Olaf Growald
Southlake entrepreneur Mitchell Allen didn’t know if he was going to come out of the “Shark Tank” with a deal last month. But one thing he did know: He wouldn’t have been in the Tank at all if he hadn’t joined Fort Worth EO. With a master’s degree in applied mathematics from Texas Tech, Allen has built four formidable companies with combined annual revenue of $20 million, including a bankruptcy counseling firm that has served 1.5 million clients, legal lead generation company with 500 clients and a digital ad agency. But it was his Santa Claus placement business, Hire Santa, that brought him to the reality show after an open call last January in Dallas with 500 other entrepreneurs. He speculates that he was chosen because he had a company with revenue (Hire Santa did $1 million in revenue in 2018), and the company was entertaining. While he almost took a dive on the show, Allen pulled out a last-minute deal with shark Barbara Corcoran: $200,000 for half of the business until the money was paid back, then 10 percent equity partnership.
Life in the Tank “It was an amazing experience. I was a little surprised that you have to pay for your whole set yourself. Getting it there, everything. I ended up having 20 Santas, Mrs. Claus and two mascots. We filmed for about 45 minutes. [It ran nine minutes on the show.] About 25 minutes in, everybody but Kevin was out. I was 30 seconds from not having a deal. They really leave out a tremendous amount of negotiations that went on. I had prepared many different thoughts on deal structures. What it really does is eliminate risk. That got Daymond [John] interested and Barbara back in.”
Monday After “We were slammed even before ‘Shark Tank.’ Virtually all of our Santas were placed before the show aired, but there was a tremendous amount of traffic and leads for 2019, including some major retailers.” [Hire Santa’s current major retailers include Bass Pro Shop, Cabela’s, Metro PCS and Superior Grocery.]
EO Help “EO has expanded my network, and I’ve gotten clients out of it, but more importantly, I’ve grown more personally from EO than anything else. I was an introverted math nerd from a small town in West Texas, Denver City. EO has gotten me out of my comfort zone and expanded me socially. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to be on ‘Shark Tank’ before EO.”
Familiar Snowman “My two mascots for the show, a snowman and reindeer, were John Cornelson and Jeremy Brandt, past EO presidents of the Fort Worth chapter. They flew themselves up for the taping. EO has been incredibly supportive. We had practice pitches or dress rehearsals with my EO forum here and another EO forum here, and the LA chapter of EO set up a mock ‘Shark Tank’ for me to practice in and has an ambassador on their board when people come to town to facilitate dinners or introductions or other things to put things together. That was all extremely helpful.”
Common Elements “When I start thinking about a business, my No. 1 thing is, are there clients and demand. Is there a method for obtaining clients at a reasonable cost? It’s very basic. All of my businesses, one way or another, touch the internet. There’s a lot about internet marketing that allows you to reach people like you haven’t been able to in the past.”