While Trey Brown and Sherell Peterson pitch the clothing company SPERGO (a stylized portmanteau of "sport," "hero," and "go") in Season 13, Episode 6 of "Shark Tank," they value the company at $3 million. In exchange for an investment of $300,000, they are willing to part with 10% of the company.
This arguably more than reasonable ask combined with Brown's clear and effective pitch makes his hour in the "Shark Tank" an unusually pleasant one. For the majority of his presentation, the teenage billionaire-hopeful meets direct questions with equally direct — and impressive — answers, leaving the sharks absolutely enamored as they study the careful embroidery, learn how consistently Brown invested his profits back into the business, see the steadily increasing profits year-to-year (to the point that SPERGO's net revenue was well over $300,000 after Brown and Peterson took salaries for themselves), and hear how Brown earned a $25,000 grant from Sean "Diddy" Combs to open a retail store. In fact, Brown's business was so obviously consistent and successful on its own, the sharks are left confused as to what they'd bring to the table.
This is especially true for Lori Greiner and Kevin O'Leary, who feel they don't have the fashion experience necessary to be useful to SPERGO. Robert Herjavec, meanwhile, confesses he isn't sure how to scale a clothing business that wasn't based online. Just as the waters seemed deadly quiet, fashion mogul Daymond John came in with an offer, and — despite some competition from Mark Cuban — accepted a counter from Brown. John got 20% of SPERGO, and the mother-son duo walked away with the $300,000 investment they needed — as well as a perfect shark in their own tank.
