"You will never make any money:” When Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary predicted Liberate’s future

On Shark Tank season 12 episode 11, Liberate founder Olivia Bowser looked for $200,000 for 10% equity however, she was unable to secure a deal. Olivia's mental health fitness class business promoted mental well-being through workshops. The founder revealed she had made $50,000 in total sales since the birth of her company.

Upon hearing this, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, and Daymond John stated that the business was not in a position for an investor to join it yet. After all sharks backed out from placing an offer, Olivia had hopes Mr. Wonderful might be interested in a royalty deal. Meanwhile, Kevin O'Leary openly criticized Liberate's business model, predicting the founder "will never make any money" or "get an investor." He said:

"It's going to be zero you will never make any money, you will never get an investor. Take it behind the barn and shoot it and do something else, I'm out."

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All Shark Tank investors backed out from investing in Olivia Bowser's business Liberate

After Olivia Bowser's pitch on Shark Tank, the sharks, including Robert Herjavec, stated that she would not be able to scale her business through the current business model. He praised Olivia for the overall business idea but wasn't satisfied with her answers when she revealed she had an upcoming $6,900 deal with a corporate partner. Olivia stated she had protected $8,500 for her business towards the end of the month.

Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban explained Robert's point of view regarding this matter. He stated he believed in the mental well-being and Olivia's business idea but evaluated that she was in the trial-and-error phase at the moment. He further elaborated:

"I think his point though is more pricing more than anything else. I mean, look I believe in mental health clarity, the Dalla Mavericks have had a full-time you know team psychologist because if you can't perform mentally you can't perform physically."

Cuban continued by sharing an important piece of advice with Olivia that she should sell her services "at a premium" price range rather than out of "desperation." The Liberate founder insisted that she was ready to agree to any deal a shark offered; however, both Robert and Mark continued emphasizing their previous points. Cuban concluded by backing out, he said:

"The challenge is how you scale to Robert's point and I learned this a long time ago, sell at a premium, don't sell out of desperation. Right because selling $5000 deals is no easier than selling fifty or a hundred thousand dollar deals. You have got to get to that point where you have enough confidence."

Meanwhile, Shark Tank investor Lori also backed out alongside Daymond John. Lori said:

"Right now you're at a stage where you are figuring out what you're doing. You don't have it fully realized enough yet for me and for that reason, I'm out."

As of November 2023, the company has grown and has been featured in The Washington Post, Forbes, and Business Insider. Liberate has expanded to mental fitness journals and digital journaling prompts, as well as more well-being alongside mental wellness course options that have been provided to 200 businesses. All episodes of Shark Tank are available to stream on ABC.