“I was so distraught, honestly”: Kevin O’Leary Has a Personal Spot Reserved in Hell for How He Backed Out of $100,000 Shark Tank Deal Right Before Holiday Season

Kevin O’Leary’s Shark Tank antics often left jaws dropping, but this one might take the cake, or the coal, given the timing. Once upon a holiday season, he pulled out of a $100,000 deal, leaving the entrepreneur scrambling to salvage their dream. 

The festive cheer was replaced with chaos, thanks to O’Leary’s eleventh-hour change of heart. While he’s known for being ruthlessly business-minded, this move felt more Grinch than guru. 

How Kevin O’Leary’s $100K pullout crushed an entrepreneur’s holiday hopes

Kevin O’Leary, aka Mr. Wonderful, left one entrepreneur feeling anything but wonderful after pulling out of a $100,000 Shark Tank deal during the holiday season. The drama unfolded in 2016 during the show’s eighth season, when 21-year-old Vladislav Smolyanskyy pitched his innovative toy company, Pinblock.

After sharing his heartfelt “American Dream” journey from Kyiv, Ukraine to New York, Smolyanskyy struck a deal with O’Leary, giving up 50% of his company in exchange for the investment. 

The catch hinged on securing a partnership with a major toy manufacturer — something O’Leary promised to facilitate. Smolyanskyy walked out of the tank uneasy but convinced the deal was his ticket to success.

Months later, that dream crumbled. 

O’Leary’s team sent an email calling off the deal, citing excessive competition in the toy industry. Smolyanskyy, who’d already planned to use the funds to meet holiday demand, was left reeling. He said,

I was so distraught, honestly. … I went in with a lot of trust in the show, sometimes forgetting that the show is a show.

Pinblock sold out of most inventory when the episode aired, but without O’Leary’s support, the company couldn’t sustain its momentum.

The fallout wasn’t unique. Data revealed nearly half the handshake deals from seasons 8-13 never closed, often because of sharks pulling out. The pressure to accept on-air deals for screen time only added to the chaos behind the scenes.

For Smolyanskyy, Kevin O’Leary’s last-minute pivot was more personal than business. Pinblock is now dormant, and Smolyanskyy’s Shark Tank experience became a cautionary tale of trust misplaced in TV’s glittering promises.

Kevin O’Leary teams up with Frank McCourt to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations and avoid the ban

Kevin O’Leary has stepped into the TikTok drama with a bold move. He revealed he’s finalizing a deal to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations to avoid the looming January 19 ban. The deal, estimated at a staggering $300 billion, has O’Leary partnering with former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.

In an interview with The Story on Fox News (via Financial Express), O’Leary stated he’d be seeking help from President-elect Donald Trump to close the deal. He stated, 

Trump will be who we have to work with to close the deal in the months ahead. So I wanted to let him know, as well as others in his cabinet, that we’re doing this, and we’re going to need their help.

With TikTok’s future hanging in the balance, O’Leary’s bid could be the key to saving the app in the U.S. as legal battles continue to unfold.

Shark Tank is available to watch on Hulu & Apple TV.

This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire