Wake N Bacon Before Shark Tank
Matty Sallin was an industrial designer from San Francisco, and he thought he had created the perfect substitution for an alarm clock that aggressively wakes you up with a loud jolting noise. He had taken an electronics class in college, and as a class project designed an alarm clock that gently rouses a sleeper with the aroma of cooked bacon. The exterior of the clock was made to resemble a pig in block wood form.
The Wake N Bacon alarm clock functions by heating up pre-cooked bacon ten minutes before the time you set to wake up. The user would need to place a couple of slices into the teflon-coated cooking pan the night before, and a halogen lamp would heat the bacon to a crisp. Instead of a blaring alarm sound, the user would gently wake to the smell of the bacon.
Wake N Bacon On Shark Tank
He requested $40,000 in exchange for 20% because he needed their funding, expertise, and connections. The money would be used to redesign the clock for mass production, create a mass prototype, and make pitches to investors and potential retail and manufacturing partners.
After passing the cooked bacon to the sharks so they could sample it, Matty displayed an artist’s rendering of what the mass prototype would look like. Although the sharks seem amused by Matty’s idea, Kevin was the first one to bring up a sobering reality: What if the clock were to malfunction, start a fire, and cause death? Was it a smart idea to have an oven cooking bacon next to your bed?
Matty compared his cooking device to that of the Easy-Bake Oven. There was no way to know for sure where people were using that product – it could very well be any place in the home. Also, he would get it UL listed to ensure home safety.
Kevin didn’t seem convinced by that argument but moved forward and asked Matty about pricing and margins. Although Matty didn’t state what the retail price would be, he told Kevin that it cost $13 per unit to produce.
Robert wanted to know what would happen after he burned through the money to create a prototype. Where would Matty get the money to sell the product? Matty’s answer was unclear, but he returned to his earlier statement about needing retail and manufacturing partners to get his product to market.
Mark saw the clock as a novelty item. He wanted to know how many Matty thought he could sell. Surprisingly, Matty didn’t offer any sales projections. Kevin was astounded that Matty didn’t provide a sales forecast. He said he was out but would give Matty $100 for the “pig box.” Robert wondered if the “pig box” was for sale. Matty laughed and said it was the only one he had.
Barbara spoke up next. She saw the clock as a whimsical novelty gift, but she didn’t think people would really want to have bacon cooking so close to their bed. She understood the appeal of the aroma of cooked bacon but said that people would prefer that the scent comes from the kitchen. With that, she dropped out. Immediately, Robert said, “I’m taking my piece of bacon and dropping out.” Then Daymond dropped out, making Mark the only shark left to consider making a deal.
Mark asked Matty what would be the minimum production run. Matty replied it would be 10,000 units. But Mark did the math – 10,000 units at a cost of $13 each would equal $130,000. Where would that money come from? Matty once again talked about needed manufacturing and retail partners without answering the money question. Mark asked why Matty asked for only $40,000 when what he really needed was $170,000. Matty looked slightly uncomfortable and then said that he was asking for $170,000. All of the sharks laughed at that admission.
Robert asked Mark if he was really interested in the product and Kevin was still stuck on the idea of the clock setting the house on fire. Mark replied that safety wasn’t an issue because he knew how to buy insurance. Mark said he liked the idea but also felt that only 10% of purchasers would make bacon one time and 0% would make it a second time. He saw the clock as merely a gag gift – one that people would buy because it’s “so darn stupid.” Then he finally stated that he would not put up the money.
With all of the sharks out, Matty thanked them for their time. But Kevin was still making offers for the pig box. He jokingly said he wanted to put it in his museum of really bad ideas. Matty declined and walked out. In the post-pitch video confessional, Matty seemed determined to get his clock marketed some other way because people really do love the smell of bacon.
Wake N Bacon After Shark Tank
Despite the fact that there were people online who still insisted that they would buy the clock, it didn’t turn into a real product. The lesson for other entrepreneurs is that they shouldn’t ask the sharks to invest too early in the process. The sharks are looking for a product that has an established market, a good record of past sales, orders pending, and possibly some element of the product that could be patented. Matty went in with just a prototype.
It appears as though Matty has decided not to be an entrepreneur after all. His LinkedIn profile shows he’s working in User Experience (UX) and has just begun working for a financial technology company called Finix. Bacon lovers are probably disappointed, but they’ll have to deal with the fact that bacon is best served in the kitchen, not the bedroom.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is strictly informational; Seo Insights is not affiliated with Wake N Bacon, SharkTank, or any of its subsidiaries.