Shark Tank the TV Show
It was turning out to be an ordinary episode with the casual jargon "equity" and "margin" loosely thrown around. But as always, the pitches entertained and the sharks were never short of vicious, always on the lookout to try and snap up a fish or too.
Nearly halfway through the episode strode out Lani Lazzari, a young female entrepreneur who started "Simple Sugars" at the mere age of 11. Lani was confident and didn't hesitate to tell Kevin O Leary why she had come up with a million dollar evaluation. In my opinion, she had the sass of a stingray and the drive of a shark.
Lani presenting on SharkTank
I guess I'm just a sucker for young entrepreneurial success stories as Lani was clearly one of them. When she was young she visited the dermatologist frequently because of her eczema. But despite all the products she tried, none seemed to work for her. Using the simple logic "if you can't find one, then make one" Lani dove into research and performed many formula trials for scrubs to treat sensitive skin using herself as the test subject. It literally just grew from there. Demand from family and friends helped to turn her all-natural skin care business into the "Simple Sugars" as we know today.
Simple Sugars
I think Lani would agree with the ol' cliche "things are easier said than done" and that starting a business is much more than googling how to do so. She's clearly an example that hard work, sacrifice and passion can really take you to places you never knew before (in this case in shark-infested water).
It was a bright day for Lani as a sunbeam penetrated the water's surface allowing shark Mark Cuban to swoop in and feast. Okay I think I'll stop here with the ocean analogies but point is, she got the $100, 000 she asked for in exchange for 33% of her business; not bad. Mark Cuban himself even admitted that her business was one of his best investments.
Now on to the fun part. Simple Sugars offers a wide selection of scrubs for a variety of purposes and each have their different properties. In her presentation, I really liked how she focused on the benefits of each ingredient rather than the product itself. I don't know how many times I've been told "it's an amazing product" without substantial or concrete proof. Lani is a marvelous sales woman and I can attest to this as I don't have eczema or sensitive skin but after still badly wanted one of her scrubs.
Here are some of her products:
Green Tea Facial Scrub $17.57 CAD
Green Apple Body Scrub $12.39 CAD
Pink Grapefruit Body Scrub $11.95 CAD
Overall it was a pretty good TGIF; I was inspired by Lani and now have a desire to use body scrubs. Comment below if you've used the scrubs by "Simple Sugars" or have other favourites!
