Below is a recap of the February 17, 2012 episode of the ABC show Shark Tank (episode 303). If you are unfamiliar with Shark Tank, the concept is simple – entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of investors and the investors have to provide at least the amount the entrepreneur is seeking for a deal to be completed.

Tonight Barbara Corcoran was replaced by QVC product creator Lori Greiner. Other sharks include: Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Damon John and Robert Herjavec.

Pitch 1 – The Last Lid

Created by husband and wife Melissa and Kevin Kiernan, The Last Lid is a “fabric garden trash can lid replacement”. They were seeking $40k for a 20% investment. The idea is that this fabric lid is a universal fit for any garbage can and it will keep out rodents and racoons. Damon John was the only shark left and after Kevin raised his offer to $40k for 60%, Damon jumped at the chance and the deal was done.

Update – Lightfilm

In season 1, Lightfilm scored a $100k investment from Damon John. The company was rebranded as “Power Decal” and recently signed a deal with Best Buy to carry the light-up changeable decal for your car.

Pitch 2 – The Ledge Pillow

Next up was Amanada Schlechter seeking $30k for a 25% investment in the Ledge Pillow. This foam pillow is made for women with large breasts or women with breast implants to help them sleep. The pillow is made for women who sleep on their stomachs and helps the woman stay uplifted while sleeping. The Ledge Pillow works for women with a C cup and above. Amanda has sold 83 since her launch in 2008. Lori suggested Amanda change the name of the product to something with “boob” in it.

Pitch 3 – Talbott Teas

Steve Nakisher and Shane Talbott presented Talbott Teas. Shane explained the teas as, “reinventing tea just like Ben & Jerry reinvented ice cream”.  Shane and Steve were seeking $250k for 20%. The company had sales of $100k in 2009, $350k in 2010 and $500k to-date in 2011 (remember the show films way before it airs). Talbott Teas has been named one of Oprah’s favorite things and has appeared on QVC multiple times.

Kevin O’Leary offered $250k for 40% – Kevin agreed to a deal at 35% and the deal was signed.

Pitch 4 – M3 Girl Designs

Presented by the Bradshaw Family, Maddie, Margo and mother Diane, the family was seeking $300k for 15% of their jewelry company.  Their first product, “snap caps”, is a magnetic bottlecap necklace for young girls. Now the company is looking to expand their product line and create global distribution. The girls created a company with $5 million in sales over the last 5 years with $1.6 million in sales last year and profit of $1 million. Maddie and Margo are both teenagers and the sharks noted that they are already millionaires.

Tune in next week for another exciting recap of Shark Tank!

If you are heading to Austin next month for the SXSW 2012 event, you may want to check out the “app hackathon” that will be held on March 9, 2012. Hackathons have become the big thing in the developer space over the past couple of years. The event will start at 7pm and will run through Saturday morning at 9am. The hackathon will be held at the Austin Music Hall which is within walking distance of the convention center.

The event organizers note, “More than 250 developers will create unique new iOS and Android software and HTML5 apps leveraging the latest in application programming interfaces (API) for these platforms.” The event is sponsored by Zypr (they provide an API to create voice controlled mashups) and it looks like there will be a push to build applications using the Zypr API.  I’ve never heard of Zypr – if you are new to it like me, check out Robert Scoble’s interview with Zypr’s parent company Pioneer. If you prefer text, here is an overview from Peter Bright at Ars Technica.

Register for the SXSW hackathon here.

One of the most popular topics on the New York Tech mailing list as of late is about the startup Fiverr. The startup is a place where people post things they will do for $5. I bought a SEO report from a Fiverr user and it arrived within two hours. There are tons of listings on Fiverr from users all over the world. You pay for the tasks using Paypal and I found the payment and account system very easy to use. Most of the tasks I’ve looked at also offer “upgrades” which push the price over $5 and sometimes way over.

Dean Collins from LiveFanChat posted on the mailing list that the best Fiverr task to-date has been from a customer who requested a club remix of his recording of his stolen car to the Detroit Police. You can listen to the jam here – it was created by a musician in Croatia.

Here are five interesting tasks currently listed on Fiverr (click the links to watch the videos for each task):

Listing 1: I will be your girlfrend on facebook for a week for $5

Valentine’s Day is now long gone and next year you won’t want to be single on this very important holiday. Well user Dores from the UK will be your Facebook girlfriend for a week for $5. So doing the math, you and Dores can be hooked up for a year for just $260!

And if you are looking for a boyfriend, then check out user Kanisoori from the US – he too will change your status to “in a relationship” for $5 per week.

Listing 2: I will hand coo the song of your choice for $5

Based in the UK, this man with 23 positive reviews will “coo” any song you want for a $5 bill. No seriously – he will “coo” any song you want for $5.

Listing 3: I will say anything you script with my hands as puppets for 30 seconds for $5

With 40 positive reviews, user buckywoods from the US will say anything you want using his hand for up to 30 seconds for a crisp $5. You can tack on an upgrade for an additional $5 that will allow you to post a URL inside the video.

