In this episode of Exit Rich, Michelle Seiler Tucker chats with Joshua Esnard, the inventor behind The Cut Buddy—one of the most viral grooming tools to ever hit Shark Tank. Joshua walks us through how a childhood haircut fail sparked a multimillion-dollar idea, what it took to turn a homemade template into a household brand, and the Shark Tank experience that helped fuel his growth. It’s raw, smart, and full of lessons for any entrepreneur with a product and a purpose.

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Joshua Esnard

https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuaesnard/

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Watch the episode here

 

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Invent It. Pitch It. Grow It. The Cut Buddy’s Road To Retail

Welcome to another episode of Exit Rich. We got another special guest from the most famous show out there, and the best entrepreneurial show, Shark Tank. We got a special guest. I’m so excited to have him on. He’s full of energy. I always say buckle your seatbelts. It’s going to be a crazy ride because it’s going to be like drinking through a fire hose. We’re going to give you so much content. We have Joshua Esnard. Joshua Esnard, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much for having me on Exit Rich. I look forward to sharing my story.

I look forward to your story, too, because there’s a lot of emotion in your story. When I watch your video, I’m like, “He looks like a tough guy, but he’s a soft teddy bear.”

I’ve been through a lot, but I’m a very jovial and nice person.

Let’s get started.

“Next up is a product designed for the do-it-yourself groomer.

Hello, Sharks. My name is Joshua Esnard. I’m here from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I’m the inventor of The Cut Buddy. I’m seeking $300,000 in exchange for 10% of my company. Sharks, you know what?”

Shark Tank Valuation Secrets: How To Avoid Over-Evaluating Your Company

$300,000 in exchange for 10% of your company. Before we get too far into the show, how did you come up with that valuation?

To be honest, I didn’t know much about valuations back then. This is my first company, but given that we had a strong first year of $700,000 in sales, I just came up with a magical number at that point based on not giving too much equity away and not giving too poor of a valuation. That was as simple as it was. I didn’t have any experience in understanding finances back then.

I don’t want to give anything away because we’re going to dive deeper into this, but I think it did pretty good. I’ve seen companies go on there and ask for a $50 million valuation or $100 million valuation. They’re pre-revenue, or they’ve had very few sales. I always tell my entrepreneurs, probably the most important piece of the Shark Tank is knowing your numbers and not over-evaluating your company, because that’s when they stop listening. They tune out. They don’t listen anymore because they know they’re not going to invest in the company. Would you agree?

I agree. The goal was to get a strategic partner who could help me take it to the next level. I didn’t want to over-evaluate and scare the Sharks away. I wanted to get bitten by the Sharks.

 

You don’t want to over-evaluate and scare them away. You want to get a bite. You want to get some nibbles. Let’s see what happens next.

“Cutting your own hair. Daymond, have you ever cut your own hair?

I have.

Cutting your own hair is no easy task. One wrong move, and it could all be over.”

The Cut Buddy’s Origin Story: A Bald Inventor’s Journey

Joshua, what happened with your hair?

Maybe Daymond must have stressed my hair out of my head. No, I’m playing. When I started the company, Mother Time started taking away my hairline. As funny as that is, a hairline grooming tool and now no hair on my head. Yes, that’s where I’m at.

I’m sure you can still use that tool on your hair because you still have to shave your head.

My hair does not grow back anymore. It only grows in a ring around my head. We have a little bit more stuff now that is catered to bald men as well.

That’s priceless. You start a haircutting company, and you lose all your hair. Now, you need to join a hair club for men.

Imagine that.

You know what it is, Josh? It’s starting a business or running a business that causes people to lose their hair.

I honestly think so. As every year has gone by, my hairline has gone back even further.

Let’s see what else.

“What did you do, man?

What happened?

Man, I pushed back his hairline, but you know what? It doesn’t have to be this way because I created the solution. It’s called The Cut Buddy. Here you go, brother. Use this instead. The Cut Buddy is the first multi-curve hair grooming guide tool that allows you to edge up and shape up your beard lines and your hairlines perfectly and quickly. With three curves and three straight edges, you can look great regardless of your head shape or your hair size. See, that’s a better curve. Keep using The Cut Buddy.

You should have used that from the beginning. For our beautiful bearded model friend here, The Cut Buddy works perfectly for beards. All you need to do is put the product against your beard line and let it guide you to the perfect look. See, there’s no more second-guessing. You can now cut your hair with confidence. You can look great. People will stop you on the street and say, ‘Who cuts your hair?’ Great job, Joe.

Joe, who cuts your hair?

That’s The Cut Buddy difference there.”

