Pips and Bounce Lounge Update | Shark Tank Season 11
Ping pong is a favorite of college students and young people everywhere. Eugene and Michael Jung, brothers from Portland, Oregon decided they might as well capitalize on that. They are ready to franchise their ping pong lounge and party business, Pips and Bounce. Will the Season 11 pitch they serve up impress the sharks? Find out in our
Shark Tank Pips and Bounce Update
- Entrepreneur: Eugene and Michael Jung
- Business: Ping pong party business
- Ask: $500,000 for 10% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
During their pitch, Eugene and Michael Jung seek to show the sharks that ping pong really is for everyone. These brothers have bonded over the activity all their lives, so it was only natural that they decided to open their own unique ping pong lounge. They wanted it to feel like a social club, and they serve food, alcohol, and atmosphere. They even have ping pong-themed cocktails, which they invite the sharks to try.
Their numbers are impressive, even if the idea seems a bit unusual. Pips and Bounce has been open for three years. In their first year, they did $974,000 in sales and $1.3 million in their second year. The problem? They’re only making a 7% profit on sales, which is a huge red flag for the sharks.
Kevin O’Leary asserts that they should have a higher profit margin. At only 7%, he doesn’t think the company is ready for franchising. The entrepreneurs manage to dig an even deeper hole for themselves when asked about their valuation, which they state is based on 500 franchises earning $100,000 each.
Sharks begin dropping out immediately. Daymond John, on the other hand, hates ping pong. Lori Greiner agrees that it’s too early to franchise a business with such low profit margins. Both are out.
Kevin only sees ‘very, very bad’ numbers. Guest shark Maria Sharapova likes the idea, but there isn’t enough going on in the business to entice her to make a deal. Mark Cuban doesn’t think they have proved their business model. The value doesn’t make sense, and they clearly aren’t ready to move forward. Mark and Maria drop out.
Kevin is the last shark standing, but he isn’t going to make an offer. He states the valuation is off, and for that reason, he doesn’t want to invest. Unfortunately, Pips and Bounce left
Unfortunately, the pandemic put a stop to Pips and Bounce. Their flagship lounge closed in early 2020, and the entrepreneurs held off on reopening for as long as they could. After several failed attempts, they managed to reopen for business in August of 2021.
However, even now business seems slow. During our Pips and Bounce update research, we found that there was only one Yelp review for the restaurant and lounge since the reopen. It’s possible that business is still suffering, but their ability to reopen shows how tenacious these entrepreneurs are.
You can find the other company updates from Season 11 Episode 13 here:
Don’t forget to take a look at our Season 11 products page! We’ve got more company updates from
