Mikki Bey - Shark Tank Update

Entrepreneur Mikki Bey appeared on Shark Tank Season 7 seeking $300,000 for 20% equity in Mikki Bey Eyelash Extensions, valuing her beauty services company at $1.5 million. The inspiration for Mikki Bey Eyelash Extensions came from Mikki's transition from her career as a CBS news producer to the world of celebrity makeup artistry, where she discovered her passion for creating dramatic, luxurious eyelash transformations for high-profile clients including Amber Rose, Jason Derulo, Bristol Palin, and Melyssa Ford, leading her to develop a proprietary system for eyelash extensions.

Mikki Bey revolutionized eyelash enhancement by creating a luxury eyelash extension service that transformed thin natural lashes into thick, dramatic celebrity-style lashes using synthetic extensions for $200 or premium mink extensions for $350, with the 90-minute process lasting approximately two months and offering refill services for $85 (synthetic) or $150 (mink) that took 60 minutes. The innovative service addressed the growing demand for celebrity-style beauty treatments among "regular women," positioning Mikki Bey as a premium alternative to traditional false eyelashes or mascara, while expanding beyond individual services to include training workshops where aspiring lash technicians could learn her proprietary techniques for $600 and receive complete starter kits to launch their own businesses.

At the time of her Shark Tank appearance, Mikki had achieved steady growth with sales of $69,000 in 2012, $95,000 in 2013, and $130,000 in 2014, operating from her "Barbie Dream House" studio in Culver City, California, while building a six-figure income and expanding through her "World Lash Tour" that included training workshops in major cities across the United States and internationally including London. The business model focused on high-end individual services and scalable training programs, targeting both affluent women seeking celebrity-style beauty treatments and entrepreneurs wanting to enter the growing eyelash extension industry, though Mikki faced questions about scalability and the inherently service-based nature of her business model that limited traditional investment opportunities.

During her Shark Tank presentation, Mikki Bey demonstrated her eyelash extension technique by applying a single lash to Mark Cuban and showing before-and-after models to illustrate the dramatic transformation possible with her services, but faced criticism from all five sharks who felt her business was more of a personal service than a scalable investment opportunity, leading to emotional moments when she began crying and ultimately left without securing a deal. The presentation highlighted the challenges of pitching service-based businesses to investors seeking scalable opportunities, with Barbara Corcoran telling her she had "a service, not a business," Kevin O'Leary questioning why the business needed an investor, and other sharks expressing concerns about scalability, while Barbara's advice about not crying in business negotiations sparked discussion about women's presentation in professional settings.

Following her unsuccessful Shark Tank appearance, Mikki Bey initially attempted to continue growing her eyelash extension business and expand her training workshops, but ultimately recognized the limitations that the sharks had identified regarding scalability and investor appeal in the highly competitive beauty services industry. The company faced the fundamental challenges of service-based businesses that rely heavily on the founder's personal skills and time, making it difficult to achieve the kind of rapid, scalable growth that would attract significant investment or generate substantial returns, leading Mikki to make a strategic decision to close her salon just one year after her Shark Tank appearance.

Rather than continuing to struggle with the limitations of a service-based business model, Mikki pivoted her career toward traditional business development, earning an MBA from Pepperdine University and transitioning into the pharmaceutical industry where she has built a successful corporate career, working for companies like AbbVie as a business development manager, becoming an associate director at AstraZeneca, and serving as president of the National Sales Network, while also launching a life coaching business in Atlanta that helps other entrepreneurs navigate career transitions, and our latest research shows the original eyelash extension business is not operating anymore.