Entrepreneurs David McGranahan and Julian Miller’s side hustle, born out of boredom during the coronavirus pandemic, has generated more than $12.5 million in revenue, they said on Wednesday’s episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
McGranahan and Miller are a Los Angeles-based couple and the founders of McMiller, a party and board game business. Both are former professional stage and screen actors who decided in 2020 to turn some of the party games they invented to liven up family holiday gatherings into a business.
At family Christmas parties, “the entertainment was always on our shoulders,” Miller said. The positive response from each family convinced them “we must be on to something,” he said.
The first game they released in 2020, and their most popular to date, is It’s Bananas. Players pick up cardboard cutouts using long, curved plastic “monkey tails” that participants wear with Velcro straps around their waists. McGranahan added that the game’s target audience is “multi-generational” and is most popular at holiday family gatherings and bachelor and bachelorette parties.
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It’s Bananas, which sells primarily on Amazon and its own website, generated “nearly $1 million” in sales within a year, Miller said. He added that due to their rapid success, the couple turned their “part-time hustle” into a full-time job. They’ve released four more games in the past five years, including their latest, “Fish Fight,” which debuted in February.
Notably, McGranahan had experience in the industry. In 2008, he co-created a board game called Game for Fame, which became a top seller on Amazon, according to the Daily Mail.
At the time the “Shark Tank” episode was taped, McMiller had sold more than 650,000 units since its launch, totaling more than $12.5 million in sales — the majority of which came from It’s Bananas, the co-founders said. In 2025, sales are expected to exceed $5 million and profits are expected to reach $750,000.
Investor and entrepreneur Laurie Greiner said on the show that the company’s games typically sell for $23.99 per unit, and for McMiller, the “landing cost” was only $3 per unit, creating a “huge profit” for the business.
From initial skepticism to bidding war
McGranahan and Miller began their “Shark Tank” presentation by asking the show’s investor judges to invest $200,000 in exchange for a 5% stake in McMiller. The business value should then be $4 million.
Daymond John, FUBU’s founder and CEO, was furious at the company’s huge valuation. “I hate that assessment. You’ll never get a contract. You’ll be wasting your time. Go ahead,” he said. After hearing about McMiller’s revenue figure, John changed his tone and exclaimed, “That’s bullshit!”
Fellow investor Kevin O’Leary still pushed down on the proposed valuation, reiterating that much of MacMiller’s revenue comes from one-shot deals and success with subsequent products could be difficult.
“The risk with this transaction is that you decide to bring new, unproven SKUs into retail. They could end up on retail shelves, tying up capital. That’s the challenge in the toy industry,” O’Leary said.
Miller and McGranahan expressed confidence that their flagship game will maintain its popularity while newer games reach customers. Additionally, they suggested that the investment from Shark could help fund expansion into brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S. and abroad and increase future revenue.
Real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran offered McMiller $200,000 for a 10% stake in the business, valued at $2 million. John agreed to the offer with both potential deals including the condition that investors would receive $2 for each unit sold until they recouped their investment.
Billionaire Kind Snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky echoed the offer, pledging to connect the founders with his toy industry connections and saying he was “very, very good friends” with the Hasbro and Mattel CEOs. After some negotiations, the founders agreed to a deal. Lubetzky invested $200,000 in 9% of the company, valued at $2.2 million, and received $0.99 per unit until he recovered his investment.
Following the on-screen agreement, Miller called it “a match made in heaven.” After the episode was recorded, the founders “decided not to proceed” with the deal. The reason: “Soon after filming[the episode]McMiller experienced significant momentum and large store orders, which changed our strategic direction,” a McMiller spokesperson told CNBC Make It.
The founders are very grateful for “the platform the show provides” and Mr. Lubetzky’s interest, a spokesperson said.
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”
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