CEO quit his 6-figure job at Microsoft—and landed a $300,000 ‘Shark Tank’ offer for his new startup

A self-proclaimed “serial plant killer” went on ABC’s “Shark Tank” — and came away with a $300,000 offer for his houseplant health company Flora.

Flora was founded in 2022 by Aabesh De, a former Microsoft employee who quit his “cushy” six-figure job to build a soil meter and accompanying app that alerts people about the health of their houseplants. De got the idea during the Covid-19 pandemic, when his lack of a green thumb ruined one of his mom’s favorite plants.

“My dear mother gave me her prized rose bush plant that she had for years,” De, 29, said on the show. “And I ended up killing it in eight short days.”

He described his $64 soil meter and free app as taking “the guesswork out of plant care, by telling you exactly what moisture, temperature, light and other vitals your plans need.” Customers can subscribe to a premium version of the app, which costs $9.99 per month or $59.99 per year, for perks like 24/7 “plant diagnosis” support, access to “expert plant doctors” and the ability for one soil meter to support an unlimited number of houseplants.

De asked for $300,000 in exchange for 10% of Flora, noting that the company had brought in $192,000 in lifetime gross sales, as of 2023. “We’re not profitable just yet,” he said. “Year-to-date, we’ve spent about $180,000 in expenses so far ... We lost about $500,000 last year.”

Quickly, De encountered an obstacle: Three of the episode’s five judges weren’t personally interested in houseplants. Robert Herjavec, Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary all declined to make offers, with O’Leary noting that he was “blown away” by the presentation but didn’t care enough about the industry to invest.

Barbara Corcoran said she loves plants, but had a problem with Flora’s business model. “I would never go for a subscription model after buying [the soil meter],” she said. “That’s a problem, so I’m sorry, I’m out.”

That left Lori Greiner, who didn’t even want to say the percentage she’d need to get involved out loud. De urged her to, anyway, prompting her offer $300,000 for 30% of Flora.

“How do you feel about $300,000 for 15% equity but 5% in advisory shares?” De asked. “I’d be open to discussing some sort of royalty if you feel like there’s still too much of a gap.”

That got a response, with multiple judges calling De a clever negotiator. Ultimately, Greiner and De agreed on $300,000 for 15% equity, 5% in advisory shares, and a $2 royalty per unit sold until the investment paid off.

“I think you’re smart as hell, and I like to invest in people who are smart as hell,” Greiner said. “You’ve got a deal.”

Source: cnbc