’Leary wants to know if any animals were harmed in making Wildcoat. Carlo says ‘none,’ as its products are made of faux fur. Lori Greiner feels they have the warmth of real fur. Plus, the Sharks find the coats heavy.
Carlo reveals he has been skiing for the past thirty years and wanted to make something that goes well with skiing. The cost of each coat is $449, which he feels is a mid-tier pricing for a quality ski coat. The landing cost for Wildcoat is between $120-$130.
Mark Cuban is curious about their marketing. Wildcoat’s entire sale is done online on their website. For marketing, Carlo has done paid ads. But last year, he focused more on in-person events.
The winter coat business did a Bears game, a Bills game, X-games, and two other ski events. A week after these events, Wildcoat witnessed a 50%-70% jump in sales.
Carlo then reveals that about eight years ago, he got the bear costume for Christmas from his family due to his love for skiing and silly things. He then kept using it as his ski wear. People would then come to him and ask for pictures.
This is what drive Carlo into starting the Wilcoat venture along with his business partner.
Carlo’s company made $135K in 2021. The next year, he made $375K in sales. In 2023, Wildcoat did $505K in sales. Carlo is projecting $700K in sales this year.
Robert Herjavec feels the business is scaling slowly. Citing his previous win with Tipsy Elves, Robert disagrees with Carlo’s statement that there is no fun ski wear.
Discussing further about the customer acquisition costs, Carlo said that in 2022, Wildcoat spent $150 for paid ads. Kevin reacts with an ‘ouch.’
Currently, the company has 1200 coats, which is worth $500K. Hearing this, Kevin says that the business is not worth the $3.5 million valuation.
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Did Shark Tank Invest In Wildcoat?
Kevin exits the deal, citing the high valuation. Robert wants to know how much money Carlo has put into the business. He says the total amount is $285K, out of which he has paid $25K, and the rest, $260K, is from his business partner. Carlo owns 65% of Wildcoat, whereas his partner owns the rest 35%.
Lori makes her way out of the deal as it is a ‘niche market.’ Mark opts out of the deal, citing the same reason. Plus, he advised Carlo to raise his prices as it is a ‘fashion statement.’
Daymond makes an offer of $350K for 30% equity. Mark and Lori feel it is a good offer. Robert enters the negotiation and says while Daymond is ‘the FUBU Godfather,’ he is the ‘Papa Bear of Clothing’ on Shark Tank.
Robert brings back Tipsy Elves in the discussions and offers $350K for 25% equity. Daymond offers to join Robert for the license part of Wildcoat, which he disagrees with. Robert then says that Carlo should not ‘cheapen’ the brand.
The entrepreneur counters both the Shark investors with 15% equity. Both Daymond and Robert refuse it. Carlo re-counters with 20% equity. Robert disagrees again. Saying that he wants at least 50% of the company to himself, Carlo says he can give away 23% equity.
Both the Shark investors agree to 23% equity. Robert discusses Tipsy Elves again, which irritates Daymond. The two argue about it.
In the end, Carlo decides to go with Robert’s offer of $350K for 23% equity.
See what else is new! View other businesses featured in this episode.
