"Horrible business" — Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary rejects Hiccup founder's $200,000 pitch

In episode 8 of Shark Tank season 16, Kristina, the founder of Hiccup, pitched her reusable cup service to the sharks. Her goal was to eliminate single-use cup waste. She asked for a $200,000 investment in exchange for 10% of her company. However, Kristina's pitch failed to impress the sharks, and none of them were interested in investing.

Shark Tank investor Kevin O'Leary called Hiccup a bad business idea. He told Kristina that she wouldn't get any money from the sharks and advised her to shut down the company. O'Leary believed that Kristina had talents that could be used elsewhere, but Hiccup was not worth pursuing.

"Hiccup sucks. It's a horrible business. Listen, they're [Sharks] not gonna give you a dime. I love this, 'Yeah, yeah, keep going.' Do not keep going," said Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary.

Apart from Kevin, other sharks like Mark Cuban encouraged Kristina to continue chasing her dream. The billionaire shark also quipped that he was assured that Kristina's idea was great because Kevin didn't like it.

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Journey of Hiccup before and after Shark Tank explored

Kristina Smithe graduated from St. Petersburg College with a degree in Environmental Science in 2017. She also completed a Fire Science program at the same college. Kristina worked as a Maintenance Technician for the US Coast Guard starting in 2008, where she used her hands-on skills.

In 2018, Kristina joined Marine Towing of Tampa as a Mechanical Engineer, where she inspected engine rooms and fixed broken machinery.

Kristina was also a serious athlete, often running in marathons and other long-distance events. In an interview with ShoutoutMiami in August 23, 2023, Kristina talked about running the California International Marathon in 2011. The next day, on her flight home, she used six paper cups for water and coffee. This made her think about how many cups all the passengers on the plane must have used.

Then, she thought about the marathon she had just run. With over 9,000 runners and 17 aid stations, she realized that a huge number of cups must have been thrown away. This shocked her and led her to find a way of reducing waste from single-use cups at big events and in everyday life.

"I came up with the idea when I ran a marathon in California, and when I flew home, I drank coffee and water every time the beverage cart came through," revealed Kristina on Shark Tank.

Kristina was surprised to find that no cup rental service existed for running events. So, she decided to create one. She designed a reusable cup and worked with a manufacturer to make 5,000 of them. The cups were made of silicone, making them strong and flexible. Kristina's company, Hiccup, delivered the cups to racing events.

They used reusable bags to transport the cups. At the events, Hiccup set up collection bins for the cups. After the events, the cups were taken to a facility to be cleaned in industrial dishwashers. This way, the cups were ready for the next event. Hiccup operates from three main locations which are Tampa, Florida, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Willits, California.

The company has provided its reusable cup service at 82 races so far. They have built up a large stock of 50,000 cups. Hiccup has expanded its services to many cities across the US, including North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, and Minnesota.

The company's efforts to reduce waste have caught the attention of the media, with features in Runner's World and coverage by Fox 21 during the Grandma's Marathon. Event organizers can easily book Hiccup's reusable cups through their website.

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Shark Tank airs new episodes on ABC on Fridays at 8 pm ET.