When Arthur Grayer and Michael Wooley walked into the Tank seeking $50,000 for 10% of their children's backpack alternative company Vestpakz, the only thing going for them was a couple of cute little kids modeling the product. Wooley's daughter invented the product when she was 12, and he made a licensing deal with Grayer in 2013, landing the product in 75 Walmart stores.
The annual sales of $10,000 were anemic, especially with the context of being in Walmart, but the Sharks were intrigued by the story of Wooley's daughter, who won an entrepreneurship competition and even made it onto Oprah Winfrey's talk show.
The catch: All that happened in 2003, and Wooley's daughter was now 27. The investors exploded in laughter at the revelation. The guys didn't get a deal.