I’ve interviewed a lot of Shark Tank guests. I watch a lot of Shark Tank shows. I love your energy. I love your confidence. I love your energy. I love your dynamic on stage and your ability to articulate and bring the energy to the stage and the judges. A lot of people went there and they are very boring. It’s like watching paint dry. You have a great speaking personality and a great stage presence.

I appreciate that. I wouldn’t say everybody is boring.

I didn’t say everybody.

A lot of people have sat there in the green room all day, in their heads, nervous. You have to have excitement out there to keep the Sharks engaged, because what they are there for is to invest in the creator and the owner of the company. The product is secondary, but if they don’t believe in you having grit or the energy and the excitement about your business, then why would they want to partner with you?

It goes back to, “People don’t buy products. People buy people.” You have to have good products. You can be the best person in the world. If you have a lousy product, nobody is buying it, but people buy people. If they know you, trust you, and like you, they’ll buy from you. The most important thing on Shark Tank is you have to have that confidence. You have to have that passion. You have to have that grit. You have to have everything that makes a good partner because you’re selling them not just on the product, but more importantly, on you.

Correct. You’re so right.

“Sharks, who wants to cut a deal? Have some samples.

I want to see him cut your hair, Kevin.

Listen, it’s very delicate lines.

There you go.

Thank you.

Did you create your little character here?

Yes, it’s all created by me. I did all the packaging myself.

Tell us about you.”

DIY Branding: How Graphic Design Saved This Entrepreneur Thousands

I like the packaging. Did you come up with that all on your own?

Yes.

Were the logo and the packaging all you, or did you have outside help? What advice can you give to other inventors and entrepreneurs?

Graphic design was a love of mine growing up. I took an internship at Cornell when I was a kid with the library system.

Cornell. Did you all hear that?

One of the managers gave me an opportunity to learn Adobe Illustrator. From there, I had fifteen years of experience in high school, working in graphic design. Until this day, I still design all of my packages. It saved me probably hundreds of thousands of dollars.

There is a lot of cost in that. Do you do focus groups or anything? How do you know it’s right? I come up with logos, slogans, and stuff all the time, but I try to get focus groups of people’s opinions to make sure that my idea is on target. How do you do that?

We typically feed it from a top-down approach. I work with my other partners to vet it out because sometimes, my ideas are crazy and all types of colors. We also have a brand guidebook that keeps me in line, but then I share the packaging ideas with my Shark Tank community as well. We have this little alumni group that we pass ideas along with.

Let’s see what Lori has to say.

“I am an immigrant from a developing country called Saint Lucia. Maybe some of you have visited.

Yes, it’s beautiful.

Beautiful country.”

That’s my favorite place. I love Saint Lucia. Here’s a shout-out. Everybody, go to Saint Lucia. Go to BodyHoliday. You get two services a day at Body Holiday. Saint Lucia is one of my favorites.

I love it.

“Parents had me very young. They were trying to make a better life. They moved to America, but if you know anything about old-school immigrant parents, you’re getting one type of haircut. That’s the buzz cut. I was getting ready to go to middle school. I wanted to get the girls. I wanted to wear my platinum FUBU.

No doubt. Good man.

I wanted my haircut to look nice, so I didn’t want my dad to cut my hair. I tried to cut my hair, and I jacked it up many times. I went and started designing all kinds of products that can help me. I cut up my dad’s folders and created the first Cut Buddy when I was thirteen years old. I sat on this invention for fifteen years.”

The 15-Year Idea: The Catalyst Behind The Cut Buddy’s Launch

Thirteen years old, you all. You invented this idea, this invention, when you were thirteen and sat on it for fifteen years. Don’t give it away on why you sat on it, because that is so interesting. Most people invent things all the time, sit on them for years and years, never go back and see them through, and never develop a business out of them. You can’t give it away because it’s coming up next. Do you have anything to add here?

Inventions are based on necessity, so if you’re inventing something because you just want to make money, then that’s not the right way to go about it. Most people who invent stuff had an a-ha moment when they had a barrier that they couldn’t get over. That’s why this product was so special, because it was fifteen years of product development that I didn’t even realize I was doing.

Inventions are born of necessity. If you invent solely for profit, you're on the wrong path. Share on X

That’s incredible. I’m working with an inventor right now. He’s invented probably 20 to 30 different things. I’m representing him on three of his companies, and a couple of them are pre-wrapped. He says the same thing. “I see all these problems. I see all these problems in the world that have to be solved. It’s not even about the money. The only reason I want the money now from these three companies is so I can further the other 25 patents I have,” or the other 25 inventions he has. Yes, inventors, it’s not about making money. It’s all about solving a problem.

