Lori Greiner’s Tips on the Path of Becoming a Billionaire Shark

Lori Greiner is one of the most well-known investors in the U.S. She is capable of starting with one idea and transformed it into a multi-million-dollar international brand. Her possession is huge with the invention of over 700 products, and patents of other 120 U.S. and international products.

What contributes to her success is her ability to tell instantly if a product is a “hero or a zero”. This can be proven by the successful outcomes from several of her thriving investments with a 90 percent success rate on her new items launched. Moreover, she is famous for her perfect negotiating skills and the mysterious ability to realize and identify the potential brands to invest in them. Talking about those investments, she shows her proudness when most of them have become more successful since her investing in the Shark Tank show. Greiner also has built a strong relationship with other Shark Tank entrepreneur, regarding them as one big family.  

There is a variety in types of products that Greiner can provide since she is continuously adding on new items. Her products range from the essential organizers for the house to travel bags, and smart solutions for everyday issues, which are preferred by both men and women. Furthermore, this woman is also known for creating the most popular and luxurious jewelry and cosmetic organizers of all time. The inspiration for those great creations stems from her desire to bring happiness to people by making their everyday lives easier. Her products are not only sold on QVC but in other retailers across the U.S. continents and in Europe.  

Greiner’s achievements are partly due to her sharp instincts and strong business sense. She is able to watch over the legal and patent processes, which has driven her business to greater success. Undoubtedly, she is an expert on patenting when she can take a product from concept to creation and finally put it to the market within months with lightning speed. Also, she has helped several potential entrepreneurs to turn their unique ideas into the hits on the market. It can be said that at the heart of Greiner’s success lies the combination of talent, perseverance, and the sincere, energetic appeal.  

It is true that when you are lucky enough to have a better career path, you are responsible for giving back. And Greiner is this type of person when she tries to help the budding entrepreneurs to achieve the same success as she did. Moreover, she with her growing company annually donate a considerable amount of money to the numerous charities. Her inventions also help solve everyday problems that people face at affordable prices, making it easier to access her products.  

Additionally, Greiner is a star that is often sought for speeches for well-known companies like Chase, IBM, PayPal, American Heart Association, and many others. Her speeches have inspired others to achieve their goals and dreams, which is also partly her philosophy in helping others with her experience but in an entertaining way. In terms of her products, they are often presented in top magazines like The Oprah Magazine, InStyle, Woman’s Day, etc. Oprah also chose her initial Silver Safekeeper as one of its favorite things.  

Rising Star: The Making of Lori Greiner

Her investment on Shark Tank exceeded $9 million 

Sharkalytics, a website that helps track the popularity of a show, analyzed that Lori Greiner has invested more than $9.5 million over the episodes. This is the sum of 61 deals across 79 episodes.  

Greiner’s investment on average is around $150,000. Her biggest deal was when she invested in a company called RuffleButts, which specializes in girls’ and boys’ clothing, accessories. Her investment in this company was $600,000 for a 9 percent stake. Besides, her smallest deal was to invest for 7 percent of Scholly, a search engine helping students to easily find potential scholarships.  

Sharkalytics also announced that Greiner’s average stake in a company is 19 percent. She used to invest $150,000 in a company called ReadRest for a return of 65 percent stake, and this company focuses on eyeglass holders.  

How she makes money on TV shows 

Every time Greiner joins an episode on Shark Tank, she will get paid for that. But this is not Greiner’s only taste of TV. In 2000, after achieving great success on the Home Shopping Network, she changed the focus on her own show, Clever & Unique Creations on QVC.  

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in 2010 that to celebrate her first decade on the channel, Greiner and QVC created a special affair. In detail, she launched 10 items as part of her 10th-anniversary celebration with QVC. And each time, she appears on the channel, people could see her with a mix of new products and best sellers.  

For the success on the channel, Greiner even got a nickname called “The Queen of QVC”. Her talent not only helped the launching her new products on QVC easier and more successful but also helped elevate and shape the brand of that program.  

Greiner is an unstoppable creator 

This incredible woman has contributed to inventing more than 700 products and holds 120 patents.  

Greiner shared in an interview with Parade that she didn’t plan to be a serial investor, yet her first product which was a plastic earring organizer created in 1996, indeed came from a conversation about earrings that she got with a friend. These jewelry boxes were later the hits on the market.  

In the first phases, she had to borrow a loan of $300,000 and tried to connect with a manufacture who could help produce her design. Later she secured an order from retailer JC Penney and within 18 months, Greiner was able to pay back the initial loan.  

Greiner claimed that: “Success in sales was not what I was looking for in the beginning, instead I tried to address the problems in daily life, who it could make the people have a better life.” 

