Shark Tank Season 13 Episode 17: Why sharks turned down Pawnix founder Kirsten Brand’s offer

The latest episode of Shark Tank Season 13 featured a noise-canceling headphone set for dogs called Pawnix. Founder Kirsten Brand brought in her own pooch, Emma, to pitch her offer. However, she failed to convince the sharks to invest in her business.

Brand offered $150,000 for a 10% stake in her company. The sharks were initially impressed with the pitch. Thanks to Emma’s adorable face, they were somewhat sold on investing in the product. However, they pulled back after learning about the price of each headphone set.

Pawnix is valued at $199 per piece on the online store. Sharks Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec opted out because of the high price. Meanwhile, Mark Cuban, Kevin O’ Leary, and Raymond John were not interested in investing in a pet-related business.

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Lori Greiner explains why Pawnix was not a good investment

Lori Greiner liked Kirsten Brand’s product but was not on board with the price at which she was selling it online.

According to Greiner, the Pawnix item could have been sold for $20-$30, which would have led to increased sales.

While turning down Brand’s offer, Greiner said:

“Technically I know because there's other products on the market that are to calm dogs, yes, so I think that there's credibility in this. I just don't know the price point is what sticks to me because people might shy away from it because it's just too costly.”

Brand responded by saying that the price was set because of the engineering work that went into creating the product.

Herjavec and Greiner then argued that dogs would have been just as comfortable without the machine-placed puffed fabric.

The sharks, therefore, turned down Brand’s Pawnix offer, and the founder went home empty-handed.

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Shark Tank fans react to Brand’s Pawnix pitch

Shark Tank fans agreed with the sharks’ decision to turn down Kirsten Brand’s offer. Many found the product “unnecessary” and took a dig at Brand, who was unable to keep it on her dog, Emma, for long.

Here are some of the fan reactions:

Brand created the noise-canceling headphones after Emma ran away in 2017 because of fireworks on the 4th of July.

To protect Emma from loud noises, the founder came up with the idea of Pawnix.

Apart from Pawnix, Shark Tank Episode 17 also featured Young King Hair Care, Magic Dates, and round21. While the latter two got deals from the sharks, the former was turned down.

Shark Tank airs a new episode every Friday on ABC at 8.00 pm Eastern Time.