You’re so right. My mind is always racing. I’ll be in the shower, or I’ll be sleeping. I’ll wake up, and I’ll simply write down a problem statement in my notes on my phone or a piece of paper, and then I’ll go back and develop a solution for it. If anyone ever has a question where they’re saying, “Why can’t I? Why is it not? I’m so sick of this. Why does this keep bothering me?” That’s your mind trying to be an inventor. You have to write the problem down. You don’t have to solve the whole invention right away, but keep that question in your head and come up with some ideas. Go to Michaels, Home Depot, or OfficeMax and start playing with arts and crafts.

Those are some really good points, especially about when you wake up in the middle of the night to keep a notepad next to your bed. Hopefully, a notepad so the blue light doesn’t keep you up the rest of the night. That’s a good idea. I do that as well, but all entrepreneurs should do that. Keep a notepad next to your bed because that’s when you start to think about things.

You’re right.

“This is before I patented it.

What was the catalyst to go from letting it lie to starting the business?

My girlfriend and I were trying to move the treadmill into the garage, and it won’t fit. We took the door off the hinges and fit the treadmill in. She’s like, ‘Put the door back on the hinges.’ I’m like, ‘That was a lot of work.’ She’s like, ‘You never finish what you start.’ It hit my heart, and I thought I wasn’t showing up for my life.”

You never finish what you start. It hit my heart. You’re a rhymer, too.

That’s a good song right there.

It is a good song right there, and that’s why I stopped right there. Let’s see what else you have to say about this.

“I’ve had an inventor book for many years, and the first page of my invention book is The Cut Buddy.

You have a patent on it?

Yes. I have two.

Do you still have the girlfriend?

She’s my fiancée now. We’re expecting a baby in a week or two.

You’re going to have to sell a whole lot of these.

Give me the timeframe.”

I love that story. It’s your girlfriend. Now, she’s your fiancée, and you have a baby. He kept an invention book. If any of you are thinking about ideas or solving a problem, or ask yourself, “What problem can I solve?” Have an invention book. He went back to that. You called it The Cut Buddy when you were thirteen. Is that accurate?

I didn’t give it a name when I was thirteen. I went through a lot of different names when I went to patent it, like The Easy Cut, The Cut Template, or The Cut Stencil. I chose The Cut Buddy name because it’s funny. The Cut Buddy is a slang term for someone that you can hang out with, but you don’t have to have a commitment to as far as a girlfriend. As funny as it sounds, it’s a slang term that people use. Why I thought about that was, “There’s this template tool that you can use to cut your hair whenever you want, but you don’t have to have a commitment to it. You could go back to your barber whenever you want. Whenever you’re on travels or whenever your barber is out of town, The Cut Buddy is there for you without any commitment.”

Patent & Trademark Hacks: Saving Money On IP Protection

Did you make sure the name was available for a federal trademark before you moved forward?

Yes. I filed with the trademark and the patent at the same time with the patent attorney. Before I did that, I did a preliminary patent search on my own. There’s a tutorial on the USPTO website. There’s a tutorial on searching trademarks. I did that preliminary work before to save myself some money with the lawyer. When I brought it to the lawyer, they did a quick spot check and realized that the patent could be patented and the trademark was available.

You did your homework first, which saved you a significant amount of money because you got a patent filed. It saved you a tremendous amount of money. What do you recommend real quick for people to go to? Say that one more time?

First, you should go to the USPTO.gov website. You can also go to Google Patents. That’s gotten better. Figure out your problem statement, what you’re fixing, what your tool is, and an idea. Search for those keywords in those two databases. Look at all the prior art and all the prior claims. Make sure that you’re not going to be stepping on it or that you’re improving it significantly, whether it’s design or utility. You have a choice to go to the lawyer and file either a design patent, a non-provisional, or a provisional patent. A provisional patent gives you a year to test the waters before you want to pay that big fee.

What we filed was a provisional. That was the best strategy for us.

It’s smart because it takes your prior art and your filing and gives it a saving spot so that when you do file for the non-provisional, you get credit for when you filed the provisional.

This guy is an entrepreneur, a veteran, and very well-prepared. He started at thirteen, waited for fifteen years, did his research on patents and trademarks, and saved himself a lot of money. You guys should be taking notes. You can learn a lot from Josh. Agree?

Yes. There’s YouTube University and Google University as well, which I think I have a Bachelor’s in at this point.

“From that epic moment to you standing here.

I’ve been open in business since January 2016.

Why don’t you give us sales for 2016 and what you project for 2017 to help me get over the hump on this $3 million value?

My sales for 2016 were $700,000.

Yes, sir.

