Shark Tank Update
Shark Tank Pitch
Balloon Distractions Shark Tank Update
Published:
3m
Tampa, FL
| Name | Balloon Distractions |
|---|---|
| Main Presenters | Ben Alexander |
| Presenter Image | |
| Product Image | |
| Last Known in Business | 1/1/2018 |
| Main Location | Tampa, FL Loading Map |
| Order Shown in Episode | 4 |
| Final Deal | All Sharks went Out |
Balloon Distractions Shark Tank Pitch
Ben Alexander came up with a solution to impatient kids at restaurants who are overflowing with energy. Ben created Balloon Distractions which is a service that restaurants can use to hire balloon artists to come to the restaurant and give families balloon art to keep them occupied while they are waiting.
Balloon Distractions averages over $500k a year in sales and has done $4 million since its inception. Last year's sales were $650k. Ben got some pushback from the clown community when he started introducing magicians into his service. Ben has struggled to find regional managers and wants to franchise the business instead. Restaurants are charged around $40 a night, and balloon artists receive customer tips.
The sharks find Ben energetic and passionate but fear the plan for success is too unclear. All sharks go out.
Offers
| Made By | Label | Sharks Part of Deal | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Offered | $250k for 30% of company | |
| Sharks | Out | Robert Herjavec | Out |
| Sharks | Out | Barbara Corcoran | Out |
| Sharks | Out | Lori Greiner | Out |
| Sharks | Out | Mark Cuban | Out |
| Sharks | Out | Kevin O'Leary | Out |
Mark Cuban
Out
Barbara Corcoran
Out
Kevin O'Leary
Out
Lori Greiner
Out
Robert Herjavec
Out
Updates in Shark Tank Episodes
| Update Season | Update Episode |
|---|---|
| No Episode Updates | |
Balloon Distractions After Shark Tank
According to an overarching article about Ben published in 2014 by tampabay.com https://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/shark-tank-appearance-reveals-inflated-egos-twisted-truth-in-balloon-wars/2172564, Ben grew up on a farm where he described being poor and working hard to get by. Ben went to college on an Opera scholarship only to fall on hard times again, which led to him starting Balloon Distractions. Ben has had some run-ins with the law with crimes such as theft.Link Preview
tampabay.com
Ben felt as though he was aiding in bringing joy to kids. However, some employees and regional managers felt Ben was micromanaging them and being mean. Some employees described Ben as threatening if they were caught branching off to work with restaurants on their own or if employees made any negative remarks about Ben publically.
As of 2023, Ben Alexander is very active on his blog, balloondistractionsblog.com https://balloondistractionsblog.com. In a 2022 blog post Ben wrote: Link Preview
balloondistractionsblog.com
In 2003 I was twisting balloons on the street in Ybor to pay my mortgage… I was 29 years old… and in the next 9 months that goofy idea was making me over $100K a year. NO ONE thought it would work, yet that business went on to grow all over the United States… giving me a decent income until I sold the company in April of 2018.
The website and social media pages were taken down in 2018, so Balloon Distractions likely closed its doors at that time.
As of 2023, Ben works for a Solar company and recently started his own solar consulting business. In 2023 Ben started a YouTube channel, which at the time of this writing has 45 subscribers, so we will see how that goes over time. Ben appears to be happy and enjoying his family and writes about whatever is on his mind and going on in his life on his blog regularly and posts on his Twitter, @BDistractions https://x.com/BDistractions.Link Preview
@BDistractions
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