Shark Tank Season 18 Episode 1

By Parth Chandna  |  Last updated: October 28, 2026

Shark Tank Season 18 returned with a lineup of guest Sharks from outside the traditional financial world. Surprising offers and interesting Shark combinations provided a refreshing perspective.

Shark Tank Season 18 Episode 1 showcased a camcorder wedding video service, an AI-infused Ball, a finger-shaped tool to prevent injuries while caulking, and a mystery box of unsuccessfully delivered products.

Each shared a common thread: identifying and solving a pain point people experience in different areas of life.

The four pitches showcased the new permanent and guest Sharks, along with a range of investment offers and deal structures.

Some entrepreneurs also impressed the Sharks with out-of-the-box thinking and the ability to use the internet to scale their business to millions of dollars in sales.

Below are detailed insights into the four pitches, the entrepreneurs featured, and the day’s update.

Shark Tank Season 18 Episode 1 – The Shark Investors and Entrepreneurs

Season 18 Episode 1 of Shark Tank featured a lineup of entrepreneurs, many of whom used organic social media marketing to scale quirky business ideas into real sales and engagement. Some pitches sparked an intense bidding war, while others drew a smattering of counteroffers to close the deal.

The Episode 1 Sharks are as follows: Lori Greiner, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Daniel Lubetzky and MrBeast (Jimmy Donaldson), along with his partner and CEO of Beast Industries, Jeffrey Housenbold.

1. Wedding Weekender

Shark Tank Season 18 began with Wedding Weekender, a pitch to capture raw emotions from wedding guests using a nostalgic camcorder. The founder, Anne Marie Carroll, came in seeking $350,000 for 10% equity.

After working with wedding planners, Anne noticed people felt hesitant to be themselves in front of traditional cameras. She also saw how expensive it was to hire videographers for her own wedding and came up with a cost-effective way to capture memorable moments.

The founder revealed a simple, nostalgic camcorder that is given to family and friends. They record those natural moments that often get left out of the traditional wedding footage. Afterwards, the company takes the camcorders back and stitches the footage into an exciting video.

Through word of mouth alone, the company reached about $2,100,000 in sales in less than a year.

Kevin O’Leary was so excited that he started using the camcorder and recording everyone!

After hearing about the $2,100,000 in sales and strong profit, Lori Greiner and MrBeast praised the entrepreneur and said she didn’t need a Shark to scale up the business.

However, the entrepreneur believed she’d need a shark to expand robustly. Kevin O’Leary stressed his wedding-space expertise with investment in Honeyfund on Shark Tank Season 6, and offered Anne $350,000 for 20% of her company.

Despite receiving better offers from Barbara Corcoran and Daniel Lubetzky, she chose to go with Kevin O’Leary and accepted his deal to scale Wedding Weekender further.

2. Ball 2

The founders, Andrew Brown and Kevin Langdon, wanted to come up with a children’s toy that can encourage imagination and take them away from digital screens. So they pitched Ball 2, an AI-infused Ball and an app that lets children create games just by talking to it. They came in seeking $200,000 for 10% of the company.

MrBeast was impressed with the creativity and remarked that he could see his teenage self creating hundreds of unique games with the toy.

The founders combined their expertise in game design and software development to develop this into a scalable product.

Ball 2 is filled with multiple sensors, allowing limitless possibilities for players. The founders gave a demo by running a live game to see who could throw the ball as close to 10 feet high as possible.

They even invited Lori and MrBeast for a quick game. Sharks liked the innovative take on traditional toys but were hesitant about marginal sales and future potential.

MrBeast even highlighted the $69 price tag and asked if it could be reduced in the future.

After hearing about sales of about $74,000 and a high customer acquisition cost of about $37 per customer, the Sharks were taken aback, and everyone backed out except MrBeast.

Barbara Corcoran chimed in, expressing displeasure with packaging that ‘didn’t feel persuasive enough for the customer.’ Kevin O’Leary shared concerns about high customer acquisition cost and future challenges.

However, MrBeast and his partner, Jeff, gave an initial offer of $300,000 for 66% equity. Meanwhile, Daniel Lubetzky and Lori Greiner also backed out, believing MrBeast was the perfect Shark to scale the product.

The founders were hesitant about the initial offer and tried to negotiate, countering with $300,000 for 51% of the company.

They ultimately saw the upside in reducing customer acquisition costs and boosting sales through MrBeast’s social platforms and accepted his revised offer of $250,000 for 55% of the company.

3. The Caulking Finger

A veteran painting contractor from Alabama, Daniel Stephenson noticed a common pain point for professionals: caulking with bare fingers. After experiencing pain, injury and splinters in his fingers, Daniel decided to take matters into his own hands by developing The Caulking Finger.

He spent nearly $300,000 of his own money to develop the product and file for a patent to come up with a finger-shaped tool that can be used by both professional contractors and individuals for DIY projects.

After his business partner passed away, Daniel didn’t give up; he took on more responsibility by learning the business side of the product and using social media platforms like TikTok to reach a wider audience.

The sharks were amused by the presentation, but after learning about the sales and Daniel’s resourcefulness in getting the product into multiple retail chains, offers started pouring in.

Daniel Lubetzky chimed in with an offer of $50,000 for 20% of the company, and wanted to share the other 10% with another Shark.

Impressed by his southern charm and personality, MrBeast decided to give Daniel the entire $50,000 for no equity.

4. Fundelivered

Do you like opening mystery boxes? If yes, Fundelivered has you covered with surprise gifts made up of unclaimed packages and excess retail goods that would otherwise end up in landfills.

Florida couple Rebecca Dallman and Jena Butler started Fundelivered from their garage. But as demand grew, they eventually moved into a warehouse.

The idea is simple: a gift for every occasion, especially when you’re not sure what the perfect gift is. The founders also wanted to give unclaimed packages and excess retail goods another use instead of letting them be discarded.

After the Sharks received their surprise gift, the excitement felt genuine as Daniel immediately wore it. The idea of reducing the disposal of perfectly new, usable products while surprising people resonated with the Sharks.

The founders floated the idea of putting goods from established brands into the mystery boxes, which Lori appreciated because it would create a great cross-promotion initiative among the businesses in her portfolio.

MrBeast, the king of surprising people with lavish gifts, offered to invest with Lori. But Daniel wouldn’t let the deal go so easily. He made two offers: one with Lori and MrBeast, and one without Lori.

The founders sensed the interest and wanted all three Sharks. But they were concerned about the 30% equity for $600,000. Eventually, Daniel told them to strike a deal with Lori and MrBeast if they couldn’t part with so much equity.

MrBeast and Lori accepted their counter of $600,000 for 24% equity and struck a deal with them.

All Founders Walked Away With a Deal

A lineup of scintillating entrepreneurs with refreshing products and out-of-the-box resourcefulness gave Shark Tank Season 18 the perfect start. MrBeast became the highlight of the episode with multiple offers and became the first Shark to offer a deal without any stake or royalty in the company.

With four entrepreneurs securing on-air deals, Season 18 opened with a mix of unconventional products and distinctive investment offers. Overall, Shark Tank felt more vibrant with the most-subscribed YouTuber, MrBeast, joining as a Shark in Episode 1 of Shark Tank Season 18.

Check out other Shark Tank Season 18 Episodes.

By Parth Chandna

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Parth is a curiosity-driven writer with over three years of experience at organizations such as Thomson Reuters and Geneva Health Files. He enjoys exploring business, innovation, and the stories behind unique ideas and entrepreneurs. With a background in journalism and creative storytelling, he brings an engaging perspective to the worlds of Shark Tank and entrepreneurship.