Coming today: An interview with Susan Knapp, who set off a 'Shark Tank' feeding frenzy
Later today, on our special AfterShark page, WalletPop's Jason Cochran will bring us a video interview of Susan Knapp, whose A Perfect Pear gourmet foods company wowed the investors on ABC's Shark Tank and set off the first feeding frenzy of the show.
It's part of our ongoing post-show coverage on the nail-biting venture capitalism docu-series, in which Americans with big ideas try to make money fast by begging five millionaire Sharks for cash. Check out all of our previous interviews with Sharks, unlikely winners, and notorious losers on our AfterShark home page!
Other results from Sunday night's show:
* Craig French from Long Island, New York, targeted FUBU fashion mogul Daymond John for $200,000 to boost his surf-and-skate clothing company, Crooked Jaw. "There are a thousand guys like this," John said. "I came from where you came from, so I do not want to be harsh." It was the second week in which John responded personally to an Entrepreneur -- last week, it was pie maker Mr. Tod, who got the cash -- but ultimately, he passed because the fledgling clothing brand didn't have a following yet. "This is a black hole," he said. Shark Kevin O'Leary kept the table full of clothing samples, though.
* Robert Allison invented LifeBelt, a device that keeps a car from starting unless a seat belt is being used, and he wanted a half million bucks for a 10% stake. Infomercial king Kevin Harrington perked up right away, but eventually found the offer too rich. When Kevin O'Leary offered to buy the patent from Allison for $500,000 as long as he promised not to call ever again, Shark Robert Herjavek doubled the offer to a million bucks -- "and you can call me once" -- so he could license the device to the big carmakers. Allison said no. He wanted to sell it to the public himself.
* Mary Ellen Simonsen brought in the Sticky Note Holder, a plane that attaches to a laptop to hold Post-It notes. "You created a sticky pad for a sticky pad," deadpanned Herjavek. She plodded on, but to no avail. "I think we should keep this a secret," said a sarcastic Kevin O'Leary. "It's so valuable that nobody should know about this." Result: Simonsen got the hook. Luckily, she had only sunk about $1,000 of her money into it.
* High school English teacher Marc Furigay pitched Classroom Jams, a teaching system that uses contemporary music to teach classic texts to urban students. After grabbing a guitar and playing "The Jubilee of Juliet" from his The Shakespeare Sessions, the Sharks perked up, but they winced when they learned Furigay would only sell his record label and not give up the rights to his songs. Eventually, Furigay sold his business to all five Sharks together with the promise of being able to apply a 5% royalty payment to re-acquiring equity in the company. ("He should never have gone for that deal," Herjavec confided to his fellow moguls when it was over, "but I'm happy to do it.")
Keep coming back for the latest coverage on the series, and for more information on Shark Tank, check out its official site on ABC.com.
