At marathons, participants are usually given drinks in paper cups at hydration stations. However, this creates a lot of garbage, which is bad for the environment and makes cleaning up difficult.
To solve this problem, Kristina Smithe started Hiccup in 2020. Hiccup makes reusable silicone cups that are used at race hydration stations. After the race, the cups are collected, cleaned, and reused for other events.
Kristina went on Shark Tank asking for $200,000 in exchange for 10% equity, valuing her company at $2 million. However, the sharks didn’t see it as a good investment, so she didn’t get a deal.
As for updates, after getting free promotion from Shark Tank, Kristina might have received some business opportunities. Additionally, her company has helped eliminate 750,000 cups from ending up in landfills.
| Company Name | Hiccup Earth | |
| Founder | Kristina Smithe | |
| Founded | Mar 2020 | |
| Product | Silicon reusable cup | |
| Asked For | $200k for 10% equity | |
| Final Deal | No Deals | |
| Sharks | No Sharks | |
| Episode (Shark Tank USA) | S16 E8 | |
| Air Date | Jan 17th, 2025 | |
| Business Status | In Business | |
| Website | Visit Website | |
| Headquarters | Tampa, Florida, USA | |
| Lifetime Worth (Sales) | $1M *estimated | |
| Buy and Watch | Buy Now | Amazon Prime |
Who Is The Founder Of Hiccup?
The reusable silicone cup business, Hiccup, was founded in March 2020 by former mechanical engineer Kristina Smithe. After completing her studies at St. Petersburg College, she worked as a mechanical engineer at Marine Towing of Tampa for three years.
She has now left her job to focus full-time on growing her business.
How Was The Shark Tank Pitch Of Hiccup?
Kristina introduced her reusable silicone cup on Shark Tank as an eco-friendly alternative to paper cups. During her presentation, she demonstrated the product and explained that traditional paper cups cost $0.07 each, while her silicone cups cost $0.15.
She revealed that her sales last year were $67,000. In each race, about 50,000 cups are used, generating only $6,500 in revenue. Her goal is to sell 2 million cups at major marathons like the TCS New York City Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and Boston Marathon.
Kevin O’Leary asked why she didn’t place sponsor logos on the cups and rent them out to generate another source of income. Kristina replied that she was focused on cleaning the cups.
Robert Herjavec didn’t see scalability in the business, so he opted out. Lori Greiner felt it wasn’t the right investment for her and also backed out. Daniel Lubetzky and Mark Cuban agreed that the business lacked scalability and declined to invest.
Kevin bluntly called it a “sucks” business idea and advised Kristina to close it down as soon as possible.
Breakdown Sharks Offer
Note: Here’s a quick summary of the offers and counteroffers between the Sharks and Kristina:
| Sharks | Offers |
| Kevin O’Leary | No Offer |
| Daniel Lubetzky | No Offer |
| Mark Cuban | No Offer |
| Lori Greiner | No Offer |
| Robert Herjavec | No Offer |
| Founder’s (Countered) | No Counter |
| Final Deals | No Deals |
Hiccup Earth Shark Tank Update
Unfortunately, Hiccup didn’t get a deal on Shark Tank as all the Sharks declined to invest in the company. However, the show gave her silicone cup business some free promotion.
As suggested by the Sharks, Kristina could explore renting out cups with sponsor logos, which could be a great additional source of income. Currently, we’re keeping an eye on the company for more updates.