60,000 units.

You sell 60,000 units?

How did you do that?

I found some affiliates on YouTube that had a heavy following doing videos for hair. All of a sudden, my sales went from twenty sales per day to 100, 200, and 400 sales per day. I went viral on Facebook and hit 11,000,000 views.

What do you sell?”

Viral Marketing With Nano-Influencers: The Cut Buddy’s Sales Explosion

That’s a lot to unpack. I don’t want to run out of time here, but that’s a lot to unpack because you were selling so little, very small sales. You found the right people to connect with on social media, correct?

That’s correct. This was before Instagram and TikTok. Only Facebook and YouTube were around. I started cutting my hair and doing videos. Remember, my hairline is receding. People were making fun of me, but people realized the product worked. It was just that I was the wrong model. Before there was anything called affiliate marketing and influencer marketing, all-in-one dashboard where you could track them, I simply was giving a discount code to influencers who were nano-level, but had a lot of engagement.

They were solving the problems that I was addressing with my product. I would give them a 10% commission every time I saw their coupon come in. That was a very long and hard spreadsheet to keep track of. I’m so happy. These days, we use LeadDyno, Modash, and things that make life much easier. That’s how I started.

That’s incredible. Everybody out there who’s got a business, I told a gentleman this. I said, “You need to go find some influencers on YouTube on social media that have a big following. They already have sponsors connected to their brand. You are in front of all of their followers, all of their audience. You got their sponsors’ attention, too.”

Even if it’s not the biggest influencers and they have maybe 2,000 to 10,000 followers, if they are niche in the market that you’re trying to serve, usually their followers are very cult followers that drive a purchase decision. Their conversion rate is 50% plus. With a bigger influencer, you’re going to get a lot of eyes, but maybe only 2% to 5% will convert into a sale. It’s about where your budget is at the time. Back then, I barely had $400 left in my account. I had to find these guys for free or $100.

 

You can find a lot of them for free. I’ve got a gentleman who’s got a business that we’re selling in the cooking space. I said, “There are these ladies who are in their 70s and 80s. They started these cooking shows on YouTube, and they have huge followings. They didn’t start it to make money. They started it because they wanted something to do and to connect with people. Now, they’re making huge money. They got huge sponsors. I said, “Go connect with those people.” He’s like, “I’m sure you’re right.” I said, “Latch onto their audience.” Let’s hear more.

“I sell it at $14.95, and we wholesale at the $8.50 price point.

What does it cost you?

It’s $2.

What is retail? Are they hair places like Sally’s, or is it Walgreens, CVS, or all?

I met with Sally’s. I’m waiting basically for them to offer me a PO. Target and Walmart have brought us on as a dot-com. That’s the retail area that we want to go to.

Most of the sales now are direct to consumer?

Correct. Maybe 20% of my sales are to wholesale clients. The rest are right to the consumer.

What do you need us for?”

From DTC To Retail Domination: The Cut Buddy’s Shift To Big Box Stores

Is the ‘right to the consumer’ from your website?

Yes. At that point, I was using a Wix website, which was hard to manage orders and marketing. It was the website, and we had started Amazon.

Tell us real quick. What is your client platform? How much is Amazon? How much is wholesale? How much is retail? Did you get into Sally’s? Fill us up real quick.

I’m at 80% big box, drug, and grocery. Our main clients are Walmart, Target, and CVS. We have nine products in thousands of those stores. I would say the rest is 20% primarily Amazon, and almost nothing is our website. Imagine it’s inversed over time. Sally, you still owe me a purchase order. I met with you guys. It’s been five times. Come on now. We have distribution in all the big stores. What are you guys waiting for?

Let’s send this to Sally’s. It might be because Sally’s caters to females more than that.

You’re right. Females and professionals are where that angle is. We haven’t done a good job of marketing how stylists are utilizing our tools.

Sally’s might not be your audience, and that’s okay. You’ve got to know who your audience is.

You’re so right.

Let’s see what else.

“I think that the mentorship that you guys can give me as a strategic partner can help me. You have to realize that I’m an inventor. I invented a product that went viral. I had a baby who’s learning how to drive a car now.

With $300,000, you can go and date seventeen mentors at $10,000 a month and pick the one you want. You don’t have to share the rest of your profits for the rest of your life.

Daymond, are you trying to talk yourself out of a deal?

I’m not trying to talk myself out of a deal. I want to ask the question because if he turns around and we can’t do better than he’s doing for us, what’s going to happen?

I heard him ask for $300,000. I’m prepared to make you an offer.”

