Big Bee, Little Bee
NO DEAL
EPISODE SUMMARY
🕓 Air Date: October 21, 2022
Asking For:
$100,000 for 20%
Investor:
No Deal
Deal:
No Deal
PRODUCT SUMMARY
The Marker Parker is a marker cap holder designed to help kids keep their markers capped and organized.
WATCH HERE
IN A RUSH?
Click these to jump to the section you want to read.
Background Story
Amy and Marlo Leinbach from Huntington Beach, California, pitched their company, Big Bee… Little Bee, on Shark Tank. They are the mother-daughter duo behind the Marker Parker, an ergonomic marker cap holder designed to help children keep their markers capped and organized.
Amy, the mother, had previously founded the company to create products for children, starting with a silicone scrubber called ScrubBEE. Marlo, the 7 1/2-year-old daughter, came up with the idea for the Marker Parker, and her mother supported her in bringing it to life. They have a passion for creating child-friendly, innovative products that encourage independence and organization.
The Product
The Marker Parker is a marker cap holder that works by gripping the marker caps securely, ensuring that they don’t get lost, and the markers don’t dry out. It has an ergonomic shape and a squishy texture, making it easy for kids to grip and put their markers back in the holder.
This playful design encourages children to keep their markers organized. The Marker Parker is compatible with broad-tip markers and can also be modified to fit fine-tip markers.
It is priced at $15 and has a manufacturing cost of $2.71, resulting in a strong profit margin. The product can be purchased directly from Big Bee, Little Bee and they also have plans to distribute it through Buybuy Baby.
How It Went
The company’s position before Shark Tank
Big Bee, Little Bee is a company that specializes in creating child-friendly products like the Marker Parker and the ScrubBEE. They have experienced significant growth, with $230,000 in sales the previous year, and their main product, the ScrubBEE, accounted for about 80% of their sales. However, they faced challenges with quality issues, manufacturing, and supply chain problems that impacted their profitability.
In the previous year, they grossed $97,000 and were profitable with $2,200. In the current year, they have lost money, with a deficit of $77,000 due to a new product launch. They have invested a significant amount of personal funds into the business, with Amy contributing $100,000 of her own money, with plans to invest more.
The Negotiations:
The Sharks were impressed with the mother-daughter team and the product but expressed concerns about the company’s focus and financial situation. Lori Greiner, Mark Cuban, and Kevin O’Leary all decided to opt out of the deal. Robert Herjavec made an offer but retracted it after seeing the company’s additional products, advising them to focus on perfecting their main product first.
He suggested they look at the company as a design studio and consider licensing their products. Ultimately, the Leinbachs did not secure a deal, and the Sharks encouraged them to focus on refining their core product and building a stronger business model before seeking investment.
