Shark Tank Season 17, Episode 2 Recap: Strahan’s Blitz, Chicken in a Bag, and the Dog Doll That Haunts My Dreams

If you tuned into ABC back in October hoping to see Kevin O’Leary weep over a charity case, you were watching the wrong show. But if you wanted to see NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan squeeze his giant frame into a tiny camping chair and rifle a football at a garbage can, you were in luck.

Welcome back to the Tank. We are deep into Season 17 now, and looking back at the premiere weeks, things got weird fast.

Aired on October 1, 2025, Episode 2 was a fever dream of commerce. We had poultry in a pouch, a pillow that forces you to sleep like a mummy, and a product that I can only describe as “nightmare fuel for canines.”

Let’s address the elephant—or rather, the giant defensive end—in the room. Mark Cuban is gone (I know, I’m still in denial too), but the producers brought in the heavy artillery. Michael Strahan took the guest seat alongside the usual suspects: Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary, Lori “The Queen of QVC” Greiner, Robert “I’m Nice But I Won’t Invest” Herjavec, and Barbara “I’m Out Because I Don’t Understand It” Corcoran.

You might think a guy who spent his career smashing quarterbacks would be terrifying in the boardroom. Instead, Strahan was… nice? Suspiciously nice. He brought a “Main Street” energy that we haven’t seen since the early days. But don’t let the gap-toothed grin fool you. We saw some serious money move, and some equally serious financial disasters narrowly avoided.

Grab your calculator and your skepticism. Let’s break down the pitches, the numbers, and the absolute insanity that went down in the Tank.

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The Snorinator: Sleep Like a Pharaoh, Pay Like a King

First into the tank were Lloyd and Susan Ecker, pitching The Snorinator.

Now, if you’ve ever shared a bed with a human chainsaw, you know the desperation here. Lloyd walked in looking like a man who hadn’t slept since the Bush administration. His solution? A massive, wedge-shaped pillow system that forces you to sleep upright in what doctors call “Fowler’s Position.”

Basically, you sleep sitting up. Like you’re on a long-haul flight in economy class, but without the free pretzels and the crying baby in 4B.

The Financial Reality Check

Here’s where the math got scary, and where my inner financial advisor started screaming. They spent $700,000 on ads in 2024. Their Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)—the money they spend to get one person to buy the pillow—was $80.

Let me break this down for you. If you are paying $80 just to get a customer through the door, you better be selling that pillow for the price of a used Honda. In the direct-to-consumer world, an $80 CAC is usually a death sentence unless your Lifetime Value (LTV) is massive. But how many anti-snoring pillows does one person need? Usually just one. The math was shaky.

The Verdict

The Sharks were skeptical. Barbara passed immediately because she’s had neck surgery and can’t sleep upright. Robert passed because he worried about comfort.

But then, the magic happened. Michael Strahan, a man who probably has his own gravitational pull, tried the pillow. He lay down. He smiled. He really liked it.

Why this deal makes sense:
Strahan saw the athlete angle. Recovery sleep is a massive market in the NFL and NBA. If he gets this into locker rooms, it’s game over. Lori, on the other hand, saw the infomercial gold. This product is ugly, it’s big, and it solves a desperate problem. That is the holy trinity of QVC products.

Reddit’s Take:
The r/sharktank community was buzzing. User Cylem234 dropped a piece of genius advice:
“I think they should also market to plastic surgeons. People spend $30 to $100 grand on face lifts. The pillow would keep people elevated, and on their back while healing.”

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QB54: The Chair That Broke My Heart

Next up, we met Michael Silva, a Jersey guy through and through. He brought us QB54.

Imagine a camping chair. Now imagine that chair has a flap that opens up to reveal a net. You set up two chairs, walk away, and throw a football into the other guy’s chair. If you miss, you sit in the chair and drink a beer. If you make it, you… well, you probably still drink a beer. It’s Cornhole for people who think throwing bean bags is too wimpy.

The Red Flag

The pitch started with electric energy. Strahan got up and played. He threw a tight spiral, because of course he did. But then Silva opened his mouth about the marketing spend.

Just like the pillow couple, he was spending $700,000 a year on ads. His profit margin was sitting at a terrifyingly low 10%. Kevin O’Leary smelled blood. He called the business “unbaked.”

Silva has a $150,000 loan on his house to keep this thing floating. He’s on the “Hamster Wheel of Death”—running faster and faster (spending more on ads) just to stay in the same place.

The Michael Strahan Moment

This was the heartbreaker. Strahan loved the game. He is football. But he dropped some serious business wisdom: “There is a huge difference between an online business and a retail beast.” He told Silva he wasn’t ready for the shelves of Dick’s Sporting Goods, and he was out.

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Im’peccable Chicken: Poultry in Your Pocket

Okay, stay with me here. Im’peccable Chicken. It’s a vacuum-sealed, shelf-stable(ish), ready-to-eat chicken breast snack. Think of it like beef jerky, but… wet.

The Bidding War

Melina saw this concept in Taiwan, where grabbing a chicken breast at a convenience store is normal. The Sharks loved the taste. Suddenly, the water filled with blood.

1. Michael Strahan: Offered $100k for 9.5%.
2. Robert Herjavec: Undercut him ($75k for 7%).
3. Kevin O’Leary: Matched Michael.
4. Lori Greiner: Offered $75k for 10%.

The Strategy:
The founders did something incredibly smart. They asked Lori and Kevin to team up. They got double the cash ($200k) and two sharks: Kevin for the supply chain/finance, and Lori for the retail distribution.

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Gerty: The “Is This a Joke?” Pitch

Finally, we reached the part of the episode where I usually check if my drink was spiked. Todd Schram introduced us to Gerty.

What is Gerty? It is an inflatable… thing. It’s shaped vaguely like a person. You put your used clothes on it so it smells like you. The idea is that when you leave the house, your dog cuddles with this inflatable mannequin instead of destroying your couch.

The Shocking Twist:
Most Sharks were out immediately. Robert laughed. Barbara looked confused. Michael Strahan looked like he wanted to tackle it.

But Kevin O’Leary—Mr. Wonderful, the man who crushes dreams for sport—saw green. He argued that the pet industry is insane and if this thing goes viral on TikTok (which it 100% will), it will sell. He didn’t care about the weirdness; he cared about the viral coefficient.

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Final Thoughts: The Strahan Effect

So, how did the rookie do in his first swim?

• Negotiation: B+ (Held his own, didn’t get bullied).
• Charisma: A+ (The man is made for TV).
• Sharkiness: C (Too nice! Needs more “You’re dead to me” energy).

See you next week. I’m going to go buy some wet chicken, inflate my dog’s new best friend, and try to sleep sitting up.