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This article was published 10 year(s) and 7 month(s) ago

Sharks bite at Marblehead mensch

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December 18, 2014 by [email protected]

A Marblehead native dove into ABC’s “Shark Tank” Friday night, and three of the five sharks bit.”I’m going in Monday, I’m quitting my job, and I am a full-time Mensch on a Bench employee,” Neal Hoffman said. “I could not be happier.”Hoffman, 37, now lives in Cincinnati but grew up in Marblehead in a conservative Jewish home. He created The Mensch on a Bench – a 12-inch doll named Moshe, “the unsung hero” of Hanukkah who sat and watched the small amount of lamp oil as it burned for eight full days and nights – after making a joke to his son when the young boy asked for an Elf on a Shelf.”My son asked for an Elf on a Shelf, and I said, ?No, dude. Jews don’t do elves on shelves, you can have a Mensch on a Bench.'”Hoffman raised $22,000 on Kickstarter to produce the doll, which also comes with an accompanying picture book telling his story, and a bench. It sold out in a week last November. This year, he sells The Mensch at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Barnes and Noble, Target, and online for between $29.99 and $34.99.Friday, he appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” pitching his product to five seasoned business executives.Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec offered Hoffman $150,000 for 30 percent in the company, while Barbara Corcoran offered $150,000 for 20 percent, with a few conditions. She’d want to redraw the doll’s face “so it actually looks friendly and huggable,” and requested a rewrite of the accompanying book.Hoffman accepted Herjavec and Greiner’s offer. “I could not be happier,” Hoffman told the ABC cameras.

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