Next into the tank is a way to connect African designers with a global Marketplace [Music] Hi sharks my name is Diego I'm from Atlanta Georgia and I'm the founder and CEO of zuva today I'm looking for 460 000 in exchange for 10 of my company Growing up Nigerian I was always Enamored by unique prints and textiles But the colors the vibrancy it always Amazed me and I knew there were talented Designers on the African continent who Had a gift for creating beautiful pieces But the problem is these designers did Not have the tools nor their resources To tap a global market This is why I created zuba we are the Fastest growing Online Marketplace for Global design we connect these Incredibly talented designers with Consumers globally who are looking for Unique finds let me tell you how it Works consumers simply browse our Online Marketplace currently consisting of over 85 hand-picked curated designers once They Place their orders their items are Shipped to them directly from the Designer or from our fulfillment center In Atlanta Georgia Madison is wearing TT's closet and she is from Nigeria so It's a beautiful jumpsuit with peplum on The sides and on the top and then Michelle is wearing a designer from the
Zambia and so she likes to mix her Prints using wax print and chiffons in Her materials and then this designer is Also from Nigeria and this was an Awesome material and so it's really Beachy now join me as we show the world The beauty of Africa through design I'd Love to show you guys some samples sure Just to give you an idea Um it's nice so yeah you can just kind Of pass them down I want you guys to see More of the quality of the pieces I'm Dealing with your holding actually comes From Nigeria it's made about ashoke Which is a woven textile and that one Comes from Benin and it's made with Ankara print wax print and suede do I Wear this at the pool on you Mr Wonderful I do wear wraps you know I Love that so Kelly how do you find these Women I'm Word of Mouth A very strict bed Ding and we're able to really check Quality control as well as you know Understanding what their process is for Fulfillment and customer service how did You come up with this idea I'm a first Generation Nigerian this is my culture Right I grew up wearing these pieces I Actually started while I was in grad School I was at Carnegie Mellon and During that time I started to freelance Some social media marketing and people
Would ask me all the time collection Words you get that I realized how Inaccessible African prints and textiles Were people in Western markets so I Started with about a 500 investment and I was able to turn that into over two Million dollars whoa in sales in under Two and a half years That's amazing thank you okay so explain If I'm a designer yeah I want to be on Your site what is the financial Relationship so we charge a 17 flat Commission to be on the marketplace and Then we also charge a monthly fee of Fifty dollars and how many visitors do You have to the site monthly we have About a hundred and Last month what did you do in Revenue Um monthly we're doing about two hundred And twenty thousand dollars in the sales So about fifty thousand dollars in Revenue so you make 50k a month It's basically off of your commission Yes right so basically you have no risk Yeah which is brilliant yeah well but Let me ask them there is a risk you know When women order online the high return Rate often because they order two sizes Right I don't know if I'm a seven or Eight today all right Um what happens in the event of a return Because you either have to put that back In inventory or send it back to Africa What happened zuba hands all handles all
The returns for the customers so um to Get a return slip and you know they send The items back to us in Atlanta and then We send those items back to the Designers usually every quarter or so to Cut down on costs you're getting 50k a Month what does it cost you to run it You've got some staff yes I mean our Burn monthly is about 50k so we break Even monthly okay so what's the vision For why it's worth 4.6 million dollars Um so our valuation is really just based Off of 2x multiple of our DMV from last Year has anybody paid that values Anybody invested no we haven't had any Investment we've been to bootstrapping 100 of it I own 92 percent and who owns The other eight I'm other advisors so I'm going to guess right now you're very Flexible well she's saying that she's Worth 4.6 million right now correct yes You're doing fantastic so why do you Need a shark they're so much more that I Want to do with this company right I Want for us to be able to really create Global impact and for people around the World to see the beauty of African Fashion design Beyond just fashion right I mean there's home apparel there's art There's so much Beauty that's coming out Of Africa so for us to really scale up We're going to need investment to build Out a scalable online platform right now Our online platform does not meet the
Needs of our vendors or our consumers What is the price point range for your Outfit so we range from 50 to 250 Dollars it's reasonably priced for what This is so that's good you know I think The mistake in your deal just right out Of the gate here 460 000 is a lot of money but she's got A scale yeah but I'm having a hard time At 4.6 how many how many um designers do You want to grow to on the continent Right now there are hundreds if not Thousands of designers who could do a Variety of pieces right and that's what I'm really looking to scale up to look I Think what you've accomplished is Amazing thank you but I can't get to Where you are with the valuation 460 000 Is a big swallow for 10 and so I'm out Thank you Mark Caliche I'm really proud of you I'm Proud of what you've done you're an Atlanta girl you know started Spanx from Atlanta so it's a good it's a good place To start something for sure Um I'm I'm also struggling with your Valuation you don't say it's really high We're growing incredibly fast and if we Do get the investment from one of you Sharks we'll be able to use that to grow Even faster I feel like from what you've been able To do so far on your own I'd count on
You to keep going without having to give Up a big chunk of equity that I would Need to what chunk of equity do you Think that would be Like 50 percent Ouch Okay yeah I couldn't give up 50 of my Company definitely not at such an early Stage and I don't think you should the More that you maintain ownership the More you're going to be able to direct It the way that you want to And so for that reason I'm out Okay Okay then you are making a tremendous Difference in African women's lives I Think you're doing amazing all on your Own I don't want to take a chunk of your Company and for that reason I don't know All right so here's my thoughts on it You know I I had the honor to of going Into Kenya uh with President Obama two Years ago and believe it or not shark Tank is Big there You're like a lightning bolt for Entrepreneurship because and that Continent literally women Have carried the economy on their heads And their backs My biggest challenge is I'm a Target A Target in California there's a certain Law that anybody can walk up to a Product that is being sold in the public
Market and they can create a class Action lawsuit and dealing with 80 or 100 or 300 designers there's a lot in That betting process and I become almost A liability for you a liability because There might be an issue with the pieces Because anybody can sue you yeah he's Saying because if there's big Pockets With you there might be a Target Absolutely I definitely want to be here With you but I'll be a Target okay I'm out Thank you Damon Well then The equity valuation doesn't work and You heard it from four sharks Beautifully said wonderfully spoken all Of that crap at the end they didn't give You any money you know I like to deal in Reality I hope you do too okay I don't Think your company's worth 460 000 right Now the only way it works is I loan it To you all right I give you debt I'll do It at 12 percent all right I want 10 of The company for providing that Capital Because you've at least proven you have A business I'm impressed with the cold Hard reality is you asked for too much [Music] That's my offer Yes or no uh thank you so much Kevin but I have to decline that for you that's All right good for you good for you Thank you so much I appreciate the offer
Thank you guys good luck I was really confident about the amount That I asked for so even though Kevin Wasn't really feeling it I believe in my Heart that's what we're worth Wait you're not subscribed to the Shark Tank Youtube channel well then for that Reason I'm out