Greiner earned millions with “Scrub Daddy” 

Greiner proved her ability to acknowledge the potential product when she invested in Scrub Daddy, a company that manufactures and sells a sponge that can transform its textures and is shaped like a smiley face and it later has been a smashing success for both parties.  

This happened in episode 7 of Shark Tank’s fourth season. In this episode, a guy called Aaron Krause, the founder of Scrub Daddy offered a 10 percent stake for $100,000. Seeing the value and marketability of the product, Greiner spared no hesitation in investing and indeed she doubled the amount, took a 20 percent stake for $200,000. 

Krause told ABC News that: “The night that our product was aired on the show, 30,000 hits came to our website”. In addition, Scrub Daddy also appeared on QVC. And it was also a success when the company could sell 7,000 sets of six sponges in under seven minutes in its first appearance on the network.  

Not only an investor, but Greiner is also an excellent writer 

Greiner is considered as the most warm-blooded shark. Even when she does not show interest in investing in a deal, she would still be willing to give the young entrepreneurs valuable advice and feedback to help them improve and thrive along their journey.  

“I know that when an entrepreneur is brave enough to stand and give a speech about the product, it is the biggest milestone in his or her business life. Because it means everything, and they are going to take an enormous risk. I used to be in their shoes, so I get it,” Greiner shared with Parade.  

With that philosophy in mind, Greiner wanted to help more entrepreneurs by writing books, in March 2014, she released her first book called “Invent It, Sell It, Bank It! Make Your Million-Dollar Idea into a Reality”, which was a national bestseller.  

Mark Cuban, her fellow Shark, even wrote a review about her book on Amazon: “I am used to dealing with Mavericks and Lori fits the bill! This insightful and practical book should be put as the priority on your reading list if you wish to take an idea and transform it into a real business.” 

Lori Greiner’s Advice for the Entrepreneurs

It is true that Lori Greiner has gained so many achievements during her business life. Yet her success was not easy, and like other entrepreneurs, she had to face up with the obstacles, which later make her stronger and more experienced. During her journey, she has learned some lessons and she wished to share them for the entrepreneurs who want to transform their business.  

#1: Don’t be selfish with your idea 

It is true that sometimes passion can lead someone to forge ahead despite the difficulties. And thus, it is essential to be passionate about an idea and let it guide the light along the path. However, if someone is so blind in his idea, meaning that he will not listen to anybody’s feedback, then this will backfire his business.  

Greiner says: “Don’t fall in love with your idea to the point that you aren’t willing to listen to your potential customers just because you’re ‘so passionate’ about it”. Sometimes it might appear that your product or service is not like what your customers want. But are you going to choose a stubborn or savvy way to solve the problem? No one would be blamed for having passion, but it will be smarter to be passionate about the great work rather than merely the idea.   

#2: It just takes one idea 

Supposing you might have a lot of them that do not work out. Greiner believes that is okay and all you need is a suitable idea to take off. This also means that in order to know which one would earn you a million dollars, you need to come up with several ideas, test and experiment them if any work.  

The idea you believe that would create such a huge success might not be like you expected and your customers are not satisfied with it. Thus, it is better to have other plans. Being comfortable with failures and moving on have defined Greiner from the ordinary. Do you think the one who has helped invent more than 700 products would rely on just one idea? In fact, during her success journey, she has faced numerous failures and mistakes. But she just does not give up until fingering out the right idea for her customers.  

#3: Do whatever it takes 

According to Greiner, entrepreneurs are the types of people who would want to work for 80 hours instead of 40 hours a week. It is true since being your own boss will be easier than working for someone else. And you might be more willing to spend 80 hours working on your passionate idea rather than 40 hours for someone else’s idea.  

When Greiner first started as the solo entrepreneur, there was no Google at that time, and this led her to go to the library to find a list of every retailer in the country. And it was definitely harsh for her since finding out and getting connected with people without the Internet was such a difficult task. However, she did it anyway, she knew that spending time to try and figure it out was “easier” than giving in and working for someone else.  

Thus, the success of your business relies on how you are willing to go for your idea. And as Greiner says: “A true entrepreneur does whatever it takes. That’s the bottom line.” 

Greiner is such an admired woman, who could prove to the world that she is a successful female entrepreneur by her own hand. She now owns an incredible net worth that could go up to $110 million and becomes a symbol of famous American TV shows such as Shark Tank or QVC. To be this successful, Greiner has different rules to play and rule the games. In the end, I hope that the entrepreneurs will gain some beneficial information and lessons from this lady, Lori Greiner, and as she said: “There’s something the same about success and defeat. Both should make you want to work harder.” Hence, facing the difficulties is inevitable but the important thing is to stand up if failing and conquer it by whatever it takes.