'Shark Tank' News: Sir Richard Branson Signs Lockerboard for a $65K Deal; Rohan Oza Offers $1.25M to Jackson's Honest
The ninth season of "Shark Tank" opened with much success for a couple of budding entrepreneurs. One group landed a deal with billionaire Sir Richard Branson while another company earned a $1.25 million offer from food and beverage marketing genius Rohan Oza.
Branson was in the show's first episode for season 9 with business leaders Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Daymond John and Robert Harjavec. They heard four entrepreneurs make their pitches for potential investments.
Carrie Kropfl and her 11-year old son Carson, the inventor of Locker Board, caught Branson's interest that he offered to invest $65,000 with 20 percent equity into their business. Carson invented the Locker Board in 2016, which was borne out of his frustration for not being able to keep a regular skateboard in his locker or inside his backpack. The Locker Board is a 17-inches non-folding skateboard made from recycled materials.
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The Kropfls joined "Shark Tank" because they would like to improve their online store and manufacturing process. Initially, Branson hesitated to pour an investment because of Carson's age but he eventually made the offer because he saw the same fire in the young boy when Branson was his age.
The second episode, which also aired on the same premiere night, featured Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, and Rohan Oza. The latter saw potential in Jackson's Honest, the all-natural chips food company from Megan and Scott Reamer.
The couple developed their food business following the death of their son Jackson, who had Aicardi–Goutières syndrome. They wanted to grow their business of selling flavorful but clean and nutrient-filled snacks.
The business icons loved their chips' taste but also saw this venture as a big risk given that there are plenty of competitors, but Oza made an offer with 20 percent equity, which the Reamers accepted.
"Shark Tank" airs Sundays at 8:00 p.m. EST on ABC.
