New York entrepreneurs Chris Soria and Marc Evan appeared on Shark Tank Season 15 to pitch their business, Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, a professional pumpkin carving art school. They offer online carving classes that teach a wide variety of pumpkin carving techniques. Additionally, they provide all the necessary tools and resources for carving pumpkins.
Did any of the Sharks invest in this company? Let’s find out what happened to the business and how it’s doing now.
| Company Name | Maniac Pumpkin Carvers | |
| Founder/Co-Founder | Chris Soria and Marc Evan | |
| Founded | Dec 2022 | |
| Product | pumpkin carving course | |
| Asked For | $150k for 8% equity | |
| Final Deal | No Deals | |
| Shark | No Sharks | |
| Episode | S15 E5 | |
| Air Date | Oct 27th, 2023 | |
| Business Status | In Business | |
| Website | Visit Website | |
| Headquarters | New York, United States | |
| Annual (Revenue) | $0.5 Million *estimated | |
| Worth / Valuation | $1,875,000 | |
| Buy and Watch | Buy Now | Amazon Prime |
Business Pitch Episode Recap
Chris and Marc asked the Sharks for $150,000 in exchange for 8% equity in their company. They explained their online pumpkin carving course to the Sharks and showcased their collection of pumpkin carving art. Both are professional carvers and have created many custom pumpkin carvings.
In the last 3 years, they have sold $170,000 worth of virtual class experiences and $90,000 worth of carving tool kits from a third-party company. Marc mentioned their plan to launch their own tool kit.
Barbara Corcoran asked about last year’s sales. In response, Marc said that in 2022, their gross sales were $294,000. He revealed that their company handles various pumpkin-related work, including events, classes, demonstrations, and custom carving orders.
Kevin O’Leary asked about the design of the custom pumpkin art. Marc explained that all pumpkin artwork is hand-designed.
Mark Cuban inquired about the cost if someone wanted to order a pumpkin carving of Kevin’s (Mr. Wonderful’s) picture. Marc said it would be approximately $600 to $800.
Jason Blum mentioned that this is a seasonal business, and scaling it would be very difficult. However, he acknowledged that Chris and Marc are running the business well and asked why they need the Sharks’ help.
In response, Marc explained that they want to enter the direct-to-consumer (D2C) market. He revealed that, so far, they have not offered online classes directly to consumers and have only been teaching carving artwork to corporate clients through live Zoom classes and webinars.
Barbara believes that this business doesn’t have scaling potential, so she is out.
Kevin said that this is not a scalable business and carries too much risk, so he is out.
Mark said he’s unsure how big the market for online pumpkin carving classes is, and it’s becoming a tough investment for him, so he is out.
Lori Greiner feels that it would be difficult to compete with the companies already in the market, so she is out.
Chris Soria and Marc Evan’s last hope was Jason Blum, but he also declined to invest.
Sharks Offers list!
| Sharks | Offers |
|---|---|
| Jason Blum | No Offer |
| Kevin O’Leary | No Offer |
| Mark Cuban | No Offer |
| Barbara Corcoran | No Offer |
| Lori Greiner | No Offer |
| Founder’s (Countered) | No Counter |
| Final Deals | No Deals |
Maniac Pumpkin Carvers Shark Tank Update
Unfortunately, Soria and Marc’s company did not secure a deal on Shark Tank, as all the Sharks declined to invest. However, their business still received free promotion from the show.
On September 16th, 2024, during research on the company, we found that they still have not launched online D2C pumpkin carving classes. However, they continue to offer their services to corporate clients. They are also selling merchandise on their Threadless store.
We are currently tracking the company and its co-founders. If any new information becomes available, this post will be updated accordingly.
Check out Shark Tank Season 15 Business Update.
You can see some businesses from Season 15 here.
