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Kevin O'Leary fired off a post on X earlier this month that was part confession, part humblebrag. It started with a cat swab and ended with millions in his pocket. In classic Mr. Wonderful fashion, he admitted he once wrote a $250,000 check—not because he loved the pitch, but because he wanted it to go away.
"A woman pitched me a cat DNA test... for $29," he posted. "I laughed. I told her, ‘I can buy a new cat for five bucks.' But she wouldn't give up. So I wrote a $250K check just to get rid of her."
The woman was Anna Skaya. The company? Basepaws. On the surface, it looked like a gimmick—genetic testing for your cat. But underneath the fluff was a serious play in DNA data collection. And O'Leary? He cashed out hard.
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In the video clip attached to the X post, he explained that when Skaya first appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2019, she pitched her swab-and-send kit to help pet owners learn more about their cat's genetics, health risks, and diet needs. O'Leary mocked the idea. "No one is going to give you a dime. This is a stupid idea," he told her. But her pitch didn't fizzle—it wore him down.
"For $250,000 I can just get her out of here," he joked. So he went in on the deal.
Three years later: "All cash exit. I made a fortune." Or, as he put it more colorfully, "I made a sh*tload of money."
It wasn't the first time O'Leary revisited the pitch that sounded ridiculous but made him millions. On "The Daniel Mac Show" in July 2023, O'Leary recounted the absurdity: "A woman comes on with a Q-tip and says, ‘For $29.95, I can extend your cat's life 20 to 30%.' I said, ‘Wait a minute. I can buy a new cat for two bucks. Why would I spend $29.95?'"
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And yet, he admitted, "It was such a crazy pitch, I bought it anyway. She was so compelling." He estimated he paid around $50,000 for a 3.5% stake. It's worth noting that figure doesn't match the $250,000 for 5% he mentioned on Shark Tank and in his recent X post, leaving it unclear whether the deal terms changed behind the scenes.