Influencers in the Wild – Board Game
NO DEAL
EPISODE SUMMARY
🕓 Air Date: May 19, 2023
Asking For:
$500,000 for 10%
Investor:
No Deal
Deal:
No Deal
PRODUCT SUMMARY
Influencers in the Wild: The Game is a board game that humorously reflects the world of social media influencers, where players aim to gain followers and get famous with no talent required.
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Background Story
Tank Sinatra, the founder of Influencers in the Wild: The Game, is a social media star hailing from New York. He is well-known for creating memes and spreading positivity through his Instagram account, Tank’s Good News. He introduced his board game, Influencers in the Wild: The Game, on the show “Shark Tank,” seeking $500,000 in exchange for a 10% equity stake in his company.
The game was inspired by the culture of social media influencers and internet trends. Tank Sinatra’s background experience in comedy, and sales, and his love for “Shark Tank” led him to create a physical product to diversify his business beyond just growing his online following. He believed that a board game based on influencers and internet culture would be a smart way to expand his business.
The product was designed to be a lighthearted, satirical take on the world of social media, where players accumulate followers instead of money as they make their way around the game board. Tank’s experience as an online content creator and his passion for comedy served as the foundation for the game’s humor and design.
The Product
Influencers in the Wild: The Game is a humorous board game that parodies the world of social media influencers. Players select influencer playing pieces and start on the board, rolling a die to move around.
The goal is to accumulate followers as they visit various influencer travel hotspots like Bali, Tulum, and the desert rave, ultimately reaching the “Big Pink Wall” in Los Angeles, a popular spot for influencers.
The game board consists of different spaces, with the most exciting events and opportunities for gaining followers on the blue spaces. Players collect blue playing cards as they land on these spaces, each card representing a unique event or scenario that humorously reflects the experiences of influencers.
The game’s humor and wit revolve around the often absurd and relatable situations faced by social media influencers. With a light-hearted approach, the game encourages players to enjoy the journey, amassing followers, and competing to have the most by the game’s end.
How It Went
The company’s position before Shark Tank
At the time of the “Shark Tank” pitch, Influencers in the Wild: The Game had just signed an exclusive deal with a major retailer, which presented an opportunity for significant exposure. However, the game faced challenges in terms of sales. Despite being in 1,900 stores, they had only sold approximately 1,500 units, which the sharks considered insufficient.
The pricing strategy for the game involved selling it at a retail price of $30 directly to consumers and $13.31 through a big-box retailer. The latter price was achieved through a broker, with a 38% margin. Although the margins appeared to be decent, the low number of units sold was a concern for the sharks. One challenge the company faced was the need to educate potential buyers about the game’s concept and humor.
Tank Sinatra acknowledged that he had been overly optimistic in his sales expectations, with hopes of selling a million copies on the first day of release, despite having only 64,000 games in stock. The sharks were critical of the $5 million valuation for the company, primarily because it had not yet demonstrated substantial sales. Tank admitted that he had made the valuation somewhat arbitrarily and that it was not based on concrete financial performance.
The Negotiations:
The sharks were hesitant to invest in Influencers in the Wild: The Game due to its low sales figures and high valuation. While Tank Sinatra was seeking $500,000 for a 10% equity stake, the sharks believed the valuation was too high for a product with limited sales and unproven potential. Several sharks expressed concerns about the product’s performance, particularly its low sales numbers, despite being in 1,900 stores. They emphasized the need for substantial sales and profitability to justify such a high valuation.
The sharks also pointed out that the game was relatively untested and lacked a track record of successful sales. They felt that Tank had asked for too much money based on the game’s potential, rather than its proven performance. Ultimately, none of the sharks were willing to invest in the product at the proposed terms. They felt that the risk was too high given the limited sales and unproven concept.
While they appreciated Tank’s online presence and charisma, they did not see a sound investment opportunity in the current state of the business. In the end, all the sharks chose to pass on the opportunity, citing the high valuation and the lack of concrete financial data to support the investment. Tank Sinatra left the tank without a deal but expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to pitch his product to the sharks.
