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SALT LAKE CITY — Jung Song said that he found opportunity when he came to the U.S. from Korea to start his Korean BBQ business.
"If I work hard here, I can make a dream come (true) here," he said.
Little did he know that his business, Cupbop, would go from a single food truck driving the streets of downtown Salt Lake City, to 27 brick-and-mortar locations in the U.S., over 100 locations in Indonesia, and an appearance pitching his business to a panel of investors on ABC's "Shark Tank."
When Song and his business partner Dok Kwon finally got their chance to sell the "sharks" — Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec and Kevin O'Leary — on their business model, they exuded the same enthusiasm that helped grow their business from a food truck to a quick-serve restaurant chain.
Kwon said that in the early days of Cupbop, Song would become frustrated when he saw long lines for other food trucks and no one lining up for his Korean BBQ in a cup. So, Song started yelling, dancing — he used to be a breakdancer in a previous life — and enthusiastically interacting with customers to draw some attention to his own food truck.
The pair used the same method to hook the sharks into their pitch, explaining Cupbop through a series of dance moves the sharks ultimately loved.
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Cupbop started with a single food truck, and now they'll have the chance to show America the restaurant that grew from one truck to a company with over 100 locations."We are a super energetic, (a) little bit crazy, quick-service Korean BBQ brand," Song told the sharks.
Kwon pointed out there's only one Asian concept in the top 50 quick-service restaurants. "There's room for more, and we are next," he enthusiastically told the sharks.
With that, Song and Kwon presented their offer for 3% of their company for $1 million.
"We'll keep making the Cupbops, you keep swimming in cash," Kwon said.
With that, the pair gave each of the sharks a Cupbop dish consisting of 100% sweet potato noodles, cold chop chip, beef bulgogi and spicy pork.
"It is great!" Herjavec said.
The other sharks shared Herjavec's pleasure with Cupbop.
"We've had a lot of different food concepts on Shark Tank (and) I have to give it to you, this is one of the best I've ever tried," O'Leary said.
Although, Corcoran said their offer was "astronomical," she and the other sharks were impressed with Cupbop's margins and growth. Kwon explained that Cupbop bowls cost between $1.80 and $2.50 to make and are sold to customers for $8 to $10, giving Cupbop a 75% gross profit margin.
The sharks were even more surprised when Kwon told them that their current value was right at $18.7 million.
Kwon also noted that the company's biggest growth came during the COVID-19 pandemic when they, like many other restaurants, closed their doors to in-person dining and relied heavily on takeout and delivery — a fact that impressed the sharks.
"Our same store sales, we were up 9% during COVID," Kwon said.
With that, the sharks began their bidding with O'Leary being the first to make an offer of a $1-million loan, at 10% interest, for a 3% stake in the company.
"I like the deal. I like the mission. I like the energy. I love the food, and I like the cash flow a lot," O'Leary said.
Corcoran countered O'Leary's offer with her own offer of a 30% stake in the company and $1 million, which was met with chuckles from Cuban and Kwon.
"Laugh at it if you want ... my sharp thinking on how I remodel all my businesses have made them much more money than that along the way," Corcoran said.
After hearing Corcoran's offer, Herjavec upped his offer to $5 million for a 28% stake in the company.
"The product is fantastic. I think the business is worth about $18 million today," Herjavec said.
Greiner quickly moved to present her own offer to Song and Kwon. "Listen, I love your model, and I just want to take the journey with you," Greiner said before offering a $1-million loan, at 8% interest, for a 5% stake in the company.
Corcoran then offered to partner with Greiner on the same offer, and Greiner accepted.
That left Cuban — owner of the Dallas Mavericks and the lone shark remaining — to present his offer of $1 million in straight equity for a 7% stake in the company.
"You've got the operations down, right? But you need someone to propel you in terms of marketing and PR and just to be able to have a national presence so when people talk about Cupbop, people say, 'Yeah, I know it,' and I think I can provide that better than anybody," Cuban said.
Kwon counter-offered Cuban's bid with a lower, 4.5% stake in the company. After a back-and-forth exchange between the two, Cuban agreed to a 5% stake in Cupbop.
The agreement was met with a loud "yes" from Kwon, followed by Kwon and Song embracing Cuban.
"America is truly the land of opportunity," Kwon said after the deal was reached. "It's a huge milestone for us, so I could not be happier right now."
"My dream with Cupbop has always been to take it to the moon," Song said. "We want everyone in the universe to try Cupbop and experience our culture through our food."
