Jonathan Miller: Custom Energy Bar Entrepreneur Pitches Sharks

In September 2009, Jonathan Miller appeared on Shark Tank, the ABC television reality show in which entrepreneurs face off against four "sharks": angel investors who evaluate the entrepreneurs' business value propositions and decide whether or not to invest. The company Miller founded, Element Bars, a maker of custom energy bars, needed investment capital. Prior to appearing on the show, Miller had considered several financing options available to entrepreneurs: loans and other debt capital and equity capital, each of which are evaluated in the case. Miller had a good feel for the different types of capital to use for this new venture, having started several ventures in the past and winning the Kellogg School of Management business plan competition, the Kellogg Cup, in 2008. The case looks at Miller's decision to forego the investment offer he won on television in favor of pursuing lower cost of capital equity.