Samson Martin owner Kim Price appeared on Shark Tank and was grilled, no ripped apart by the Sharks, especially Kevin O’Leary who was downright rude to her as investors can often be.
Kim’s confidence was clearly shaken and her pitch was off as she demonstrated desperation, not opportunity in her company. She would glimmer with hope when the sharks asked a question about her trademark, “Due In” and lost it when her competitor simply put the month on their shirts, leaving off the “Due In”.
Kim wanted $50,000 for 15% of her business. She put it into upscale boutiques. She was nailed by the economy, or so she says. It might be that the competition one upped her. Basically, she lost her market and she presented like a one hit wonder on Billboards top 100.
Kim came in with the wrong approach, she wants to recreate the brand, instead of learning how to market the existing product such as letting social media and online marketing drive her business. Lower cost, larger audience and the ability to bring a premium price.
Kevin O’Leary called it the t-shirt deal from hell. He said he would be killing money if he gave it to her. He continued to pound on her, which on the surface seams horrible, but she needed to hear it.
That’s an opportunity for her to change her strategy which is needed, what he didn’t do was give her a different way to take her business.
I believe that she has opportunity, still today. She needs a complete redesign of her website, opting to go into a WordPress Platform, get a great template from Studio Press and start marketing her business online through social media channels and blog posts done daily.
Kim needs to make Samson Martin the real business that she wants it to be and prepare for the fluctuations that come in entrepreneurial businesses.
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