May 9, 2015
On the latest episode of Shark Tank, the company, You Kick Ass, pitched a 3D printing project idea to Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, and Kevin O’Leary. Founders Alesia Glidewell and Keri Andrews want to turn ordinary 2D photos of customers into their very own action figures. The process is simple: simply select a body style type, upload a single photo to the You Kick Ass website, and the software and 3D printers do the rest.
Each action figure would only cost $15 each to create. The figurines would sell for approximately $60. Andrews estimated that each printer would be able to print about 100 heads per day. The printers would cost from $20,000 (preowned) or $45,000 (new). Some people guessed that only kids would be into this sort of thing, but the women confirmed that individuals between the ages of 30-45 were their target clients. The women presented the panel with their action figures of themselves to try to win them over!
Robert Herjavec offered funding at a valuation of $400,000 ($100,00 for a 25% stake). He thought his figure looked quite a bit like him. Kevin O’Leary liked the idea, but instead, offered to value the company at $2 million. He also wanted to take a $10 royalty from every figure sold until his initial investment was recouped. Finally, it was Mark Cuban who agreed to the women’s terms ($100,000 for a 10% stake). He understood “the value of a sophisticated proprietary software like the one behind You Kick Ass’s business model” (3Dprint.com).
It was really fun to see a project pitch involving 3D printing on Shark Tank. What would you make?
See the full episode here.