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On October 25, 2013, Melissa Carbone appeared on Shark Tank season 5 episode 9 seeking a $2 million investment in exchange for 10% of her company, Ten Thirty One Productions. The company specialized in creating spooky attractions, such as haunted hayrides and horror camps.
Melissa's business had already shown impressive results, with $1.8 million in revenue and $600,000 in profit from just one of her haunted attractions. This caught the attention of the Sharks, and a bidding war ensued. Mark Cuban eventually struck a deal with Melissa, investing $2 million in exchange for 20% of her company.
The other Sharks dropped out, with Kevin unsure about the valuation, Robert doubting Melissa's sales projections, Lori concerned about the return on investment, and Daymond unable to negotiate a better deal. Daymond was stunned, feeling he had let a great opportunity slip away.
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"I don't know what just happened. Wait a minute, I just lost out on a deal come to think of it," quipped Daymon John.
Conversely, Mark was confident in his investment, believing that experiential entertainment was the future. The deal was one of the largest in Shark Tank's history.
Journey of Shark Tank's Ten Thirty One Productions explored
Melissa Carbone co-founded Ten Thirty One Productions in 2009 with her then-partner Alyson Richards. By the time Carbone appeared on Shark Tank, the company's main source of income was the Haunted Hayride. Every October, the attraction operated for 17 days, selling out consistently and generating around $1.8 million in revenue.
As Melissa explained in the Shark Tank episode, Ten Thirty One had expansion plans, including launching a haunted hayride in New York and introducing the Great Horror Campout, a 12-hour immersive scare experience. Carbone's long-term goal was to establish a Ten Thirty One attraction in every major US city.
The first New York Haunted Hayride was successful, earning 36% more than its Los Angeles counterpart in its second year. Although bad weather prevented it from reaching its $5 million target, the attraction's performance, combined with Mark Cuban's investment, enabled Ten Thirty One to expand its operations.
Melissa Carbone and Ten Thirty One Productions received an update segment in season 6, episode 5 of Shark Tank. Since securing the largest deal in the show's history with Mark Cuban, the company expanded its operations to New York, launched its "Ghost Ship" experience in California, and conducted a summer tour of "Horror Campouts."
In the update segment, Melissa explained the concept behind the horror campouts. Following her partnership with Mark, the company generated $2 million in sales and projected $4 million in revenue for 2015. Mark's connections also led to an introduction to Live Nation, whose CEO invested in Ten Thirty One.
Initially, Melissa was unsure about appearing on the reality show but understood the brand value that came with an appearance on Shark Tank.
"We were doing really well and I had little to no interest in selling a piece of the company. I recognized what the platform Shark Tank could provide so I reconsidered," Melissa told Dread Central in a 2017 interview.
The company experienced rapid growth, employing nearly 1,000 cast members across various venues. Melissa was confident that she was on track to building the largest horror entertainment company globally. In 2014, Ten Thirty One expanded to New York.
By May 2015, the company offered multiple attractions, including two haunted hayrides, a camping experience, a haunted cruise called the Ghost Ship, and several movie nights. Ten Thirty One also ventured into film production, creating movies related to its attractions. However, in 2016, the company faced a setback when a patron was seriously injured by a falling fog machine.
A lengthy lawsuit followed, and in 2018, Ten Thirty One was acquired by Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group, the world's largest haunted house company, for an undisclosed amount.
ABC is currently airing season 16 of Shark Tank.
