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BigDeal by Codie Sanchez

My Billion Dollar Shark Tank Investment: Daymond John

My new book Own Or Be Owned is out now! I wrote Own or Be Owned to answer one question: How do you make more money, less miserably?

Daymond JohnguestCodie Sanchezhost

Jul 16, 20251h 4mWatch on YouTube

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CHAPTERS

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Chapter summaries

Why Daymond Invested in Bombas
Codie introduces Daymond and asks about his investment in Bombas, the most successful company in Shark Tank history. Daymond explains he joined the show to diversify away from clothing and was won over by founders who proved you can make it and matter at the same time.
- •Daymond says he is the lead shark with the most successful Shark Tank investment
- •He went on the show because eight of his ten clothing companies had died in the recession
- •The Bombas founders showed him you can make it and matter at once, giving a pair of socks for each one sold
- •Younger buyers want to know what a company did for someone else
Spotting Founders and the Power of Broke
Codie asks what makes a founder worth backing. Daymond describes humility, homework and the "power of broke," using the Bombas founders' email test to a 50,000-person list as an example.
- •Daymond looks for humble founders who did their homework
- •Money highlights your weaknesses if you can't win customers with $200
- •The Bombas founders tested the idea on a 50,000-person email list
- •Real entrepreneurs are tweakers who keep adjusting
FUBU Hacks and Common-Sense Marketing
Codie asks about the unhinged hacks Daymond used to start FUBU. He describes seeking feedback outside the Apollo, putting shirts on artists at video sets, painting store gates, and buying cheap BET ads over MTV.
- •Customer feedback came from people outside the Apollo Theater
- •He wore the same 10 shirts to 40 video sets and was kicked off 18
- •He spray-painted 300 "Authorized FUBU dealer" signs on store gates
- •He chose BET over MTV because the audience was larger and the ads cost far less
Hungry vs. Rich and Everything Starts With One Idea
Daymond links his dyslexia and his mother's lessons to his belief that anyone can build something. He argues you don't need money or education to start, and says he would rather be hungry than rich.
- •Daymond ties his reliance on doing things himself to being dyslexic
- •His mother told him everything created started with one person, one idea and one action
- •He says 65% of the Forbes wealthiest 1,000 are self-made
- •He argues first generations make wealth and later ones lose it
- •He says there is no ultimate rich
Raising Independent Kids and the Truth About Flying Private
Codie asks how Daymond keeps his kids from losing wealth, and he says he's leaving them nothing. The talk turns to flying private, which he calls a waste of time and money, with a warning about athletes and lottery winners.
- •Daymond tells his kids they won't inherit, which helps them stay independent
- •He tried to shield his older daughters from the spotlight
- •A private round trip to California costs $100,000 to save about two hours
- •Owning a plane is like a free pet with endless costs
- •He says to do things for the right reasons, not to look rich
Clothing Brands Getting It Right
Codie asks which clothing brands are underrated. Daymond praises Actively Black, Nike, Under Armour, Hoka, Louis Vuitton and Hermès, and shares the Hermès distinction between expensive and luxury.
- •Daymond calls Actively Black the new version of FUBU
- •Nike uses custom shoe orders to build next year's line
- •Under Armour successfully moved from shoes into hunting apparel
- •He recalls the Hermès founder saying luxury is something you don't regret
Relaunching FUBU and Subscription Models
Asked how he would turn around a legacy brand, Daymond says he could make FUBU a billion-dollar brand again with a campus-based, Avon-style model. He also explains how subscription boxes cut returns and open new revenue.
- •Every brand gets rediscovered, but execution is what matters
- •He'd put a FUBU guy and girl in every college and high school, selling on credit
- •They would earn digital assets and pass the role on when they leave
- •A $50 monthly denim box helps predict sizes and lowers returns
- •Brands can sell box space to other companies like Gillette
Margin Builders and Why Luxury Pricing Works
Codie compares the loss-leader approach in her painting business to clothing and asks which items make money. Daymond says jeans and T-shirts are the staples, black is most of the sales, and he explains why shoes and shirts are priced as they are.
- •Clothing makes almost nothing except on jeans and T-shirts
- •Luxury houses rely on belts, wallets and keychains as margin builders
- •Almost 60% of clothing sales are black and 20% white
