Cerebral Success Supplement Update | Shark Tank Season 5
Trevor Hiltbrand says his brain-enhancing supplement will keep college kids focused and productive. Will it earn him a deal on
Shark Tank Cerebral Success Update
- Entrepreneurs: Trevor Hiltbrand
- Business: Brain supplement for students
- Ask: $75,000 in exchange for 20% equity
- Result: $75,000 in exchange for 40% equity
- Sharks: Barbara Corcoran
Former college student Trevor told the sharks he came up with the formulation of his supplement blend, Cerebral Success, on his own when he was trying to balance socializing, sleep, and schoolwork. He was taking several different supplements at the time, and thought it would be great if he could get everything in one capsule.
Each bottle cost Trevor $10 to produce, and he then sold the finished product for about $70 per bottle. At the time, the company had about $60,000 in sales. Daymond John said Trevor didn’t have any credibility in the market, which was important when it came to things young people ingest.
Mark Cuban said Cerebral Success was an unethical product, but Barbara Corcoran reminded Mark that most vitamins and supplements contain those warnings by default. Robert Herjavec scolded Trevor for profiting from a product that helped students get through the day after a sleepless night, and called it dirty money.
Kevin O’Leary didn’t have a problem with the moral premise of the product, but didn’t think he would profit from an investment. Daymond, Robert, Mark and Kevin were out.
Barbara made Trevor an offer for $75,000 in exchange for 40%, with the contingency that the company have liability coverage on the product. Trevor agreed to the contingency, and asked her to come down to 37%, but Barbara refused to budge. Trevor accepted her original offer and walked away with a deal. What happened next? Keep reading our Cerebral Success update to find out!
We have sad news to share. Trevor went on to get the proper testing done and liability, and Barbara got his product into over a thousand GNC stores. He then rebranded the supplement to Smart X, but ultimately closed the business in 2019. This will be our final Cerebral Success update!
Would you like to learn about the other companies featured on Season 5 Episode 26? Follow the links below for our other company updates from the episode.
For even more on companies and products, be sure to stop by our Season 5 Products Page!
Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!