I like Daymond’s approach. I like Daymond’s logic because it’s not just about investing and trying to gain equity in an entrepreneur’s business. It’s making sure it’s right for the entrepreneur. Sometimes, they don’t always need the money, or they need the mentorship. The Sharks think you didn’t need the mentorship, but you did. We’re going to talk about how that came into play.

“I’m all right with that, but I made you an offer. You’re still talking to people who don’t seem that excited.

Daymond, I see you. Thank you, Mark.

Congratulations, man.

I heard him ask for $300,000, so I’m prepared to make you an offer. It’s not a business. It’s a product with a good entrepreneur who hustles underneath it. I’ll give you the $300,000. What I want is $1.50 from every unit until I’ve made back a milsky. It is over three times on my money, and then it goes away. Just so I can keep my interest in you, I want 5% of the company. Josh, I’ll throw a sweetener in. If you do this deal with me, I’ll grow my hair back.”

Impossible, Mr. Wonderful. What were your thoughts without giving anything away? What were your thoughts on his offer, real quick?

I didn’t like the fact that there was a royalty deal that would have kept me there until I gave him $1 million back. It means that I probably would have had to sell 600,000 to 700,000 units because he wanted $1.25, meaning he would have been stuck with me for another few years. I did like that his equity needs were very low. Eventually, he was giving me an opportunity to lean on him in general. It wasn’t a bad offer at all. I didn’t think that he understood my product and my demographic at that point, so I was hesitant.

Why did you think that?

He’s bald.

So are you now.

I know. Imagine that. He’s bald. I didn’t think he was fully in the grooming category or in the style category, because he was more in wine, food, and tech. I knew Daymond was already in that influencer space, hip hop, hair, fashion, and clothes.

You already had Daymond as your interest.

That was my idol with FUBU clothing and everything. I knew there were certain people I was key to. Never would I have thought Mr. Wonderful would have given me the first offer. Never in my wildest dreams.

He does tend to do that quite a bit at times, and he’s always got a royalty structure. For the audience, it’s good to go in there and say, “This is who I would like to get an offer from. This is who I think is the best fit for my company. Let me create a synergistic approach to get Daymond’s attention, get Lori’s attention,” or whoever your favorite Shark is for your particular company. It’s good to tailor that approach to the Shark that you know that you want. Are you willing to take a royalty deal? What are you willing to do on equity? People don’t think about that. When they make that off on stage, you’re almost like a deer in headlights, because you’re like, “What?” You’ve got to make a decision pretty quickly, or the Sharks are out if you don’t.

“Just to clear the deck, I’m out.

Thank you, Mark.

Congratulations, man.

I could have helped you rebillionize.”

I love that, rebillionize. I want to start using that. I love that. You’re so quick. You know your numbers. That’s another good thing. A lot of people don’t always know their numbers. They don’t have a really quick, witty comeback. That makes good for TV.

Everybody was nice, by the way. Mark did try in the background. He was trying to help out with the deals. It’s just not his cup of tea in general, not his section.

That’s why it’s good to know. Who do you think your cup of tea is? Who do you think the best potential investor is for you? You can tell your pitch to hit their sweet spots. You know what Mr. Wonderful is into. You know what Cuban is into. You know what all the Sharks’ core competencies are and what their platforms are.

“Josh, I think it’s a good product. I don’t understand it, to be honest with you. It worries me that to me, it’s so self-evident. You’ve got to go online. You’ve got to hustle it out there, and you want to go into retail. I don’t want to have that argument with you. I’m out.”

What are your thoughts about what he said?

I’d say he was wrong because now, I’m in almost every store with multiple products. I would say he was wrong about that. At that time, marketing on the Internet, when there was only Facebook and they were just launching their ad platform, was very cheap for conversions and impressions. If you look at the cost of advertising on Instagram, Facebook, Google, or even on TikTok and Amazon, the price is very high. You have to get shifty about how you want to optimize your ad. A lot of people are barely breaking even or losing a lot of money on DTC online.

A thousand percent. Most businesses can’t afford it. They have to find creative ways, like talking to somebody’s audience, so they become very creative. I agree with you. He was wrong.

“I honestly think that this will be as common as a comb in your house in the next five years.

As far as templates, that means there are other templates out there.

I’ve been knocked off more than 700 times prior to that.

That’s staggering.

I’m the first. I’m the father of the industry. They caught on.”

Were you the first?

Yes, the first multiple curve hair grooming template. There was a beard template, which I now own to patent. The beard bro went viral with the beard one. I went viral with the hair one. I fought against the knockoffs and got them down. He didn’t. He went under, so I acquired his patent. Until this day, I still pay him royalties on his patent. Having my patent and his patent made me like Ultron or a transformer, even stronger.

