PlateTopper Update | Season 4
Michael Tseng came up with a clever solution to food storage. His plate cover suctions directly to a dish, cutting down on plastic wrap and storage containers. Will he top off his pitch with a deal on
Shark Tank PlateTopper Update
- Entrepreneur: Michael Tseng
- Business: Airtight plate covering
- Ask: $90,000 for 5% equity
- Result: $90,000 for 8% equity
- Shark: Lori Greiner
When Michael came out to demonstrate his product, the PlateTopper, the sharks were dazzled. They loved the idea, the versatility of the product, the fact that it worked well, and that it was both microwave and dishwasher safe.
The more the sharks found out, the more they salivated. Lori Greiner asked Michael if the PlateTopper was in any retailers, only to find out that it had been featured on QVC, and sold in WalMart. Michael also alleged to have $1 million in pre-orders over the span of 4 months, $500,000 of which he cited as expected profit.
Between the ingenious product and impressive figures, the sharks wasted no time jumping in. Kevin O’Leary came in with one of “Mr. Wonderful” royalty deals. He offered $90,000, but he wanted a 5% royalty of everything in return.
Lori offered an incredible $900,000 in exchange for 30% equity. Daymond John decided to offer $1 million in exchange for 25% equity. Lori and Daymond bickered about who would do things better for Michael and PlateTopper, but Robert Herjavec interrupted to find out if Michael was seriously considering Kevin’s offer. Michael candidly said he was not, and that he would like to respectfully decline Mr. Wonderful’s offer.
At this juncture, things started getting messy. Michael began talking about the valuation, and how he believed his company to be worth considerably more than the $1.8 million valuation that his original ask was structured around. For this reason, Daymond went out, stating that Michael was starting to rub him the wrong way.
At this point, Lori reconsidered her offer and decided to roll it back from $900,000 to $90,000 in exchange for 5%. Lori was now offering exactly what Michael asked for, yet he didn’t accept. Robert went out next, unwilling to take any risks investing.
The sharks continued pushing Michael to come clean about his true valuation since he was unwilling to accept the $90,000 for 5% deal he originally asked for, and he finally agreed to reveal the real offer he had in mind, which was $750,000 for 5%. This assumed PlateTopper was worth $15 million that day, an assumption the sharks were not eager to make.
Mark Cuban, undeterred by the seemingly wishy-washy behavior shown by Michael, asked him how much a line of credit would be worth to him. Michael excused himself from the tank to call his younger brother, and when he returned, he asked for $1.5 million in exchange for 10% equity. With that, Mark went out.
When Michael started to counter Mark, rather than talk to Lori about her offer, she amended her offer again, to $90,000 for 10% equity. Michael countered with 5% for the $90,000, and asked if any sharks wanted to come back in, even asking if the sharks would have a bidding war for his company. The sharks adamantly rejected this, and Lori said she would do $90,000 for 8% equity if Michael accepted immediately.
Finally, Michael accepted the offer and the deal was closed. His pitch would go down in
As it would turn out, the deal with Lori never closed. Despite this, PlateTopper continued selling on QVC and in WalMart stores. Michael would then develop a bowl topper, and sell various products in retail stores and online. However, the PlateTopper would disappear from shelves and sales would be discontinued online as well. As of October 2022, the company is out of business. This will be our final PlateTopper update.
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Jennifer is an avid Shark Tank fan that has been watching the show for years. She serves as Senior Editor at Shark Tank Recap and ensures that all our information is accurate and that our posts are up to date. Her favorite Shark Tank products are Le-Glue and Ring!