5 Facts About BarBees Bartending From Shark Tank
As anyone who's ever had to pay an arm and a leg for a drink at a concert or sporting event is well aware, people are typically willing to spend money on alcohol. Plenty of businesses that compete on "Shark Tank" hope to take advantage of this fact. For example, a company that produces a carrier primarily intended to keep full cases of beer cold called the Kanga Cooler grew after "Shark Tank," fueled by a deal with Mark Cuban.
A business that leads personalized cocktail-making classes called BarBees Bartending is among the competitors on "Shark Tank" Season 15, Episode 12. Key to BarBees' business model is that its instructors go to their clients. If possible, this means that customers host their instructors in their own homes. If that's not feasible the company offers its classes virtually.
The trajectory of the Kanga Cooler proves that there's money to be made in enhancing the experience of enjoying alcohol. Heading into the "Shark Tank" studio, then, BarBees founders Jessica Blakley and Willow Sprague are hoping their product too will impress one of the Sharks enough to land them a lucrative investment. Here's what to know about BarBees as the company looks to make a splash on "Shark Tank."
The pandemic shaped BarBees' business model
Jessica Blakley and Willow Sprague first decided to work together in 2019 after finishing up at a bartending school. Initially they marketed themselves as bartenders for large events, particularly weddings. Meanwhile, as a sort of side businesses they hosted cocktail-making classes for their friends on just a couple of occasions.
Of course, pandemic lockdowns around the start of 2020 meant that working large events became unfeasible shortly after BarBees started. Rather than close up shop, however, Blakley and Sprague decided to refocus their business on cocktail classes. BarBees ended up thriving that year by offering classes virtually. "This was a rewarding season of business for us; it allowed us to facilitate connection and provide a unique experience, which we strongly feel is at the heart of our business," Sprague told NashvilleVoyager Magazine.
In 2021, BarBees started offering an in-person cocktail class option too, and this became the business' focus moving forward. Nevertheless, BarBees wouldn't have eventually developed its in-person cocktail class model were it not for a need to adapt to pandemic conditions.
BarBees hosts classes across the United States
BarBees started out in Nashville, where Jessica Blakley and Willow Sprague lived at the time of the business' advent. By the end of 2022, after hosting in-person cocktail classes for about a year, BarBees had expanded to five cities across the United States, adding classes in New York City, Austin, Palm Springs, and Scottsdale. Between then and the company competing on "Shark Tank" Season 15, Episode 12, BarBees added classes in an additional five cities. Now customers in Atlanta, Savannah, Philadelphia, Tampa, and Washington, D.C. can host BarBees classes at their homes too. For clients not in those cities, virtual classes remain an option as well.
The way a BarBees class works is, on an online application form, customers will choose two or three from around 10 possible cocktails. They must then purchase whatever alcoholic beverages are needed for the chosen drinks. For in-person classes, the instructor will provide everything else necessary, including non-alcoholic cocktail components and bartending tools.
In order to cater its classes to cities across the United States, BarBees employs and trains instructors local to each market. The company maintains an open application for prospective instructors, so expanding to new cities may well be as simple as a qualified candidate in an unserved market applying for a job.
Barbees' founders Jessica Blakley and Willow Sprague were honored by their alma mater
Jessica Blakley and Willow Sprague each graduated from the Nashville-based Belmont University shortly before founding BarBees, in 2019 and 2018 respectively. Then in 2023, after they had run BarBees' cocktail-making classes for a few years, Belmont University honored their work at its business school's annual Belmont Entrepreneur Awards.
While more than 100 alumni in total garnered some sort of recognition that year, Blakley and Sprague specifically received an honor called the Industry Impact Award in light of BarBees' national expansion. "We love this university, it shaped us and brought us together," said Sprague in a statement to Belmont University. "We are best friends turned business partners, and we love what we do. We love celebrating, we love cocktails, and we decided to bring those two together and start a cocktail class company."
Meanwhile, Blakley thanked the school's entrepreneurship program, suggesting it was business lessons in college that helped them transform their shared interest in bartending into a company that's successful on a national level.
Blakley and Sprague are close friends outside of work
When Jessica Blakley and Willow Sprague decided to start BarBees together in 2019 they were already close friends. Running a business doesn't seem to have hindered their friendship over the course of the years they've worked together — in fact, in May of 2023, the duo started up a instagram account with the handle @bestiesjessandwillow dedicated entirely to their friendship.
A joint post to both this account and the official BarBees Instagram account even lists their friendship as a significant part of their decision to open up a business. "As best friends, we started BarBees in February 2019 as a way to spend more time together (lol)," its caption reads. The other main impetus for starting BarBees, the post explains, was a desire to celebrate what was once their home in Nashville. Now Blakley and Sprague run their business out of New York City.
In 2021, a post by Sprague to the BarBees blog celebrates how their business venture improved their personal relationship. "We're grateful that business partnership has added such a fun dynamic to our best friendship!" she wrote. Not all friendships survive going into business together, but in the case of BarBees' founders, it seems to have genuinely brought them closer together.
Online reviews for BarBee's are all positive
Especially compared to a company that sells material goods, reviews of BarBees' cocktail classes are relatively scarce online. That said, virtually every single review for BarBees' signature product is overwhelmingly positive.
On Facebook, for instance, all five users who rated the company awarded it a perfect five stars. One Facebook review, by Kelly Hesp, specifically praises an instructor based in Palm Springs. "We had Arden for my sister's bachelorette and we all loved her!" the review reads. "Not only did we learn how to make each drink, we had so much fun chatting with Arden. She is the best bartender!!!"
Meanwhile, user Christina H. also awarded the company a perfect five-star rating on Yelp. They specifically hired BarBees' services for a 20-person work event in Austin, during which each participant completed two cocktails. "I loved every second of this class! Highly recommend!" their review reads.
While looking to expand through investments like they are on "Shark Tank," then, Jessica Blakley and Willow Sprague can highlight universal customer satisfaction from everyone who's left a review online.
What happened to BarBees Bartending on Shark Tank?
Jessica Blakley and Willow Sprague shake their way into the tank seeking $75,000 in exchange for 10% equity in BarBees Bartending. The pair explains to the sharks that after going to bartending school on a whim, they launched their mixology class services in 2019. Since then, the company has seen exponential growth. In 2020, they made $38,000, and by 2022, they had not only increased their yearly sales to $190,000 but also expanded into four additional cities. With that growth comes the need for more capital, and the duo explains that they will use the money they raise to invest in things like an automated booking system and onboarding more bartenders.
The sharks are impressed with the pitch but that doesn't mean they are all willing to invest. Mark Cuban bows out because he doesn't think the business will be scalable enough for him, Daymond John declines because he isn't interested in getting involved in the service industry, and Kevin O'Leary says he might have been interested if Blakley and Sprague were selling wine instead of cocktails.
However, guest shark Daniel Lubetzky is on the hook. He thinks his experience in the food industry can help the pair with some of their specific needs and offers them the money they are after but for a 20% stake. Lori Greiner tells the women they aren't going to get a better deal from her and takes herself out of the running.
Blakley and Sprague attempt to negotiate but Lubetzky holds firm. The duo ultimately accepts his offer and they leave the tank with a new drinking buddy.