What was the biggest difference? You had 700 wannabes, and you knocked them all off. He did it. That’s why his competitors got an edge on a hand and basically put him out of business. Was that the big difference?

Correct. The problem was that since he wasn’t controlling his industry, people were coming through the door and attacking my industry as well. I needed to create a moat around his product and my product to protect the two fathers of the template industry.

What’s even more amazing is that Josh paid attention to his competitor. He saw he was going out of business. What did he do? He acquired the patent. You’ve got to keep your eyes out. You do need to look at what your competition is doing. You weren’t direct competitors.

No, not at all.

You need to know who your competitors are, who your strategic is, and where they are in the playing field, and see what you can acquire if you know somebody is about to go out of business. That’s a very valuable lesson.

“I’m all right with that, but I made you an offer, and you’re still talking to people who don’t seem that excited.

Daymond, I see you’re quiet. You’re one of my idols, and I love your story. Is there any way that you and Kevin would work together on this?

Work with Kevin? Why would I do that?”

I love his response. “Why would I do that? I don’t need Mr. Wonderful.” I love the response.

“He is a beautiful guy.

I have more hair than he has.”

You said that earlier. Mr. Wonderful is not your guy because he doesn’t have any hair. Neither does Daymond.

You’re right, but I think Daymond understood the industry I was in more because he was from the style and fashion industry.

“We’re here to fight for the entrepreneur, right? I don’t want to put a burden on you. If there are places you think I can add value, of course, I relate to the product. You’re going to be a new dad right now. Every decision you’re going to make from this point on is not going to be about you. It’s going to be about two other very important people. Are you thinking about that? The day you become a father, life changes.”

I’m going to stop it there real quick. What I love about Daymond, and I said this a minute ago, is that when you’re out there seeking investors and seeking capital, you want to make sure they have a heart. You want to make sure that they care about you, your family, and your business. They’re not just trying to take equity in your company. They really do care. They care about adding value. They’re not trying to just get a good deal. That’s what I respect about Daymond’s approach right here. You’re about to show some emotion.

The Emotional Entrepreneur: Why Vulnerability Wins On Shark Tank

Yes. It was building up during this episode. Sometimes, I choke up when I watch. It’s hard for me to watch this episode because there’s so much emotion. I’ll let you play it, and we could talk.

You want to grab a blindfold?

“I want to do good for my child being born. Sometimes, I feel lost because I feel like I’m just an inventor, and I’m not a good business owner. I work my ass off, but sometimes, I feel lost. I feel like you guys are the flashlight that can help me get wherever I need to be.

There are 28 million small businesses in this country. Over half of them are operated by one-man and one-woman shops. They’re the backbone of our country. They’re more valuable than people ever give them credit to be, so you’re here already.”

There was a lot to unpack there. First of all, you spoke very touching and profound words that millions of entrepreneurs think about every single day. Millions of entrepreneurs think exactly like you do, but they don’t always express it. It was good to show that emotion. What was that emotion coming from?

That emotion was coming from thinking about being born with my parents being very young, them struggling, getting to America, and me seeing them study and work, and studying overnight. Finally, we get into a good place and then struggle through a recession with college and everything, where no jobs happen, and then launch this product after my wife pushed me to do it. All of that was running into each other at a crossroads, with me even thinking about, “Am I missing my son’s birth right now?”

I also had impostor syndrome. “Do I even deserve to be here? Is my story even good enough?” They had people whose dads died in 9/11 and who had an amazing invention that the dad was working on. They had farmers who had things that protected their farms. They had stories that were powerful to me, that I felt like, “Why should I even be out there?” All of that was running into each other at the same time that I thought my idol was escaping the deal. I was being left with Mr. Wonderful.

“I can’t be stuck with Mr. Wonderful.” It’s hilarious. I thought the emotion was so good because you’re so right. We always say, “We have it bad,” but there’s always somebody else around the corner who has it worse than us. It was good that you were able to express that emotion because I know you touch so many entrepreneurs. Many people think like you. They do have impostor syndrome. “Am I good enough? Do I deserve this? Shouldn’t they get that instead of me?”

What Daymond said was so important because it almost needs to be played during the tariff wars. Many small businesses are hurting. Hearing that we are the backbone and America needs us is something that could motivate many entrepreneurs to stick in that fight and keep the grid up, because I 100% know it’s tough for the one-person sole proprietor shops out there.

 

When Daymond said that, I said, “This show is outdated because there are more than 34 million businesses in the United States. It’s not 28 million anymore. Yes, 99.9% are small business owners, a lot of independent businesses, and they’re struggling.” It’s very difficult to start a business, sustain a business, scale a business, and be sustainable and sellable so you can exit rich. There are so many business owners out there. They’re the backbone of their economy.

