"Outch"— Shark Tank star Kevin O'Leary reacts to Wildcoat's "$150" per customer acquiring cost

Founder Carlo from Boulder appeared on Shark Tank in season 16 episode 7 to pitch his winter coat brand, Wildcoat. Unlike traditional, "boring" winter coats, Wildcoat features fun, animal-themed designs that combine style with the warmth and functionality of a typical winter jacket.

Kevin O'Leary was taken aback when Carlo revealed that the company spent $150 on paid ads to acquire a customer, especially given their $300 profit margin per coat.

"Outch," Kevin said, reacting to the $150 for paid ads.

The Wildcoat founder acknowledged that the customer acquisition cost was too high and explained that, after 2022, the company diversified its marketing efforts to reduce it.

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Shark Tank: "Ferocious" Wildcoat comes with seven oversized pockets and an adjustable hood

Carlo from Boulder pitched his winter coat brand, Wildcoat, on Shark Tank in season 16 episode 7. He sought a $350,000 investment in return for 10% equity in his company.

"Sharks, I don't know if you've gone skiing lately but the outfit options are monochromatic repetitive, and, frankly, downright boring! I'm determined to bring back the silly side of snow sports which is why I created Wildcoat," he pitched.

Aside from looking "ferocious," the founder added that their winter coats were high-performance. Each coat featured seven oversized pockets and an adjustable hood that "fits over a helmet, a hat, or your bear head."

The coats included a magnetic storm flap and magnetic mitt attachments that allowed the claws to flip back. Additionally, the coats were modular, enabling users to detach the hood, sleeves, and mitts.

The Shark Tank contestant mentioned that no animals were harmed in the making of these coats. They were purely made of faux fur, which provided the warmth of real fur.

"I've been skiing for 32 years and in order to make it an everyday ski coat it has to fit well and have all the features," he added.

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Sales and deal with Robert Herjavec

Wildcoat's making charges per coat were $120 to $130, and they sold it for $449 apiece. They used paid ads to market their product and often attracted customers from in-person events.

"Marketing, we've done a lot on basically paid ads. But then this last year we focused more on in-person events. We did a Bears game, a Bills game, X-Games, and then two other ski events," the Shark Tank contestant said.

The week following those in-person events, the company saw a 50% to 70% jump in sales. In 2021, they generated $135,000 in sales, and by the following year, they had nearly tripled that figure to $375,000. In 2023, sales reached $505,000, and the founder expressed confidence in surpassing $700,000 in 2024.

"So this past year is when we really focused on more in-person selling. And in terms of our ad spend in 2022 we went big on Meta," Carlo added.

At the time of filming, the company had 1,200 coats in inventory, valued at $500K. This seemed a bit odd to Kevin O'Leary, who believed the business was not worth the $3.5 million valuation.

Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, and Lori Greiner all made their exits, leaving Robert Herjavec and Daymond John to compete for a $350,000 investment in exchange for 23% equity. Ultimately, Carlo chose Robert, citing his experience with a similar Shark Tank brand, Tipsy Elves.

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In addition to Wildcoat, three other ventures—Gnome Advent Calendar, Coordinates, and Snow Scholars—were showcased in the season 16 episode that premiered on December 13.