Imagine living out of your car, struggling to make ends meet, and then one day deciding to send a cold email to a billionaire, hoping it might change your life. Sounds like a long shot, right? For Doug Saraci, it wasn't just a shot in the dark – it was the beginning of a journey that would turn his life around completely.
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In 2010, Doug and his wife were out of work and borrowed money from a family member to start a small cafe in Lake Park, Florida. The cafe offered homemade healthy oatmeal cookies, named after their daughter Alyssa. The cookies quickly became the cafe's most popular item, so the couple focused solely on them. But it wasn't easy. By 2012, Doug lived out of his car, trying to sell these cookies wherever possible.
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That's when he decided to take a risk. He had been watching every episode of "Shark Tank" and was particularly drawn to Mark Cuban, the billionaire entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks. Instead of applying to be on the show, Doug sent Cuban a cold email and included some samples of his cookies.
Mark Cuban, who estimates he receives up to 1,000 emails daily, was intrigued enough to try the cookies. "The first thing I do when someone sends me a food product is look at the nutritional label," Cuban said in an interview. What he found was surprising: a big, oatmeal-type cookie with raisins, only 190 calories, no added sugar, and is loaded with fiber and protein. "I'm like, oh my God, this is like healthy for you," Cuban recalled.
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When Cuban tasted the cookie, he was impressed by its flavor but noticed one big problem: it crumbled apart when he tried to break off another piece. Cuban invested $75,000 in a third of the company, sensing an opportunity. His first advice was to make the cookies smaller so they wouldn't fall apart. This led to the creation of Alyssa's Oatmeal Bites, which became an instant hit.
"We haven't spent a penny on advertising," Cuban said. "I eat these cookies almost every morning for breakfast because they're healthy, right? And they don't have added sugar; they've got the fiber and all that stuff." According to Cuban, the company is now pulling in $23 to $24 million in annual sales, generating $12 million in profits. And while Cuban enjoys his share of the profits, he's most proud of what Doug has accomplished. "The best part? He was living out of his car when he sent me that email. Now they've built this big company."
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According to Cuban, what makes Alyssa's Healthy Cookies stand out is that it's a product that practically sells itself. "Sometimes, when you have a product that fits a specific need, your product can do all the selling," Cuban explained. And that's exactly what happened. With no big advertising budget, the cookies spread from one grocery store to another, and they recently made it into CVS.
From living in his car to running a multimillion-dollar business, Doug Saraci's story proves that a great product and a little courage can change your life. As Mark Cuban puts it, Alyssa's Healthy Cookies is "one of the best businesses ever."
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