"I'm not even gonna negotiate with you" — Shark Tank investor Robert Herjavec offers a deal to Hella Awkward

Shark Tank season 16 aired a new episode, titled Time to elevate your social game!, on March 14, 2025. It saw Brittane Rowe seek $200,000 for a 10% stake in her company, Hella Awkward, a card game for "awkward conversations." Unlike most offers that are subject to negotiations, panelist Robert Herjavec provided Brittane with one that matched the terms of her original request.

"I'm not even gonna negotiate with you. I'll give you the $200,000 for 10%. I wanna go along for this ride," Robert said.

The Shark Tank investor faced competition from co-panelists Lori Greiner and Kevin O'Leary, who were equally impressed by the product's concept and sales. However, the equity they desired was higher than Robert's. Since Robert's offer matched Brittane's conditions, she shook hands with him and turned down Kevin and Lori's deals.

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"Let's not listen to the noise" — Shark Tank expert Robert Herjavec encourages Hella Awkward's owner not to entertain other offers

While demonstrating her product, Brittane explained that people who struggled with small talk could "level up" their social presence with the help of Hella Awkward. She described it as a card game that ignited "genuine connections through hilariously unexpected conversations."

"Hella Awkward throws you 140 hilarious and thought-provoking questions in four unique categories," Brittane said.

The four categories included relationships, dating, real talk, and s*x. She then explained the rules of the game, saying players only had to choose a category, pull a card at random "with a pointed question on it," and everyone answered. However, to prevent uncomfortable situations, the game provided each player with a "skip" card.

The Shark Tank investors then played a round of the game to test the product. Kevin picked out a card at random that asked his co-stars to detail one quality about him that annoyed them the most.

"What a setup!" Kevin remarked.

The Sharks were impressed by the hilarious responses the card game invoked. Soon after, Robert asked Brittane about her sales. The Hella Awkward business owner revealed that she started the company mid-2021, and had a lifetime sales of $600,000.

Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban asked Brittane to state the statistics year by year to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted business. The entrepreneur shared that Hella Awkward did $90,000 in the first year, $110,000 in the second, $250,000 in the third, and projected to do about $600,000 in the present year.

She also mentioned that they ran out of stock in the second year and could not restock for six months. Upon hearing the projected number, both Mark and Kevin became curious. When asked, Brittane revealed Hella Awkward launched at 450 doors of Target last year, which then expanded to 520 doors.

"And then also this year we launched at Walmart. We're in 600 stores currently and we're about to expand to a thousand doors," she added.

Shark Tank panelist Daymond John then inquired about the cost and retail prices. Brittane stated that Hella Awkward retailed for $24.99 and cost $2.80 landed to make. Moreover, the game also had an expansion pack that came with an additional 45 questions and retailed for $12.99 and cost under $1 to make.

Hella Awkward had yet another game called Build-A-Bae, which centered around dating. Soon after, Lori asked the entrepreneur about her background. Brittane shared that she came to New York to pursue theater acting, but was quarantined during the pandemic. During that time, she FaceTimed her brother and his partner, and talked about various things.

Once they collated the topics into a Google Doc, Brittane realized that they could create a game and potentially a business out of it. She further disclosed that she, her brother, and their product designer each owned a third of the company.

The Shark Tank experts applauded when she stated that the business was expected to make a profit of $250,000 to $300,000 with over 50,000 boxes sold. Impressed by the numbers, Kevin offered to invest $200,000 for 25%. Robert followed suit and presented his offer after telling Brittane about the inception of Trivial Pursuit.

Soon after, Lori joined the discussion and offered $200,000 for 12% of Hella Awkward. Robert urged Brittane not to listen to anyone else by saying:

"$200,000. 10%. Let's not listen to the noise."

Brittane immediately accepted Robert's deal and walked out of the Tank dancing.

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Shark Tank season 16 airs new episodes every Friday at 8 pm ET exclusively on ABC.