Shark Tank Entrepreneurs Who Turned Down Offers and Made It Big

Shark Tank

Contents

Highlights What Happens When Shark Tank Entrepreneurs Say NO to A Deal?1. Coffee Meets Bagel – The Dating App That Said No to $30 Million 2. Xero Shoes – From Shark Tank Rejection to $23 Million in Sales 3. The Smart Baker – How a Shark Tank Deal Crumbled but Sales Soared 4. CoatChex – The Shark Tank Rejection That Led to a $7 Million Business The Power of Saying No on Shark Tank References

Highlights

Shark Tank gives entrepreneurs a rare chance to pitch their companies to a global audience and gain wide-scale attention.
After hearing each pitch, the Sharks analyze the potential risks and rewards of a product and then decide whether to invest or not to.
But there are times when entrepreneurs turn down offers from the famous Sharks and later go on to earn millions on their own.

The field of entrepreneurship, as exciting as it may seem, is equally tricky. Without the right strategy, funding, and guidance, even a promising business can fall through in no time.

Out of the many aspects integral to the entrepreneurial dream, the most crucial one is to have enough money in your pockets. For any business idea to sail through, it becomes imperative to find the right investors who can provide you with adequate financial assistance and expertise.

Thanks to shows like Shark Tank, many budding entrepreneurs are now finding the right investors who have the adequate expertise, experience, and capital to accomplish their goals, as well as the networks to scale a business fast.

But do you think every deal is successful? There are episodes when the Sharks step out of deals, and in some, the entrepreneurs refuse to agree to their terms.

What Happens When Shark Tank Entrepreneurs Say NO to A Deal?

On Shark Tank, there’s no compulsion for entrepreneurs to accept offers from Sharks, which is what allows them to make calculated decisions based on their business acumen.

If they feel a deal poses a threat to them in terms of debts or losing out on a major stake in their business, they may simply refuse, which means walking away to avoid heavy debt or giving up too much equity.

Here are some Shark Tank businesses that found massive success after rejecting offers from Sharks.

1. Coffee Meets Bagel – The Dating App That Said No to $30 Million

The Kang Sisters, Arum, Dawoon, and Soo, came up with their business idea, Coffee Meets Bagel, with the vision to change how people find and fall in love.

The amalgamation of daily flash sales sites immersed with social networking is driven towards offering the highest quality dating services for singles.

Quick Facts

Founders: Arum Kang, Dawoon Kang, Soo Kang
Investment Asked: $500,000 for 5% equity
Product: Online dating app combining social networking with curated matches
Sharks Interested: Mark Cuban
Outcome: Declined Cuban’s offer; later raised $23.2 million in venture capital

The entrepreneur sister-trio proposed $500k for a 5% equity stake. Kevin O’Leary and Barbara Corcoran had a similar response, marking themselves out, citing the low percentage of equity.

Mark Cuban, though, made an offer of $30 million, which they declined, stating that their vision was a lot larger, “similar to match.com,” one of their competitors.

They believed that they could generate huge revenues just like match.com, which could easily match Mark’s offer.

The latest update about the company is that it has managed to raise $23.2 million in venture capital as of 2025.

2. Xero Shoes – From Shark Tank Rejection to $23 Million in Sales

Lena and Steven Phoenix, a married couple, presented their business, Xero Shoes, which are barefoot shoes that are intended to help prevent any sort of modern shoe injuries.

Explaining the many standout features, they discussed how the shoes offer high-performance and are stylish, odor-free, and way more comfortable than flip-flops.

Quick Facts

Founders: Steven Sashen, Lena Phoenix
Investment Asked: $400,000 for 8% equity
Product: Barefoot-style performance shoes and sandals
Sharks Interested: Kevin O’Leary
Outcome: Declined Kevin’s offer; grew to $23 million in annual revenue by 2023

The offer presented by the entrepreneur couple was $400K at an equity stake of 8%.

The Sharks, however, were not at all impressed by the product and called it just a plain piece of rubber with strings attached to it.

But what’s most surprising was that Kevin O’Leary, who criticized the product the most, was the only one to propose an offer. His proposal was $400K for 50%, which was turned down by Steven and Lena.

Despite declining the offer, the annual revenue of Xero Shoes reached a massive figure of $23 million by 2023 and $21 million by 2025.

Additionally, it has expanded beyond having just a DIY sandal-making kit. They now have a complete line of casual and performance shoes, boots, and sandals for almost every activity. It was even selected for the Summer Olympics held in Tokyo in 2021.

3. The Smart Baker – How a Shark Tank Deal Crumbled but Sales Soared

Stephanie and Daniel Rensing are two confident young people from Brooklyn, New York, who pitched their home baking brand, The Smart Baker.

Quick Facts

Founders: Stephanie Rensing, Daniel Rensing
Investment Asked: $75,000 for 25% equity
Product: Baking tools, including pre-cut parchment, upside-down aprons, and reusable lift tops
Sharks Interested: Barbara Corcoran
Outcome: Deal later fell through; reached $1 million annual revenue by 2022

Giving a quick demo of how baking at home can be a hassle, they started by showing an apron that is printed upside down so you can read it while wearing it.

They also showed a parchment paper that comes in pre-cut flat sheets and can fit in any common-sized baking pans.

Additionally, there are unique lift tops, which, unlike other disposable towers made out of cardboard, are reusable, washable, and durable.

The investment sought by Stephanie and Daniel was $75K for a 25% equity stake. Daymond John made the first offer at $75K for 40% equity, followed by Barbara Corcoran, who offered $75K for 40% of the equity stake along with a 5% royalty.

Daniel countered Barbara’s offer with a revised one at $100K for 40% equity and 5% royalty, which Barbara declined. Stephanie jumped into the chat and asked her if the previous offer was still open, and eventually agreed to it.

Even after agreeing to Barbara’s offer, it was revealed later on that the deal was called off. Despite this, The Smart Baker garnered an impressive spike in sales and is earning an annual revenue of $1 million (as of 2022).

4. CoatChex – The Shark Tank Rejection That Led to a $7 Million Business

CoatChex is a breakthrough coat check system powered by innovative technology. The idea was presented by Derek Pacque, who explained that the technology matches a person’s face with their belongings.

All you need to do is hand over your coat, type your name into the system, and your picture is taken automatically. In the end, you just need to make the final payment.

Quick Facts

Founders: Derek Pacque
Investment Asked: 200,000 for 10% equity
Product: Ticketless coat check and item claim system using facial recognition
Sharks Interested: Mark Cuban
Outcome: Declined offer; rebranded as Chexology, earning $7 million annually by 2022

Derek came asking for an investment of $200K for a 10% equity stake. Mark Cuban was the first one to initiate the negotiations with an offer of $200K for 33% equity.

Hearing this, Derek immediately went to call his business partner over the phone, who advised him to turn it down as it would mean giving out a large share of the company. Eventually, Derek said no to Mark.

Post its appearance on Shark Tank, CoachChex rebranded itself to Chexology and went on to earn an annual revenue of $7 million as of 2022.

The Power of Saying No on Shark Tank

Shark Tank provides great exposure to entrepreneurs who are on the lookout for either growing or saving their businesses.

Receiving investment from some of the biggest names in the entire business community of the USA can add a lot of value to their companies. However, there are times when entrepreneurs are not convinced by the deals proposed to them.

During such cases, making the best use of their confidence, they turn down offers and create a path for themselves, which leads them to amazing results.

All the brand stories discussed above are the perfect testament to this. So the most crucial thing for any entrepreneur is to believe in themselves.