“She was a maverick” - Shark Tank judge Kevin O’Leary talks about Sarah Paiji as her company gives him massive returns

Kevin O'Leary, the Shark Tank star, keeps appearing on interviews and podcasts after the show skyrocketed his popularity by putting his expertise and knowledge on display. He often shares his views on topics such as finance, business, and politics and simplifies complex concepts.

In one such interview by NYSE TV, posted on Kevin's Instagram account on May 16, Kevin talked about Sarah Paiji, an entrepreneur from Shark Tank, who gave him massive returns.

"Sarah came on the set and she was a maverick," he said.

He was referring to when she came with her company, Blueland, to Shark Tank season 11, selling household cleaning products. Kevin shared what took the company so far and the role its founder played in making it an NYSE-listed company.

---

What Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary said about Sarah Paiji's company, Blueland

The interviewer at NYSE TV told Kevin that she wanted to talk about the company that became NYSE-listed by selling household products at Target. The company, she said, was Blueland, and she asked Kevin why he thought it was a good investment when it showed up on the coveted show.

Kevin stated that he had had great success with women entrepreneurs, and 90% of his returns over the 17 years he served on Shark Tank actually came from companies owned by women. He recalled that when Sarah was on the show, she was a "maverick" and a "force to be dealt with."

"This was pre-pandemic, so she should've gone bankrupt, but she didn't," he added.

According to Kevin, she could sustain the pandemic because she had built a consumer base with her massive brand, Blueland. He said that he, too, supported her throughout, but her product solved a big problem for the people using it. She made sustainable cleaning products in a world where people didn't like plastic anymore.

He added that she eliminated plastic from the cleaning industry, which he called "genius." He said it wasn't just a great idea, but she was also good at executing whatever her team decided.

In the caption of this interview clip, Kevin stated that the company had expanded to 1800+ Target stores across the US and continued to dominate the category with plastic-free cleaning products. He added that the company was growing like a weed and might even be the biggest exit in Shark Tank history.

---

More on Sarah Paiji's Shark Tank pitch

Sarah Paiji appeared on Shark Tank in season 11 episode 1, which aired on September 29, 2019. She said she founded the company as a new mom after discovering how many microplastics were in people's food and water supply.

She and her chemist co-founder, Syed Naqvi, introduced Blueland's Forever Bottles, which came with dissolvable cleaning and soap tablets to fill these bottles with cleaning sprays. She also had other products, such as soaps and cleaning kits. People could also refill these bottle-cleaning tablets and keep reusing the glass bottles, making them sustainable.

They came in asking for $270,000 for a 2% equity in their company. Daniel Lubetsky offered them $1 million for 25% equity and asked Lori Greiner to join him in the deal. While Lori was considering the offer, Kevin chimed in, offering them the $270,000 for a 5% equity and 1% in advisory shares.

Robert Herjavec was out of the deal because he thought changing consumers' minds wasn't easy. Mark Cuban was also out because he thought Sarah and Syed only came to Shark Tank for publicity. Meanwhile, Daniel and Lori revised their offer to $270,000 for 8% equity.

The two finally made the deal with Kevin for $270,000 for 3% equity and a 0.50% royalty on each kit sold. By the end of that year, Blueland had made $15 million in sales, and they increased even more during the pandemic. They partnered with major influencers like Kim Kardashian and had their products sold in stores such as Costco and Target.

---

For more updates on Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary, fans can follow his official Instagram account, @kevinolearytv.