Shark Tank’s Lollacup founders almost didn’t make it onto the show

The
Lollaland founders auditioned for “Shark Tank” on a
whim.
ABC

• The husband-and-wife team behind Lollacup (now
  Lollaland) earned an investment deal on “Shark
  Tank” in 2012.
• But Hanna and Mark Lim only applied to “Shark Tank” on
  a whim.
• Once they were accepted, they practiced every single
  day and sought constructive criticism on their pitch.

It was just before midnight in spring 2012. The kids were asleep,
and Hanna and Mark Lim were assembling sippy cups in their living
room.

In the background, the TV was tuned to an early season of “Shark
Tank.”

“We were watching and having such a great time commenting on what
we would have done,” Mark Lim told me. “We said, ‘You know, I bet
if we went on that show, we would do great.’ We were like, ‘Yeah,
honey, you would do great. We were kind of pumping each
other up.'”

They were only joking though. Their business, Lollacup, was still in its
infancy.

On his way back from the kitchen, Mark decided, just for kicks,
to look up the date of the next “Shark Tank” casting call, in Los
Angeles.

“Lo and behold, it was the next morning,” he told me. “We said,
‘You know what? What do we lose? We’ll be a little tired, but
let’s just wake up super early, drop the kids off at our parents,
and we’ll see what happens.” Still giggling, they filled out an
application.

The next morning, they waited seven hours in line for their turn
to audition. When they were called back a few months later,
things started to feel real — a little too real.

“We asked, ‘Is there any way we could delay this for a year, for
next season, so that we can have some more traction and figure
out our overall strategy?” Mark remembered.

The team’s answer? “Absolutely not. It’s now or never.”

“So we went through with it,” Mark said. They were scheduled to
pitch the sharks in late summer, and in the months leading up,
“we proceeded to watch every episode, write down each question,
and then have a typed-out answer, like how we would answer.”

Mark went on: “We got in front of people who were not afraid to
criticize us.” He and Hanna practiced every single day, he said,
“until we were tired of the word ‘Shark Tank.'”

The Lims’ appearance on ‘Shark Tank’ was dramatic

The Lims appeared on
season three, episode 12 of “Shark Tank,” requesting $100,000
for a 15% stake in Lollacup. They explained that the cup was a
better alternative to traditional sippy cups with straws, which
can damage kids’ teeth. To ensure safety, the cups were made in
the US instead of overseas.

Drama ensued.

Kevin O’Leary made the first offer, $100,000 for 50%, but he
wanted to produce the cups offshore. Daymond John matched
O’Leary’s offer, but wanted the Lims to get out of a deal they’d
recently made with a sales agent.

Other sharks took the bait, and things got tense.

Robert Herjavec asked the Lims if they had a counteroffer, and
Mark came back with $100,000 for 40%. Mark Cuban jumped out of
his chair — “Yes! I’m in!” — but Mark first wanted to see if
Herjavec would accept his counteroffer.

John tweaked his offer to $100,000 for 30%, but when Hanna said
they’d rather partner with Cuban and Herjavec, John went back
out.

Ultimately, the Lims struck a deal with Mark Cuban and Robert
Herjavec: $100,000 for 40% of the company.

Since then, Lollacup has expanded into Lollaland, with more products
for infants and toddlers. The company has
passed $2 million in sales.

“That’s the classic thing with business and entrepreneurship,”
Hanna told me. “When the opportunity arises, you have to seize
it.”

That’s how they approached their appearance on Shark Tank. Hanna
added, “We haven’t really looked back.”