Danielle Mahon, owner of Topsail Steamer, a local family-run company specializing in customizable ready-to-cook seafood boils, appeared on ABC’s reality show “Shark Tank” on Oct. 25.

The show allows entrepreneurs to pitch their products and ideas to five potential investors to gain financial backing to get a business off the ground or expand it.

Mahon said she saw Shark Tank as an opportunity to access the growth equity needed to take the business to the next level and to have the guidance of partners willing to leverage their resources and connections.

She introduced the “Sharks” to her product by asking them to think about the feeling they get when sharing a meal with friends and family on vacation – the stories and the laughs shared throughout the meal. 

“With Topsail Steamer, you don't need to be on vacation, and you don't need to be at the beach to get that same experience,” Mahon said.

She shared a “Wrightsville” bucket with the Sharks, who posed a series of rapid-fire questions about the company’s growth and financials, which Mahon was quick to answer. She stated that Topsail Steamer did $4.5 million in sales last year and will reach $5.7 million in 2024. The company averages 28% on food costs and 17% on labor.

Mahon asked the Sharks for a $350,000 investment for an 8% stake in the company.

Guest Shark Todd Graves, founder of Raising Cane’s, showed immediate interest and offered Mahon $350,000 for a 20% stake. Entrepreneur Lori Greiner, a self-professed foodie, also wanted in on the deal and asked Graves if he would entertain partnering, taking 10% each, to which Graves responded favorably.

Mahon countered with 16% equity, and they eventually settled on 18%. Topsail Steamer is now in the deal's due diligence phase, and Mahon said she is feeling very positive overall. 

“Todd owns a food-based business and Lori, of course, has a ton of experience in e-commerce and gifting so I feel really good about it,” Mahon said. “Todd's a new shark so there's not a lot of information out there about how he interacts, but from what I understand about Lori, she is very hands-on with companies that she invests in, so we would look forward to really working closely with her to help grow the brand.”

Currently, seven of the eight Topsail Steamer locations are company-owned and one is franchised.  Mahon said on air that she believes the total addressable market for the company is 400 brick-and-mortar locations and was seeking investment to expand the company’s footprint.
 
Right off the bat, Graves advised Mahon against franchising.

“Franchisees will never run restaurants or business as well as the founders do,” Graves said.  “You can get them excited about it, but they will not execute the same.”

Instead, he advised Mahon to raise the salaries of her general managers to six figures.

“Once they can get a six-figure income, it's your partner, not your franchisee,” Graves said. “That's your partner, they're going to work even harder to get more sales. Be a representative of you.”

Graves said Raising Cane’s, which he launched in 1996, is worth four times as much being company-owned compared to a franchise model.

“As an entrepreneur, I am very into understanding all types of business models and opportunities,” Mahon said. “So I started out with the corporate store model, and it just felt that for me, the best way to grow the company was to align with other entrepreneurs that had the capital to help expand the brand.” 

Mahon went on to say that she has had a very good experience with her franchisees, and has received numerous inquiries about franchising since the episode aired on Friday, so it is something she believes may still be on the table.  

As for the additional impact of the episode, Mahon said there have been over 50,000 new visitors to the Topsail Steamer website and an increase in online ordering.  

“We are really, really pleased with the exposure and it’s something that I think will be impactful for us for a long time,” Mahon said.

Mahon was named Entrepreneur of the Year at the 2021 Coastal Entrepreneur Awards, a joint program between the Greater Wilmington Business Journal and the UNCW Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.