Listing 4: I will keep your secret safe for $5

Killed someone recently? Had sex with an ex and now you think you might be pregnant with his baby? Not really a social media expert even though you say you are? Well then user Realwahl from Italy is the person you need to connect with! For $5, you can tell him your secrets and he will keep them safe. He promises not to tell anyone!

Listing 5: I will promote your website, say your message while in the shower for $5

If you need more promotion to your website or want something funny for a friend, maybe give user melaishere from the US a try. For a $5 bill she will say your message or website while she is in the shower. Her big upgrade costs another $5 and for the $10 total she will be soapy in the shower while she says your message. She does make it clear that she will not do topless or nude videos.

Find any interesting Fiverr tasks? Post them in the comments!

Check out some of the latest web technology and business jobs posted for February 12, 2012 on the CenterNetworks Job Board. Subscribe to the CN Jobs feed and get all of the latest Web industry jobs delivered directly to you.

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Employers – Join other top companies on the CN Job Board. Post your jobs today – only $10!

Below is a recap of the February 10, 2012 episode of the ABC show Shark Tank (episode 302). If you are unfamiliar with Shark Tank, the concept is simple – entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of investors and the investors have to provide at least the amount the entrepreneur is seeking for a deal to be completed.

Tonight Barbara Corcoran was replaced by QVC product creator Lori Greiner.

Pitch #1 – The Swilt

Ivori Tennelle pitched her product called, “The Swilt” which she describes as a sweater and blanket together. She was seeking $30k for 35% investment and wanted to use the money for SEO and to create inventory. None of the sharks were interested and Lori noted that the Snuggie is dead.

Pitch #2 – Show No

Up next was Shelly Ehler presenting her “Show No” towel. Basically it is a changing towel for kids so they can change into dry clothes at the beach or a water park. So far Shelly has sold $15k in Show No towels to two major amusement parks. Shelly was seeking $50k for 25% investment. This was one of the most heated battles between the investors to-date. Kevin O’Leary referred to the product as a “towel with a hole in it” but the other investors were very interested. Final offers were: Lori at $75k/25%, Damon John at $75k/20% and Mark Cuban at $75k/25%. Shelly selected Lori Grenier’s offer and Lori actually handed a signed check to Shelly – a first for the show (although I would assume it was to make good tv).

Shark Tank Update – Notehall

I am sure you already have heard about Notehall – they signed a deal with Barbara Corcoran for $90k and last year sold to Chegg. Venturebeat noted that Chegg gave Notehall $3.7 million in stock plus an undisclosed amount of cash.

Pitch #3 – Puppy Cake

I am not a dog person so I certainly don’t get this one but Kelly Chaney presented her creation called the, “Puppy Cake“. The Puppy Cake is a cake mix for dogs so you can create a cake for the dog’s special day. She was seeking $50k for 25% and Kelly noted she has $80k in sales over her 4 years in business. Unfortunately none of the investors took the deal. Somehow I think that the idea would work better if Kelly made the cakes and sold them in specialty food stores.

Pitch #4 – Wine Balloon

Last up was Eric Corti with his invention the, “Wine Balloon“. The product is basically a balloon that you insert into a bottle of wine, pump it up and Eric notes that it saves the quality of the wine better than any other device on the market. This was yet another hot battle for the investors. Eric was seeking $40k for 30% and Kevin O’Leary offered exactly what Eric was seeking. Lori Greiner offered $500k for 100% of the company. Mark Cuban joined Lori and offered a combined $600k for 100% of the company. Eric didn’t accept quick enough and Lori and Mark came back with an offer of $400k for 100% and Eric accepted. So in the span of 3 minutes, Eric lost $200k.

Several friends and colleagues have noticed the HelloBar on CN noting that I am looking to sell the site and they have asked me why. It’s simple…I am focused on my startup now and just don’t have the time to put a real effort into CN anymore. I’d like to sell the site either as a domain name sale or the full site including all of the content.

Here’s part of what is included in the sale:
– centernetworks.com domain (domain age 1999)
– over 5,600 posts (CN uses WordPress as the blogging platform)
– other domains not being used today: centernetworks.net, centernetworks.org, centrenetworks.co.uk, centernetworks.co.uk
– the new owner would take over the CN Twitter account (nearly 10,000 earned followers)
– the new owner would take over the CN Facebook page

If interested or if you would like more details, please contact me at general@centernetworks.com.

The New York Technology Council held an incubator showcase for several NYC-based incubators last summer. Joly MacFie from WWWhatsup NYC posted a video of the event – you can watch the 90 minute event below. Here’s the presenter list:

From what I can tell, Hive and 55 and WeWork Labs are more coworking/shared office space than a traditional incubator where a group trades services for equity. Since the list does include coworking, I must include the first coworking space in NYC, New Work City.