The Mad Optimist Before Shark Tank
The Mad Optimist is a Bloomington, Indiana-based company where vegan soaps and other personal care products are made and sold. They also sell shaving creams, lip balms, bath soaks, and fragrances. Aside from being vegan and Halal, each of The Mad Optimist’s soaps have a variety of benefits such as, being non-genetically modified, being gluten-free, and being cruelty-free. Given that not many brands have these benefits to them, this makes The Mad Optimist’s products unique.
Aside from the benefits the products possess, The Mad Optimist allows customers to customize their own experience entirely. To start, a customer would go online to the company’s website and choose the product they’re interested in purchasing. From there, they will be able to customize the product based on their own preferences; these changes can include the scent, the add-ins, and even the product’s packaging. The more that’s added, the more the price increases and vice-versa; however, the products typically cost anywhere from $7 to $14.
The Mad Optimist was founded in 2012 by two brothers, Mohammed A. Mahdi and Mohammed M. Mahdi, and their best friend, Anthony Duncan. The three entrepreneurs all graduated from Indiana University prior to launching their company. Mohammed A. studied Political Science, Mohammed M. studied Psychology and Linguistics, and Anthony studied Linguistics as well. Following their time at college, the trio went on to find jobs within the Indiana area. After some time, they ended up losing their jobs and went on to gain help from their families.
The idea for the company, The Mad Optimist, came to light shortly after the friends moved in together. They started noticing that the majority of standard soaps contain unnatural ingredients. Though, what really led them to create their unique soaps was the fact that animal fats were needed in order to craft other soaps. Given that the brothers are Muslim and their friend is vegan, they all agreed that this was an issue, and it went against their values. So, they got to work on a new soap. One that wouldn’t require harm to be done to animals. Thus creating The Mad Optimist. 
The Mad Optimist on Shark Tank
On May 8, 2020, Mohammed A., Mohammed M., and Anthony entered the Shark Tank to introduce their idea for The Mad Optimist. The trio of entrepreneurs were asking for a deal of $60,000 for a 10% equity in their company. This offer would mean that their company currently has a valuation of $600,000. The friends start off their pitch by telling the sharks about their soaps, how they’re made, and how much they cost. They add in a bit of information regarding their sliding scale pricing, which allows the customers to customize the prices.
Once the pitch concludes, it’s already becoming noticeable that Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec aren’t impressed. In fact, Kevin goes on to almost immediately name The Mad Optimist as “the third hell”. However, Kevin O’Leary and Mark Cuban ask a few questions prior to stating their position in the deal. They ask why the trio doesn’t produce their products in batches, as well as how the sliding scale pricing works. Anthony takes the stage and explains that it only costs $4.50 to make each soap, and they sell for $6 to $16.
The entrepreneurs go on to mention that each soap is typically costing customers about $8.50, as that is the average cost. With that being said, they’ve been able to sell $97,000 within the year leading up to their Shark Tank appearance. Anthony told the sharks that their profit margins were sitting at 50%. Kevin didn’t like those sales numbers, he thought they were too low. He refers to them as insane and then states that he’s going out on the deal. 
Next up, guest shark Daniel Lubetzky, comments on the entrepreneurs energy and wishes them good luck as they still have quite a long way to go. He goes out as well. Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec go out on the deal next. They both agree that the entrepreneurs have great energy; however, they aren’t impressed with The Mad Optimist’s concept. The final remaining shark is Mark Cuban. Before stating his offer, he gives the trio some helpful advice. He tells them that they should focus on opening other businesses as well, ones that are more specific towards one market.
Mark offers the trio $600,000 for a 25% equity in their company, but they try to counteroffer him for an 18% equity. Mark then counteroffers up to a 20% equity. Before finalizing negotiations, Mohammed M. asks Mark if he’d be willing to donate all the proceeds to Ashura. Mark accepts this contingency, and the entrepreneurs accept his offer.
The Mad Optimist Now in 2024 – The After Shark Tank Update
Since the Shark Tank episode aired, The Mad Optimist appears to be doing well. The deal they received from Mark Cuban has not yet closed; however, the proceeds from the air date did end up getting donated to Ashura. As they requested, they would be. In total, $80,192.39 was donated to help put up a fight against oppression in societies. This donation went towards helping refugees, the homeless, and children within the LGBT community.
The Mad Optimist has continued selling their products on their website, as well as on Amazon now. The founders do appear to be somewhat active on their Instagram account, though it’s been about a month since their last recent post. While this update on the company is quite short, they have been growing successfully and, as of 2024, they have $1 million for their annual revenue. 
