A sour appearance on business competition show Shark Tank actually ended in success for start-up founder Jesse Genet.
The 27-year-old taped this past year, pitching her company Lumi which sells DIY kits to print custom designs on T-shirts, bags, and other surfaces.
But the shrewd angel investors on the show refused to bite at Genet's offer of a 5 per cent stake in her company for $250,000, believing she was overestimating the worth of the business of $5 million.
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The pitch: Jesse Genet, CEO of DIY screenprinting company Lumi, failed to get an investment when she appeared on Shark Tank in a recent episode
Empty handed: The sharks felt that the 27-year-old's valuation in her company was too high and she refused to compromise on lower offers
Success: Shortly after the episode was taped, Genet applied for and was accepted into leading Silicon Valley start-up incubator Y Combinator
Shark Kevin O'Leary estimated that she was only taking back $100,000 in profits after taxes and found the $5million valuation a little aspirational.
'That’s 50 times your free cash flow - It’s ridiculous,' he said.
O'Leary and fellow shark Laurie Greiner offered Genet an alternative deal, based on a much-lower valuation of her company, but Genet refused to budge, leaving the show empty handed.
As she ended her bargaining with the sharks, Genet remained positive saying: 'I'm going to make this into a credible company'.
And it appears she was right. Just one month after her episode aired she has already doubled her profits.
Shortly after taping the show, Genet applied for and was accepted into Y Combinator, one of Silicon Valley's most prestigious start-up incubators.
She joined the incubator in December and in just three months has increased her profits to $2.5 million by expanding her product line and redesigning her website.
'[The comments] were dicey, but I can handle that,' Genet told Business Insider. '[Shark Tank] helped us realize what was really big about our business and what was not scalable.'
On Tuesday, she presented her company at YC's biannual Demo Day, showing off a whole new line of products not shown on Shark Tank - including custom stamps.
On the right track: In three months at Y Combinator, Genet has doubled her sales to $2.5 million. Above, photos show how Genet's patented printing technique works
Genet started her business three years ago, after finding a method for printing on natural surfaces with a negative film, developed my an inventor in the 1950s.
Genet spent two years trying to track down the inventor, and ended up convincing him to sell her the trade secret formula for $50,000.
Kickstarter helped her raise $270,000 to get the business started, and now her product is sold in retailers like Michael's.
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