Jimmy Kimmel was seeking a $500,000 investment in exchange for 10 percent of his bizarre product company.
The popular reality show ‘Shark Tank’ is renowned for its surprising twists and turns, and when comedian Jimmy Kimmel enters the contest, things become even more intriguing. As someone who considers himself a budding entrepreneur, Kimmel is constantly searching for the next big idea. Kimmel once pitched his bizarre product, Horse Pants, alongside Guillermo Rodriguez, his business partner and sidekick. According to reports, these weird trousers were made to be both stylish and practical, guaranteeing that people will never again have to deal with the awkwardness of naked horses.
A screenshot of Jimmy Kimmel pitching his product on ‘Shark Tank’. (Image Source: YouTube | Jimmy Kimmel Live)Kimmel began his pitch by stating, “Hi, I’m Jimmy Kimmel and I want to tell you a story.” He then shared a ridiculous tale that left the panel laughing. As reported by Forbes, he said, “Years ago I took my family to a petting zoo. I was disturbed by what I saw and more importantly what my family saw. Every animal there was naked.” Kimmel was seeking a $500,000 investment in exchange for 10 percent of his company, valuing it at $5 million. He then gestured toward the left side of a bar chart, where the line was near zero.
He said, “Look at the opportunity here. These are horses that are currently wearing pants.” He then directs the panel’s focus to the right side of the chart, where a bar reaches $600 million. He said, “These are the horses that could be wearing pants, all of them.” Continuing his pitch to another chart, Kimmel said, “The amount of money we will make is astronomical. Right now we’re at zero, maybe a little below that. We can go all the way up to 600, who knows, maybe even 700 billion dollars.” When an investor asked, “Why do you think horse pants are worth $5 million?” Kimmel responded, “Because there are so many horses today without pants.”
The comedian went on to describe the trousers as being of the Docker-style khaki variety and to add even more flair, he claimed that they also come in cargo shorts and Spanx. If the sight of a horse wearing pants doesn’t crack you up enough, wait until you see Kimmel take jabs at the outrageous figures often tossed around in investor pitches. Meanwhile, Robert Herjavec expressed interest in the invention, offering Kimmel 10 times his original ask. However, could a savvy investor like Herjavec truly be serious about such a product? The deal ultimately fell apart when Kimmel requested the $5 million in cash, as reported by The Things.
Kimmel’s debut on ‘Shark Tank’ was a lighthearted skit for his show, ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ as many fans probably already knew. It was not too difficult to add a humorous comedy sketch after the actual business pitch as ABC produces both shows and they are both shot on the same lot. This wasn’t Kimmel’s only time on the business reality show, though. He returned in season 7 to pitch another quirky creation, the Kid Kone—a traffic cone kids could wear on their heads. Kimmel surely earned some publicity points from his ‘Shark Tank’ cameo.
