What Happened To Mad Rabbit Tattoo Balm After Shark Tank?

Few businesses in "Shark Tank" history have checked off all the boxes quite like Mad Rabbit Tattoo. To start, the company's co-founders, Selom Agbitor and Oliver Zak, saw that tattoo aftercare was a rather underserved market, so they set out to fill the gap with their all-natural moisturizing tattoo balm that kept ink looking fresh. Speaking to Forbes, Zak admitted that their business was inspired by his struggles to find a petroleum jelly-free product to soothe his tattoos after he got inked. 

The entrepreneur explained that he viewed petroleum jelly as an "outdated and unhealthy" ingredient. Soon, he brought his struggles to Agbitor, who had previously partnered with him on a business they sold for $7,000. Together, the two senior-year college students started their journey to create a product that could solve Zak's problems. "We ordered ingredients from Amazon and local apothecaries and began experimenting with different formulations," Zak explained. 

The co-founder continued, "Our first product was an all-natural tattoo balm made with seven natural ingredients." In a chat with Shopify, Agbitor shared that before they put all their resources into product creation, they wanted to ascertain the demand for their product, so they first put out ads on social media. The orders started pouring in within a couple of days, and so, Mad Rabbit was born. Needless to say, the Sharks were impressed by the young entrepreneurs and their phenomenal business instincts. In fact, some may have seen an incredibly successful "Shark Tank" product. But despite all their admiration, one Shark still regretted their offer.

Mad Rabbit co-founders Selom Agbitor and Oliver Zak baited the Sharks with a 5% stake in their company for a whopping $500,000, imputing a $10 million valuation. In addition to having good business instincts, the entrepreneurs also shared a good sense of humor as they stated they had garnered $300,000 in sales before pausing to add in the "last month." Their 8-month sales for their sole product, their tattoo balm, amounted to an impressive $1.7 million. 

The Sharks were also pleased to know that they were only selling directly to consumers and that their product only cost $2.78. Agbitor and Zak had also managed to ensure continued sales by offering an $11.99 monthly subscription for their tattoo balm. If all of that wasn't enough to make the Sharks take a bite, their product also only had 12 competitors worldwide, with theirs being the only all-natural one in the U.S. market.

Though all the Sharks were equally impressed by Mad Rabbit, Barbara Corcoran and Daymond John respectfully bowed out because they couldn't see any way in which they could add value. Kevin O'Leary offered them a venture debt deal, and the richest Shark by net worth, Mark Cuban, offered them a non-negotiable offer of $500,000 for 12%. After he made the offer, Corcoran stated that he made a mistake by asking for a piece that was too small. It was only after Agbitor and Zak accepted the offer that Cuban regrettably conceded he had been too generous.

We got an official update on Mad Rabbit in the 14th season of "Shark Tank" in 2022. Selom Agbitor and Oliver Zak were happy to share that they had raked up $14 million in total sales since their appearance on the show. They had grown their product base from their hero product to seven tattoo aftercare products. Mad Rabbit's direct-to-consumer roots were also far behind them since their offerings were available in 150 Urban Outfitters, 200 tattoo parlors, and 100 countries worldwide. They had also landed a deal with Inked Magazine. Even their social media following grew by hundreds of thousands, as they went from 90,000 Instagram followers to well over 300,000. 

To make matters even better, Mark Cuban washed away his regrets about only asking for 12% of their company by investing more money. Speaking to Personal Care Insights, the billionaire shared that he was thrilled about his decision to re-invest, stating, "The brand found a need that didn't have a sophisticated solution. I admire that foresight and ingenuity and am excited about the company's future." 

Likewise, during their "Shark Tank" update segment, Cuban asserted that he was impressed by Mad Rabbit's content creation strategies, which primarily focused on the importance of moisturizing new tattoos. Agbitor and Zak were equally happy about their partnership with Cuban, as they asserted, "Mark has been a fantastic partner, not only by following on in subsequent rounds but also providing strategic business advice." By March 2023, Mad Rabbit had grown to a $56 million company.