Alexander and his brother in law, Michael Kannely, tinkered with the idea for a few months and pushed out the IllumiBowl. The motion-sensor night light attaches to the side of the commode and illuminates a rainbow of colors. Shark Tank producers’ thought it was such a bright idea after seeing the IllumiBowl Kickstarter campaign, they invited Alexander and Kannely onto the ABC hit business reality show.
Shark Tank Episode 727: Matt Alexander and Michael Kannely from Provo, Utah put going to the bathroom at night in a whole new light when their motion-activated LED light is attached to the toilet bowl. (ABC/Michael Desmond)
Alexander and Kannely plunged into the Shark Tank Friday night (Episode 727) , asking for $100,000 in exchange for 15% of their business. They valued IllumiBowl at $666,666 based on raising nearly $100,000 in just 40 days on Kickstarter.
The IllumiBowl costs $3.98 produce, package and assemble. The patent-pending gizmo retails for $19.99 with a 100% life-time guarantee. Alexander and Kannely said they hope to make eventually lights that project images into the toilet. Kevin O’Leary’s mugshot suddenly illuminated in green onto a toilet on a TV screen as the tank burst into laughter.
Educational software tycoon Kevin O’Leary offered $100,000 for a 25% bite of IllumiBowl. (ABC/Michael Desmond)
Fashion mogul Daymond John was the first to poo poo the pitch.
“You don’t need us to take affordable next steps,” John said. “I’m out.”
Educational software tycoon Kevin O’Leary offered $100,000 for a 25% bite of the business.
Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban dumped the offer, contending it was a product and not a business.
Computer security king Robert Herjavec said he couldn’t make a better deal than what Mr. Wonderful had offered.
“You need a brand to this. You need a face that people associate with toilet paper,” Herjavec said. “When you think of flushing away stuff, Kevin is your guy. I’m out.”
Alexander asked O’Leary if he would be willing to meet in the middle, given his belief the product could scale.
“No. This is a light for toilet bowls,” O’Leary replied. “Let’s be realistic.”
QVC queen Lori Greiner passed because of her investment in Squatty Potty, a toilet stool that helps users sit on the pot in a squatting position. She didn’t want to get involved with a competing toilet-related product.
Alexander and Kannely discussed briefly and said: “You’ve got a deal, Kevin.”
It hit the shelves at Bed Bath and Beyond (BBBY) the same day the Shark Tank episode aired.
Flushing Out Answers for the Sharks
Alexander drops a bomb about going on Shark Tank, squeezing out a million-dollar business and getting a crap load of sales.