Li entered the tank exuding a confidence and maturity that had the Sharks thinking he was well beyond his 16 years of age. The pitch for iReTron was simple enough: a green business dedicated to recycling old electronic devices out to consumers not caught up in having the newest on the market.
While Herjavec kicked off the questions, it was O’Leary who launched the first criticism, asking how iReTron was different from any other device recycler on the market. Li had no issue firing back, citing that his business was a “social enterprise” and, unlike other recycling companies, accepted virtually every electronic and paid the highest prices.
This line of questioning eventually led to the big bombshell — iReTron only made $40,000 in 12 months and netted a $10,000 profit. While that did elicit an adverse reaction from the Sharks, the conversation continued. Unfortunately, despite the Sharks admiring his entrepreneurial spirit at his age, Herjavec, Cuban, O’Leary, and eventually Greiner dropped out.
However, Corcoran remained confident in Li, and instead of offering $100,000 for 20% of just iReTron, she blanketed the 20% across any of Li’s future business ideas. While O’Leary was critical of the offer, a final plea to Cuban ultimately secured Li two Sharks and pretty much the investment he sought.
