{"id":1912,"date":"2017-05-30T17:44:00","date_gmt":"2017-05-31T00:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wineanddesign.com\/studio\/raleigh-entrepreneurs-cut-deal-with-oleary-during-shark-tank-episode\/"},"modified":"2017-05-30T17:44:00","modified_gmt":"2017-05-31T00:44:00","slug":"raleigh-entrepreneurs-cut-deal-with-oleary-during-shark-tank-episode","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wineanddesign.com\/kc-northland-mo\/raleigh-entrepreneurs-cut-deal-with-oleary-during-shark-tank-episode\/","title":{"rendered":"Raleigh entrepreneurs cut deal with O’Leary during ‘Shark Tank’ episode"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally published on Triangle Business Journal<\/a>. <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Raleigh entrepreneurs cut deal with O'Leary during 'Shark Tank' episode<\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

May 12, 2017, 10:46pm EDT Updated May 15, 2017, 8:36am EDT<\/p>\n

A nude model, a pair of Raleigh entrepreneurs and an equity stake: ABC's entrepreneurial pitch contest 'Shark Tank," featuring Wine & Design founders Patrick and Harriet Mills<\/a>, made for a memorable Friday.<\/p>\n

Instead of just pitching the numbers to ABC’s “shark” investors, the pair behind the wine-and-sip franchise brought out “Richard,” a model who – to the surprise of the “Sharks,” completely disrobed. It’s a bachelorette party, Mills explained onscreen amid shocked faces.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

Enlarge<\/a><\/p>\n

A husband and wife duo from Raleigh, North Carolina, surprise the Sharks when they bring… more<\/a><\/p>\n

ABC\/KELSEY MCNEAL<\/p>\n

“Does Richard come with every party?” Shark Lori Greiner<\/a> asked.<\/p>\n

The Mills’ left the stage with a new backer: "Mr. Wonderful" Kevin O’Leary.<\/p>\n

“I know we made the right decision,” Harriet Mills says, minutes after the episode airs, from her watch party in downtown Raleigh.<\/p>\n

Already, sales are up – as is franchise interest, she says. During the episode, she exchanged text messages with O’Leary – who she says is “all in” when it comes to Wine & Design.<\/p>\n

The sharks couldn’t help but note the uniqueness of her pitch.<\/p>\n

The entrepreneurs got down to business, telling the sharks how Harriet Mills got the idea when attending a wine-paint party six years ago.<\/p>\n

Read: After 'Shark Tank' deal fizzles, Raleigh entrepreneurs get thicker skin<\/a><\/p>\n

Within 60 days, she had a business. And, by the time she met the sharks, it had accumulated 74 franchisees.<\/p>\n

In its first nine months, it had snagged $250,000 in sales, they told the sharks. The company was on track to make $10 million in annual sales, they said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve done over $24 million in gross revenue from all the stores,” Patrick Mills said.<\/p>\n

In addition to a $25,000 franchise fee, franchisees pay six percent in royalties, they told the sharks.<\/p>\n

The pair initially wanted $500,000 for a 10 percent equity stake – a valuation labeled as “way off the charts” by shark Barbara Corcoran. Within minutes, the only sharks remaining were O’Leary and Robert Herjavec<\/a>.<\/p>\n

O’Leary wanted to know if the Mills’ would consider selling outright.<\/p>\n

“Everything is for sale,” Harriet Mills said onscreen, adding that she thought the company was growing “too slow.”<\/p>\n

“We do have a lot of competition,” she told the Sharks.<\/p>\n

O’Leary made the first offer – $150,000 for 10 percent equity. He added on a $350,000 loan “as a line of credit” at 12 percent.<\/p>\n

And he pledged to deploy his “social media cannon” in leveraging the business.<\/p>\n

Herjavec offered the $500,000, but for a third of the business.<\/p>\n

What the cameras didn’t show, Mills says after the episode airs, was the full decision process. When Herjavec’s competing offer came to light, “my husband and I actually walked in the hallway and discussed it.”<\/p>\n

“It was a hard call,” she says, adding that she has “no regrets” and looks forward to continuing to grow the business from Raleigh with O’Leary.<\/p>\n

And O’Leary seems satisfied with the choice.<\/p>\n

As the show aired, he tweeted<\/a> his enthusiasm: “This one is going to be BIG! I can’t wait to work with @WineAndDesignHQ!”<\/p>\n

Lauren Ohnesorge covers information technology and entrepreneurship.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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