The Sharks on ABC's "Shark Tank" can have a sharp bite when a lucrative business deal is on the line. Such was the case on Sunday night's episode, when guest judge Bethenny Frankel proved she has what it takes to swim with the Sharks, standing up to Robert Herjavec.
The clash occurred during Jared and Sean Bingham's pitch for their company Adventure Hunt, which conducts adventurous treasure hunts for teams. The founders entered the tank with impressive sales ($769,000 in 18 months), asking for $150,000 for a 10 percent stake in the business. The cool concept captured the attention of both Herjavec and Frankel.
The founders explain they are looking for marketing expertise, and Frankel, founder of Skinnygirl, immediately jumps in.
"I know what you're missing," Frankel says. "You need to have this be a travel experience. You need to make everything more thematic and not just geared to gear-head, adventure guys. You need wild, girls' night out type of things."
She gives them an offer of $150,000 for a 25 percent stake. Frankel says she can see this working for businesses and companies as a team-building activity, but also adds, "you have to have a dating aspect. You have to partner with a [Match.com] or someone."
Herjavec then jumps in with his vision.
"I love the adventure, but here's why I'm really excited by it," Herjavec says. "I see a huge business in the enterprise space, in the business space. Large companies doing team building, we're doing them all the time, we're running out of ideas, I love it."
Herjavec then proceeds to offer a deal identical to Frankel's: $150,000 for a 25 percent stake, to which Frankel expresses disbelief.
"Identical, but different," Herjavec says of his offer in comparison to Frankel's. "I would use some of the money to hire some corporate sales folks, go hardcore into that area."
The entrepreneurs counter, asking Frankel and Herjavec if they would accept a deal with significantly less equity. Frankel revises her offer, offering now $150,000 for a 20 percent stake, but demands an immediate answer.
"You don't want to go in that direction," Herjavec says of Frankel's offer. "It's not a dating app."
This sets off Frankel, who turns in her chair to confront Herjavec.
"But I didn't say it, I said team-building!" Frankel yells in response. "You copied me! He's a copycat already!"
Herjavec then amends his offer — to exactly match Frankel's latest, $150,000 for a 20 percent stake.
The founders ask if he'd be willing to do a 15 percent stake, but no dice.
"I don't want to be partners with somebody who doesn't know my value," Frankel says to the entrepreneurs. "Like, you really should be taking this deal with me. I'm really good at marketing beyond belief. I have incredible ideas and I have an army of women, when you get the women, you're going to get the men.
"I was a girl broke, I had an idea for the first low-calorie margarita ever to be made. I turned the brand in 18 months," she says, referring to the sale of Skinny Girl Cocktails in March 2011 for a reported $100 million.
"[I went from] broke in a studio apartment to cover of Forbes magazine. Who do you want as a partner?" she says.
Her pitch is not enough to convince the Binghams though, and they ask if Frankel and Herjavec would team up. No, the Sharks say.
Ultimately, the Binghams accept the offer from Herjavec (who, for what its worth, immigrated to Canada from what's now Croatia when he was 8, with only "$20 and a suitcase," according to Entrepreneur. Now he's a multi-millionaire).
While the negotiations were heated, Frankel and Herjavec hug it out.
"I feel like I'm the one who lost," Frankel says.
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Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."