10 Worst Shark Tank Ideas and Pitches of All Time

Aired since 2009, Shark Tank is one of the most popular reality shows, where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas in front of judges to beg for investment. Over the years, we’ve seen some of the most interesting ideas, but the show has had a fair share of worst pitches. As Shark Tank moves to its 9^th season, let’s recall some of the most horrible ideas pitched ever on the show!

Ionic Ear, Season 1

This crazy pitch in the pilot episode of Shark Tank thought of surgically implanting a Bluetooth device in the user’s ear canal. Insane still, to charge the device, you’ll need to plug in a Q-tip sized cylindrical charger every night. Darren Johnson the man behind this idea called “Ionic Ear” asked for $1 million investment for a 15% stake. While the idea didn’t impress any of the Sharks, some of them still feel that the pitch tops the list of worst pitches they’ve ever witnessed.

Squirrel Boss, Season 4

What would you to do keep those annoying squirrels away from your bird feeder? Well, just give them a harmless static shock! This weird idea was a brainchild of Michael Desanti, who dubbed his product, Squirrel Boss as “the first squirrel-proof bird feeder”. Desanti asked an investment worth $1.3 million for a 40% stake. Luckily, Sharks didn’t like the idea of torturing the animals after feeling the shock themselves and passed the idea for being too cruel.

Track Days, Season 4

James LaVitola and Brian Pitt pitched their idea of creating a motorcycle movie, Track Days, asking for an investment of $5 million for a 34% profit. The mock trailer couldn’t really impress the Sharks when they figured out that they didn’t have any script or actors lined up for the film. None of the judges wanted to invest in such hypothetical idea, and the pitch couldn’t stop Kevin O’Leary to call it a “horrifically bad idea.”

The Sullivan Generator, Season 3

Mark Sullivan proposed a vague idea that could possibly change the world. Introducing himself to the Sharks as an inventor of more than 1000 inventions, Sullivan came up with an amateur drawings to make the jury understand that how his Generator can produce electricity and gold as a byproduct, simply by harnessing the “spin of the earth.” He said that 200 of these generators can generate an income of $96 billion from Gold. In exchange for this meaningless idea, Sullivan asked for $1 million worth of investment from Sharks for a 10% stake.

Cougar Energy, Season 3

Ryan Custer proposed a rather interesting product to Sharks over others in the list, but couldn’t quite convince them. Custer’s energy drink was tailored for middle aged women looking to date younger men. Looking for an investment worth $1.5 million for a 30% stake in his company Cougar Energy, despite poor sales over three years and a bad taste, Custer had to move out of the tank empty-handed.

Sticky Note Holder, Season 1

Mary Ellen Simonsen appeared on the very first season with an utterly absurd pitch of managing the sticky notes with a holder that can attach to the laptop and fold inside when you close the laptop. She asked for $1 million investment in exchange for a 20% stake, without even selling a single piece. Mary forgot to realize that there are many Note apps available in most of the computers.

Throx, Season 1

The list cannot be complete without Edwin Heaven’s Throx – a concept of selling socks in threes so that if you lose one, you still have a pair. Edwin asked for an investment of $50,000 in exchange of 25% equity. But apart from the concept, there was nothing extraordinary about the socks, and Sharks didn’t find the idea worth for any business opportunity.

NoPhone, Season 7

Van Gould and Chris Sheldon came up with NoPhone, a gag gift to satirize people obsessed with their smartphones. Surprisingly, Van and Chris managed to raise $18,000 from a Kickstarter campaign before pitching their idea on the show. The Sharks, however, didn’t like the “dumb” idea and found it useless to invest $25,000 in exchange of 25% equity. Mark Cuban at the end of the pitch said: “There's only one thing I hate more than people staring at their phones, and that's dumb patents.”

Man Candle, Season 2

Johnson Bailey wanted to keep his house smelling like a man, and this is how the Original Man Candle was born. With aromas including beer, golf course, football and even farts, Johnson requested $50,000 for a 25% stake, but the Sharks felt the idea was too gimmicky and had no potential to attract customers.

Wake n Bacon, Season 2

Mary Sallin’s Wake ‘N Bacon is an alarm clock that starts cooking bacon at the time it is set to wake you up.

Seeking for an investment of $40,000 for 20% equity in his company, Sallin didn’t realize that the device is a potential fire hazard. Besides, you are required to leave raw and unrefrigerated meat all night and could eventually do not interest the bacon fans once their room is filled a permanent aroma of grease. O’Leary couldn’t resist from saying "I'm going to put that in my Museum of Really Bad Ideas That Kill People.”