- •Shoe molds can be replicated, and production volume affects pricing
What Makes a Winning Shark Tank Pitch
Codie asks what separates pitches that work from those that don't. Daymond says pitches built on hypothetical market-share claims fail, while great ones tell a story, qualify the founder and show proof, and he explains the show isn't scripted.
- •Saying "it's a $50 billion market and I only need 1%" makes the sharks check out
- •Great pitches tell a story about a problem and why the founder can solve it
- •The show isn't produced beyond re-recording a clean audio line
- •A one-hour pitch yields about eight minutes on air, and about 60% of deals close
- •Daymond estimates 3 in 10 investments win thanks to the built-in commercial
Fake Offers and the Duty to Founders
Codie asks about people using the show only for the exposure. Daymond explains the short paper he hands founders and why he thinks taking a slot from a struggling family is selfish, describing investing as a fiduciary duty.
- •He gives founders a short document saying they won't shop the deal for a year after airing
- •Hesitation to sign tells him someone wants a commercial
- •Only about 96 people air out of 40,000 applicants
- •He sees the show as meant for families risking everything
- •Investing in someone's dream carries a fiduciary duty
Losing Money on Deals and the Head-in-Hands Moment
Codie shares her cannabis investment regret and asks Daymond about his biggest loss. He puts it around $6 million and says it hurts, and that he is having a head-in-hands moment now over AI.
- •Daymond can't sleep when he loses money, and lost money for only about two people
- •Codie recounts a cannabis deal that nearly lost $12 million and ended at $1 million
- •His biggest loss was about $6 million
- •He questions whether ego or poor people choices played a part
- •He says his head is in his hand over AI
AI, Unrest and Investing in Trades and Community
Daymond explains his worry that AI will cause social upheaval and how he is thinking about investments in response. He points to community, security, health and trades, and Codie ties it back to creativity and door-knocking.
- •He fears job losses from autonomous vehicles and robots will cause conflict
- •He considers security companies and robot-maintained communities
- •He praises trades like HVAC over costly college debt
- •He says AI won't replace community or human emotion
- •He quotes Rick Rubin that AI couldn't have told the Wright brothers to dream
Brand, Angle and "Nothing Is New"
Codie shares the Pink's window-washing story as an example of brand beating cheaper competitors. Daymond argues there is nothing new in the world, only new presentations, and that every business needs an angle.
- •Pink's wins by bringing dignity back to window washing and offering free comp cleans
- •Daymond says The Voice traces back to The Gong Show, and emojis to hieroglyphics
- •Scrub Daddy and Bombas are the top Shark Tank companies, a sponge and socks
- •Ryan Deiss's lawnmower story shows a winning angle
- •Billboards and airport retail can't be swiped away
CEO Access and Why Daymond Helps Others
Daymond describes CEO Access, a network that helps CEOs build their personal brands and gain access to the right rooms. He says a CEO friend convinced him to help, and that helping others is also selfish because you learn from them.
- •Attention is the new currency, and every CEO needs to be known
- •CEOs at the 200 million level struggle to find peers to talk to
- •CEO Access introduces CEOs who want respect rather than fame
- •A CEO friend persuaded him that helping him would help millions
- •Of about 100 daily advice requests, perhaps one person acts
Holding Companies, Asset Protection and Lawsuits
Codie asks about the realities of running a holding company. Daymond covers legal costs, option-based deals, his 35 to 40 bank accounts, and asset protection, and both agree lawsuits and bad partners come with entrepreneurship.
- •He spent about $750,000 on attorney fees in the first year of the show
- •Option-based deals help him avoid filings and let him write off failures
- •He has about 35 to 40 bank accounts
- •A mistake like putting a satellite radio account under his wife's name can pierce the corporate veil
- •Entrepreneurs get sued from taking many swings and from resentful partners
Final Advice: Know Your Why
Asked what he'd tell every entrepreneur, Daymond says to know your why. He describes turning down a $1.3 billion credit line offer because he doesn't want to repeat the sacrifices of the past.
- •Ask whether you are building for yourself or for others' expectations
- •Knowing your why sets your goals and the homework behind them
- •He declined a $1.3 billion credit line and acquisition plan
- •He regrets missing his older daughters growing up
- •He says to build if you're solving a problem and bringing people joy

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