HyConn Fire Hydrant Connector Update | Shark Tank Season 2
Entrepreneur and firefighter, Jeff Stroope, pitched his water hydrant attachment during
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to HyConn after
Jeff Stroope appeared on
| Shark: | Result: |
| Mark Cuban | Accepted deal for $1.25 million for 100% of the company, plus a 3 year work agreement, and 7.5% royalty |
| Kevin O’Leary | $500,000 for 100% of the company, with 5% royalty in perpetuity. |
| Barbara Corcoran | No offer |
| Robert Herjavec | No offer |
| Daymond John | No offer |
Shark Tank HyConn Update
- Entrepreneur: Jeff Stroope
- Business: Fast connection for water hydrants
- Ask: $500,000 for 40% equity
- Result: $1.25 million for 100% of the company, plus a 3 year work agreement, and 7.5% royalty
- Shark: Mark Cuban
Jeff entered the tank accompanied by two firefighter colleagues. They all demonstrated the efficiency of the HyConn, versus the standard connections and intrigued the sharks.
However, Robert Herjavec and Barbara Corcoran were ultimately worried about fire departments having budgets for these purchases. Jeff said that of the fire departments he’d spoken to, four were actually ready to give him purchase orders, while six were preparing paperwork.
Robert asked how much they were selling for, and Jeff said the smaller ones were selling for $215, while the larger connections were $385. Meanwhile, Kevin O’Leary found it a negative that the government was the market for the product.
He wondered if Jeff had conversations yet with direct distributors. Jeff said he already had an offer to introduce it in their product lines, but they wanted him to have $500,000 altogether in capital for it.
Daymond John said that proved the distributors didn’t fully believe in the product, and for this reason he went out.
Barbara went out also, because she didn’t think departments would be able to budget for it.
Robert asked why he wasn’t instead making hose connections for typical hoses, and nonetheless, Jeff brought out a prototype for one. He said he hadn’t made them yet because he was first focusing on the fire departments.
Mark Cuban particularly liked this development so much, he put a big offer on the table: $1.25 million for 100% of the company, with a three-year employment agreement at $100,000 per year to run the business. Further, he also offered a percentage of the profits once certain stipulations were met.
This made Kevin offer $500,000 for 100% of the garden hose connectors, with 5% royalty in perpetuity.
Robert then asked what Jeff thought of Mark’s offer, and Jeff said he wanted to know the long-term percentage, and that he’d actually prefer 7.5% royalty.
Robert considered that too generous, so for that reason, he went out.
Kevin said he wouldn’t change his offer at all, and in response, Mark completed his offer by adding the 7.5% royalty.
Kevin tried to sway Jeff’s opinion, but he finally accepted Mark’s offer of $1.25 million for 100% of the company, a three-year employment agreement of $100,00 a year, and 7.5% in royalty.
How do you think this worked out for Jeff following
Unfortunately, our HyConn update shows that the deal never happened due to Mark introducing changes Jeff wasn’t ready to accept. Although the HyConn website is still up and running, there are no products available for purchase.
At the time of this writing, it’s unclear if the company is still in business, but if we learn anything new, we’ll be sure to let you know.
In the meantime, you can check out our other company updates from Season 2 Episode 8, by following the links below:
For even more on companies and products, be sure to stop by our Season 2 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!