If you think about it, if these businesses start going out of business, what happens? If they go out of business, employees lose their jobs. Guess what? The family stops spending. They cut back on restaurants. They cut back on shopping. They cut back on consumer goods. They stop spending. What does that do to the economy? It affects the economy. It’s a trickle-down effect. People start, stop eating at that small restaurant.

That restaurant can go out of business. It’s a trickle-down effect. All of us need to come together and support small businesses. That’s why I do what I do. It’s not for the money. It’s to support and educate small business owners. We’re here for you. Where there’s a will, there’s always a way. You can always make it happen. You’re going to have it great. You’ve got to stick it.

Beyond The Deal: Mentorship And Life After Shark Tank

Getting that message out here on this platform and with everyone you’ve worked with is beautiful. I appreciate what you’re doing for the industry.

Thank you very much. I tell everybody, have that stickability. If you don’t know what you’re doing, call Josh or call me. You know what? The more successful the entrepreneurs are, the more time they have to help other entrepreneurs.

The more successful the entrepreneurs are, the more time they have to help other entrepreneurs. Share on X

It makes us feel good, too. That’s the currency of life.

Like Zig Ziglar used to say, “The more you give back, the more you get. If you’re not fired up, that’s probably that.” That was my favorite line that Zig always said. Let’s see what’s next here.

“I’ve got an offer for you.

That makes me sad. That makes me tear up.

Two Sharks are out. Kevin has an offer on the table for The Cut Buddy, a trimming guide for home haircuts. Daymond is also interested.

I’ll offer you $300,000 for 20%. Trust me, you know I would normally say 33 and a third.

There are, to me, traits of a great entrepreneur: drive, passion, and not giving up. You have all of those traits to do all these different things, as they said. You also have two good offers here. I’m out.

Thank you, Lori.

Josh, three Sharks out, two offers on the table. What are you going to do?

Daymond, is there any way that you’d go to 12.5%?

I like that about you, but I would normally be at 33%. $300,000 for 20% is fair. It gets me excited. I go out there, and I do whatever you need me to do.”

I love what he said. “I like that about you.” Why were you trying to get him to come down? Sometimes, the Shark Tank guys make a big mistake by doing that. What was your intent?

I was saying, “Why not counter to see if he goes down or not?” In my head, I was already like, “I’m taking this deal. I just want to see if he could go down a little bit more.”

I call it ABN, Always Be Negotiating.

“Josh, you have to make a decision, my friend.

You know what? Daymond, I’m going to ride with you.

Congratulations. Good job.

Congrats, Josh.

I can’t wait to work with you.

You’re going to be a good dad.

Congratulations.

Thank you so much. I’m going to make sure that my family, all the way from my parents to my grandma, is taken care of because that’s all that matters. They took care of me from a developing country called Saint Lucia. We had a long ride to America, and we made it. We made it, Mom. We made it, Dad. Houston, I love you.”

There was so much heartfelt emotion right there, beautiful. The ending of that was beautiful, probably one of the best things I’ve ever seen on a Shark Tank. You made it. Let’s talk a little bit about life after the take. Daymond became your partner. You guys went a certain route. Let’s talk about that real quick.

We ended up doing a licensing deal with the original clipper inventor for hair clippers called Andis. It allowed me to put my tool with their tools. It was complimentary because, if someone is trying to cut their hair with the clipper, messes up, and doesn’t have any guide, then they get mad and end up going somewhere else, or they buzz off all their hair. Our tool allowed them to have a product that helped people have more confidence to cut their hair. Doing that licensing deal got us exposure to big-box retail. It went very well for three years.

The Licensing Deal: Expanding Reach With A Strategic Partner

You were with Daymond for three years. You feel like you made a great decision with Daymond, and then you guys parted ways.

Yes, not on anything bad. Daymond was a great mentor and a big brother to me. What you don’t end up seeing on the Shark Tank or any of the follow-ups is that Daymond thought that mentoring me and also getting part of the licensing deal was enough to get me going on my own. He didn’t end up taking any equity from my company because we did very well on the licensing deal.

That’s a stand-up guy right there. Didn’t you guys have, not a disagreement, but maybe a misalignment on the future direction?

As you say, it wasn’t a disagreement. I wanted to grow the company during COVID because I saw so many people were cutting hair. I was inventing so many other ergonomic tools for cutting hair, like shavers, clippers, and stuff. My deal with Andis was expiring during COVID. I was trying to tell everybody that I wanted to create my grooming section of the company and build my own products that focus on ease of use for mothers, autistic children, or veterans with disabilities, dexterity, and stuff.

