Back when he was entertaining viewers with his parody of a conservative TV talk show host on The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert frequently crowed about the “Colbert Bump” – the increase in popularity that guests on the show enjoyed after appearing on the show.
Could there be a Sales & Marketing Management Bump? Only a few months after appearing in a feature on unique meeting venues in the March/April 2015 issue of this magazine, Randy Stenger, CEO and founder of Extreme Sandbox in Hastings, Minnesota, was selected to be on the ABC hit TV show “Shark Tank.” He flew to Los Angeles last fall to film his appearance. The show aired in January and Stenger walked away with an agreement with Sharks Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary, who are splitting a $150,000 investment for a 20 percent stake in Stenger’s company.
Extreme Sandbox provides guests, including corporate groups, with a unique opportunity to fulfill their childhood dreams of operating construction rigs, including a skid steer, bulldozer and excavator, and other “toys.” The adventure takes place in a 10-acre “sandbox,” with supervision from highly trained expert instructors who help guests learn and master the machines, ensure safety and provide a fun and memorable experience that can include “golfing” with an excavator, crushing a car, completing challenge tasks and more. Since opening in Hastings in 2012, Stenger says his business revenue has transitioned from 70 percent individuals and 30 percent corporate groups to about 60 percent corporate groups now.
Extreme Sandbox is completing the due diligence process with both Cuban’s and O’Leary’s business partners. The Sharks’ investment will be used to expand beyond Minnesota, something Stenger already had in the works before his “Shark Tank” appearance. The company had already inked a deal to open an Extreme Sandbox this spring in partnership with the Tanglewood Resort and Conference Center north of Dallas.
Pitching to the Sharks was just like selling the concept to other investors, Stenger says. This pitch just happened to be in a Los Angeles TV studio with cameras rolling. “I play in a big kid’s sandbox. You can’t really overcomplicate my idea,” he says. “Once I knew I had them, it was just a matter of knowing the numbers and being able to speak about the business.”
Speaking of bumps, since the “Shark Tank” episode aired, Stenger has been inundated with additional offers and requests to franchise his business. Traffic on the Extreme Sandbox website jumped from 100 or so visitors per day to more than 20,000, a spike that Cuban’s team helped Stenger prepare for. “They call it the ‘Shark Tank effect.’ They estimate it’s the equivalent of getting $4 million in marketing,” he says.
Extreme Sandbox founder Randy Stenger walked away from his appearance on “Shark Tank” having cut a deal with Mark Cuban and Kevin O’Leary.
