Surprise Ride Makes "Shark Tank" History on ABC's "Beyond the Tank"
Founders Receive Investment From Shark Kevin O'Leary
WASHINGTON, March 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Sisters and founders of the fast-growing e-commerce site for kids, Surprise Ride, were featured in a new episode of "Beyond the Tank", which aired on Tuesday night. The one-hour episode gave America a glimpse into startup life and the challenges, successes, and unexpected outcomes that the Surprise Ride team faced after pitching the Sharks on season 5 of the hit show "Shark Tank".
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Back in the tank, the Sharks were impressed with Surprise Ride's imaginative products for families, with Shark Kevin O'Leary telling the founders they will become "Shark Tank legends" for not accepting a deal from Shark Robert Herjavec. They have in fact become legends, but for a different reason. For the first time in Shark Tank history, a Shark came back to visit a past contestant and made the company an investment offer. The Surprise Ride founders, who grew up in a family of six in a small one-bedroom basement apartment, are living the American dream.
Surprise Ride is a service devoted to making the lives of modern moms easier. By delivering conveniently pre-planned activities to homes across the country, kids get to learn and explore while moms take a break. The company, based in Washington, D.C., is founded by Donna Khalife, a Harvard Business School graduate, and sister Rosy Khalife, a marketing expert, has received national accolades and achieved more than $1 million in annual sales.
Some Of Tuesday's Segment Highlights:
Kevin O'Leary surprises founders Donna and Rosy Khalife with a midday call and then drops by their headquarters for a visit. He's very impressed by the company's growth since the initial Shark Tank pitch; not only did they hit the $500K projections promised but they doubled them, generating $1M in revenue.
The founders are pitched a deal by O'Leary and they accept! O'Leary will invest $50,000 and commits to serving as an extension of the marketing team working to drive customer acquisition and growth, in return for a 2.5% stake in the company.
"I like what they've done so far. I'm gonna pour gasoline on this fire and get this to 10 million in sales," says Kevin O'Leary about now owning a piece of Surprise Ride.
"We're thrilled to have Kevin aboard the ride. For us, having him onboard is about more than the investment. His passion for kids was obvious and he immediately got our product. His experience in the kids' education space, having sold his company to Mattel, makes him a key adviser as we grow," says CEO Donna Khalife.
"Kevin sees a ton of deals each year. Over 40,000 companies apply to pitch every season. For him to come back and offer us a deal speaks to the kind of company we're building. We get that moms need our help more than ever before and we're excited to continue to create great products for them," says COO, Rosy Khalife
About Surprise Ride:
Surprise Ride, headquartered in Washington D.C., helps make the lives of modern moms easier. By delivering conveniently pre-planned activities to homes across the country, kids get to learn and explore while moms take a break. Each month, kids aboard the "ride" receive a package with all the supplies needed to enjoy hands-on projects and create life-long memories. The service has received numerous accolades from parenting experts and was featured on ABC's hit show, Shark Tank.
For more information, please visit www.surpriseride.com and follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/SurpriseRide and Twitter at Twitter.com/SurpriseRide.
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SOURCE SurpriseRide.com
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