Startups

Surprise Ride is diving back into the ‘Shark Tank’

Cofounders Donna and Rosy Khalife will appear on the spinoff show “Beyond the Tank” later this month. The sisters' November 2013 appearance was a splashy fail.

Donna (left) and Rosie Khalife during their November 2013 appearance on ABC's "Shark Tank." (Screenshot via YouTube)

After walking away empty-handed from a Shark Tank appearance, the two sisters behind Surprise Ride are making a TV comeback. Donna and Rosy Khalife will appear on the Season 2 premiere of ABC’s new spinoff show, Beyond the Tank.
After teaming up to launch a company that ships themed boxes of games to children in May 2013 and obtaining a $100,000 vote of confidence from Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs, the sisters managed to secure a spot on Shark Tank.
They started out swimmingly well, in that November 2013 episode. But to the panelists, the $1.1 million valuation the Khalife sisters were shooting for was overly ambitious.
After they stalled on Robert Herjavec’s offer of $110,000 for a 25 percent equity share, the investor pulled out and chastised them.
“You don’t live in the real world. You live in the world of theory,” he said, according to the Washington Post. “I made you a generous offer for you and for me.”
Here’s an excerpt on YouTube posted by the company. (The confrontation with Herjavec isn’t presented in its entirety.)

Still, the sisters have propelled Surprise Ride forward — collecting $500,000 more from Irwin, embarking on a $2 million round and now clearing more than $1 million in revenue.
Catch the Surprise Ride founders on ABC on Sept. 29 at 10 p.m.

Companies: Surprise Ride / Qualcomm
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