Pumpkins are sweet vegetables that are avoided by most people all over the year except on Halloween. They are the signature part of the festival not only used in different food items but also are used to decorate our homes and backyards.
Marc Evan and Chris Soria, the owners of Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, are the top-notch professionals that we all need to decorate our pumpkins to give an extra kick to our Halloween celebration. The professional curve pumpkins and turn them into high-quality art that is featured in museums, events, and installations throughout the whole nation. It also includes a recreation of famous works of art. They have a school of the pumpkin where they teach online how to carve pumpkins and also offer all the tools a carver needs to make perfect art out of pumpkins.
The owners came on Shark Tank to request $150K in exchange for 8% of their company. They also presented the sharks with their art on pumpkins to impress them. Let’s explore their journey on the show.
Maniac Pumpkin Carvers Net Worth Shark Tank Update
Marc and Chris were looking for an investment of $150K in exchange for 8% equity in the company. At the time of the episode, they valued their company at $1.875 million. They did not secure a deal with the Sharks. After the show was aired, the company experienced a good boost in exposure. As per my rough estimate, the current net worth of Maniac Pumpkin Carvers in 2024 is around $1.2 million.
Shark(s) name
Offer & Demand
Counteroffer
Accepted?
Kevin O’Leary
Out
N\A
N\A
Mark Cuban
Out
N\A
N\A
Lori Greiner
Out
N\A
N\A
Barbara Corcoran
Out
N\A
N\A
Jason Blum
Out
N\A
N\A
The Owner’s Backstory
Founders Marc Evan and Chris Soria have been working together for over 20 years, starting their creative journey in high school by building Haunted Houses. Later, while studying at Parsons School of Design, they discovered a passion for pumpkin carving and began pushing the limits of the art form.
Their unique carvings gained attention through word of mouth and media stories, attracting clients like the New York Yankees, Food Network, and Martha Stewart. This led to the creation of Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, a studio that now includes a team of talented artists dedicated to making the best pumpkin artwork.
Initial Pitch
The co-founders came on the show to seek $150K for an 8% equity stake. Their business not only includes classes and events but also pumpkins, tools, and custom curving orders. People hire them to make portraits, logos, and movie posters on pumpkins.
Queries about the Product
Cuban asked the first question about their procedure to help people learn the curving art. Mark highlighted that they have been doing it for more than 10 years and they have a step-by-step guide that can unleash the artist in any person that is interested in curving.
Lori was curious to know what exactly is the consumer buying from their business. Mark answered that the last three years were the most fruitful for them as due to the pandemic they were able to sell their teaching of curving online worldwide.
Blum, the guest shark, wanted to know about their profits from the business. They were able to sell $170K worth of online classes in the last three years and $90K worth of tools for carving pumpkins.
They want to make their own proprietary tools for curving too.
Corcoran asked about their profit last year’s profit. Mark pointed out that their gross sales last year were $294K.
Kevin asked about their procedure for curving the pumpkins to make it 3D. The owner highlighted that they are life-long artists making handmade art on real pumpkins without any use of lasers.
They take orders make the desired portrait for the customers and ship a whole pumpkin to them as well.
Cuban inquired about the cost of making a person’s portrait on the pumpkin. Mark replied that if he has to be given orders to make Mr. Wonderful’s portrait on a pumpkin he will charge them somewhere around $600 to $800.
Corcoran was curious to know if they had workers hired to help them curve pumpkins. He pointed out that he has a team of hired artists for the purpose, especially for the festive month of October but for the rest of the month, they are the only ones to curve the pumpkins.
Kevin wanted to know if he could order a pumpkin in the off-season. Mark highlighted that in August and September, they curve a ton of pumpkins that can be used in advertising and content creation.
They can also curve a face on a watermelon as well.
The guest shark asked about their purpose in being on the show. The owner replied that they want their business to enter directly into the consumer market. Halloween is a $10B industry and 49 million people are expected to carve pumpkins this year so they wanted all those people to use their tools and download their classes through Sharks.
Corcoran asked about the growth rates of their classes currently. They are not offering them directly to consumers for the time being. They are in fact offering the classes to corporate clients, where they engage in live Zoom classes and webinars.
Shark’s Response and Final Decision
Corcoran was the shark to drop the deal as she considers the business to not be scalable and don’t have a potential for growth.
Kevin followed Corcoran and decided to leave the deal for the same reason.
Cuban considers their business to be a tough business as he thinks the classes’ parts are of very low scale. Thus, he backed out of the deal too.
Lori was next to back out of the deal as there are already a lot of pumpkin carving utensils and techniques which makes it hard for them to compete in the business.
Jason believes they would need to sell a lot more products in the future, but he also feels the artists wouldn’t enjoy doing that, so he’s not interested. Thus, the artists leave the set without securing any deal from the sharks.
Product’s Availability
Even though Maniac Pumpkin Carvers didn’t get a deal from the sharks, they’re still running their business. You can check out their Pumpkin Carvers website for details on seminars, news, and events. They also sell merch, but there’s no pumpkin carving kit available yet.
Conclusion
Although Maniac Pumpkin Carvers left Shark Tank without securing a deal, their business continues to grow, which shows their unique pumpkin art and offers online classes, tools, and custom orders. Despite the sharks’ concerns about scalability and market competition, Marc and Chris remain leaders in the pumpkin carving industry, with their work featured in high-profile events and collaborations with major clients.
Hey there, it’s Andaleb Youns. I am a freelance content writer and am currently pursuing a BS in English Language and Literature. I have expertise in writing Blog Posts, social media content, and copywriting. I know how it feels to be a student and still be dependent on parents to fulfill even basic daily needs. This realization became apparent while watching Shark Tank. Although I started watching this show out of boredom, it proved to be an inspirational show. The show made me realize the importance of hard work, being independent, and of having a business of my own. I still look forward to it for entertaining and inspirational content.
