Daymond John
Highlights
- Daymond John exited the Shark Tank sets in its third season.
- The Shark first tried to make a deal with Billy Blanks Jr. in the episode.
- Failing to lock a deal, Daymond followed Billy even out of the set.
The success of Shark Tank has been a result of many surprising moments through different seasons. One such shocking moment was seen in the show’s third season when Daymond John walked out of Shark Tank. The impact was such that the audiences still remember the episode quite vividly.
In a 2023 video posted by the ‘The People’s Shark’ on YouTube, Daymond made the regular viewers nostalgic. The video showed how Daymond John walked out of the set after dancer cum entrepreneur Billy Blanks Jr. refused to accept his deal for his venture ‘Dance With Me.’
Dance With Me
Dancer and aspiring entrepreneur Billy Blanks Jr. appeared before the Shark investors with his dance and fitness program ‘Dance With Me.’ Seeking $100K for 20% equity, the entrepreneur revealed that his father was Tae Bo’s inventor. Billy Blanks Jr. said that his venture offered different dance forms, including hip-hop and Bollywood.
During his Shark Tank appearance, the ‘Dance With Me’ entrepreneur and his wife were ‘homeless’ and his relations with his father were ‘strained.’ After the pitch, the only Sharks who proposed a deal were Daymond John and Mark Cuban. Both the investors offered a joint deal of $100K for 50% equity.
Daymond John Walking Out of Shark Tank
Mark Cuban had agreed to do the ‘Dance With Me’ deal with Daymond on the condition that the latter would set up a deal with Zumba (another dance/fitness venture). When Daymond John agreed and proposed the offer to Billy, he rejected it as he felt it was ‘not the right’ deal.
After the entrepreneur walked out without the deal, the Shark investors started discussing how he missed a good offer. But all of a sudden, Daymond said, ‘I want to help him for himself now. He is killing himself.’ A few seconds later, the Shark went out of the set by saying, ‘I am gonna do this deal.’
Daymond John Negotiating with Billy Blanks Jr.
The Shark Tank cameras followed Daymond John till he met Billy and his wife, Sharon Catherine, outside the set. Both Billy and Sharon were shocked to see him. But Daymond calmly asked them to sit and said that he had never done this before. He further tried to convince the duo by stressing his deal was a great ‘opportunity.’
Daymond knew that Billy had rejected his deal, fearing that association with ‘Zumba’ would mean that ‘Dance With Me’ would get diluted. So, he directly came to the point and said that his deal was intended in regard to ‘if’ Zumba accepted the Dance With Me program and distributed it in their pipeline.
Thus, contrary to what Billy feared, Daymond’s deal did not mean that ‘Dance With Me’ would become a Zumba product.
After calmly explaining him and Sharon the entire thing, the Shark investor stated that a lot of times, the only thing that is more important than the number is the person. Daymond added that he would not do that to Billy and his wife. So, the ‘Dance With Me’ founder should reconsider taking the deal.
Did Billy Blanks Jr. Take Daymond’s Deal?
Yes, he did. After carefully listening to Daymond John’s advice, Billy realized that he was about to miss out on a great opportunity. So, he got teary-eyed and told Daymond, ‘You don’t realize what this means to us that you’re coming to us.’ Right after this, Billy took up Daymond’s deal.
This Shark Tank moment demonstrated that beyond his sharp business acumen, Daymond John’s genuine efforts to help pitchers make him ‘The People’s Shark.’