Most people, even some of my team, with Daymond’s team, and others, were saying, “You have a life. You have your son. You have your wife. You live on a truffle farm now. You bought a house and everything. A lot of this was because of a licensing deal. Why would you leave the comfort of that?” It is a crazy idea for me to leave that comfort. They were right at the time as smart advice, but I had confidence in my development and my inventor skills. I did take the jump to invent my products and to go into retail.

You trusted your intuition, you were extremely confident, and you have grit. It worked out. How many stores are you in?

I have nine products in retail, anything from that shaping tool to a bald shaver. Now, I have a bald shaver. Kevin, Mr. Wonderful, may have worked out as a deal after all.

You should ship him one.

I should. We’re nine products, 3,600 Walmarts. We are in 700 Targets, 1,500 CVSs with nine products. There’s Wegmans, Meijer, Kroger, and stuff like that. We’re working on the next big retailers and international next.

From Bottle To Business: Inventing Beyond The Cut Buddy

Unfortunately, we’re out of time. I could talk to you for hours and hours, Josh. I know you have so many go-to nuggets. You have so much wisdom in you. One question, have you invented anything else from that event journal?

I have. When my son was born, he refused to take a bottle. He only wanted his mom’s boobs. He had issues. He was trying to grab the bottle. He couldn’t hold on to it because at first, you can’t see as a kid, and your neck’s all loose. I developed a spherical bottle that had six nipples on it so that he could drink. I never released it as a human-use thing, but I plan to release it as a pet litter bottle.

It’s a great idea. Again, thank you so much for all of the advice and all the go-to nuggets you shared. You are one that I would love to have back on my show because you have so many words of wisdom. I appreciate you being on the Shark Tank.

Thank you for having me. Exit Rich is an amazing show. I also think that what you’re doing to help companies realize their value is amazing. I would love to stay in contact with you. As you said, if there’s anybody out there who is your fan that was starting out or at the level that I am, I’m not going to charge you any type of consulting. Shoot me an email because we’re all in this together as small businesses.

Sounds great. Thank you so much, Josh. Thank you so much to my entire audience for always tuning in to another episode of Exit Rich. You know what? We never underdeliver. We always feed you content like drinking through a fire hose. Go back to this episode, and also share it. Share with your fellow entrepreneurs. Share it with inventors. Share it with somebody who wants to start something and somebody who can solve a problem. Get this message out. Get this content out. Make sure you subscribe to Exit Rich. We’ll see you next time on the Exit Rich show. Thank you, Josh.

Thank you. Have a good day.

 

Important Links

• Joshua Esnard on LinkedIn
• The Cut Buddy
• BodyHoliday
• USPTO
• Michelle Seiler Tucker on Facebook
• Michelle Seiler Tucker on Instagram
• Michelle Seiler Tucker on X
• Michelle Seiler Tucker on LinkedIn
• Michelle Seiler Tucker on TikTok

 

About Joshua Esnard

A native of the small Caribbean island of St. Lucia, Joshua Esnard is a classic example of the American Dream. Since immigrating as a young child, Joshua Esnard has grown from humble beginnings to a wildly successful entrepreneur with millions of units in global and big box sales. After being featured in Forbes, GQ, and Black Enterprise and landing a deal with Daymond John on Shark Tank, Esnard has become a highly sought after entrepreneurial, business, and motivational speaker and consultant.

As an experienced and entertaining business speaker with over ten years of business and motivational speaking and consulting expertise, Joshua shares the strategies that helped him go from an immigrant with a dream to an entrepreneurial success in the United States. As the Inventor and CEO of The Cut Buddy, in seven years Joshua Esnard has seen his company transform from a garage business to a viral success and industry leader in the beauty sector. His inventions can be found in Walmart, Targer, Meijer, Wegmans, and thousands of other stores.

Joshua shares with audience members his successful strategies for entrepreneurs and businesses alike with his expertise and experience in critical business functions including: the invention and patent process, team building, strategic production and distribution, market research and development, intellectual property enforcement, and innovative marketing strategies to help your product go viral.

As a motivational speaker, Joshua’s immigrant success story of childhood wonderment, innovation, determination, sacrifice, and perseverance as well as the entertaining and personable way he communicates it will inspire and motivate any audience.

Joshua Esnard and his college friends recently launched Truffletopia in North Carolina. They have relations with over 400 truffle hunters in Europe. They import fresh truffles from Italy. They have also started a small Truffle farm in Pittsboro. Chefs and foodies looking for fresh should contact Joshua! truffletopia.com