ell this property for $1 billion, my commission will be $20 million. it's a big motivation, and we're ready to make that happen. d are you? cory: 13. lemonis: really? cory: yep. lemonis: a pint-sized entrepreneur and his mom have created a popular cookie brand. cory: would you like to try a cookie? jennifer: these are really good. cory: thank you. lemonis: but now their company is going through growing pains. lisa: when you don't have the right resources or the brain, this is what happens. i'm back to square one. lemonis: the c.e.o. struggles with the fundamentals. how much does it cost to make a dozen? cory: a dozen is around... lemonis: you don't know. cory: oh, no. lemonis: his mother struggles with self-doubt. lisa: i don't think i can take the company where it needs to be. lemonis: you can. i'm positive. i wouldn't be standing here. their product tastes great, but it can't be sold in stores. what's the shelf life? cory: two days.

lemonis: if i can't get this young c.e.o. up to speed and get his mother to trust me... no matter what you try to do to push me away, you're not going to be able to do it. ...this cookie company could crumble. my name is marcus lemonis, and i risk my own money to save struggling businesses. we're not gonna wake up every morning wondering if we have a job. we're gonna wake up every morning wondering how many jobs we have to do. it's not always pretty. everything is gonna change. everything. but i do it to save jobs, and i do it to make money. this... let's go to work. ...is "the profit." cory nieves started mr. cory's cookies when he wanted to buy his mother a car. i put this in here when i was 6, and i said i wanted to get this for you. lemonis: only 6 at the time, cory worked with his mother, lisa... cory: they will go in the oven once this is ready. lemonis: ...to develop a recipe for an all-natural cookie. cory: perfect. lemonis: then he packed up his red wagon

and started selling to local businesses in his new jersey neighborhood. woman: thank you. cory: thank you. lemonis: soon the world took notice. lisa: you know, tomorrow we're gonna go to this increasing your chance of getting more clients. cory: of course. lemonis: and mr. cory was finally able to get his mother that car, but without the infrastructure in place, the company was unable to meet the overwhelming interest... lisa: make it work. cory: yep, like we always do. lemonis: leaving cory and his mom unable to rise to their own potential. lisa: [ speaks indistinctly ] crap. i forgot that. lemonis: everybody loves cookies, and there's a ton of money to be made if you have the right product, and so i thought i'd stop by one of the places cory sells his cookies, the local car dealership, to check it out. well, hello. cory: hello! lemonis: i'm marcus. cory: how are you? lemonis: what is your name? cory: mr. cory. the founder of mr. cory's cookies. lemonis: okay. are you also cory or is it only mr. cory? cory: cory, yeah. yep. lemonis: okay. well, nice to meet you. cory: thank you.

nice to meet you, too. lemonis: you look sharp. cory: you look sharp, too. this is my mom. lisa: cookie mom, lisa. lemonis: i'm marcus. lisa: how are you doing? lemonis: nice to meet you. tell me what's going on here. cory: okay, so today we actually have a pop-up shop and customers come, they get a cookie. they sit down and wait for their car. lemonis: are we generating revenue? or are you giving them away? cory: the company buys them and then we give them. lemonis: very smart. whose idea was that? cory: both of our ideas. lemonis: okay. now more importantly, i love cookies. cory: so you got to try them. lemonis: so i'm a really tough judge, though. cory: okay. okay. i got you. lemonis: okay. cory: okay, this is the chocolate chip. they're all natural, and they have no preservatives added. lemonis: the chocolate chip was amazing. cory: thank you. second, this is a double dark. this is like the brownie. nice and soft in the middle. lemonis: it's delicious. cory: and sugar cookies. lemonis: is there orange in this cookie? orange peel? cory: it's a secret recipe. lemonis: okay. let me just tell you right now. lisa: oh, no. lemonis: if we do a deal, i'm gonna need to know the recipe, right? cory: yeah. yep. but you're gonna sign a contract.

lemonis: oh, i'm gonna sign a contract? cory: mm-hmm. lemonis: okay. so three original flavors? cory: no. we actually have way more. lemonis: and where do you make them? cory: so we bake out of a commercial kitchen. lemonis: and what do you sell a dozen for? how much? lisa: $15. cory: three for $5. lemonis: so how much does it cost to make a dozen? cory: well, a dozen is around... i'm thinking, thinking. okay. okay. lemonis: you don't know. cory: i haven't studied yet. lemonis: how do you do in math at school? cory: i don't really like math. i just like counting money. lemonis: i like the fact that cory dresses the part, but he has to know his numbers. i always wanted to pull a red cart through the dealership. whether he's a 13-year-old boy or a 48-year-old man, the requirement with me to know your numbers doesn't change. man: i'll try a chocolate chip. cory: perfect. man: thank you. cory: thank you. enjoy. thank you. lemonis: so this is your first business. cory: yes. lemonis: and 20 years from now, what do you want to be doing? cory: 20 years from now, i want to be nationwide, possibly a worldwide c.e.o. of the brand. lemonis: and what title does your mom have?

cory: she's a coo. lemonis: okay. she reports to you? cory: yes. lemonis: are you sure your mom is not the boss? cory: she signs the checks. lemonis: you know what they say, whoever signs the checks calls the shots. cory: yeah, so i guess she's the boss. lemonis: you don't believe that, do you? cory: no. we're both the boss. when i'm 18, then i'll be officially called the boss. lemonis: okay. now, i went on to your website because i wanted to order the product. cory: oh, yeah. lemonis: i couldn't buy it. cory: so that's the thing right now. you can't buy it now because they're all fresh. lisa: meaning there's no preservatives added in. lemonis: what's the shelf life? cory: two days. two days. lisa: that's one of the problems because he has, like, united airlines who wants his cookies, target, qvc, walmart, whole foods, but we can't fulfill what they want. lemonis: the fact that the cookie is fresh and it has no preservatives in it makes it different for me because it's a challenge. the challenge is how to get it to the most amount of people without altering the integrity of the product. what do you hope for this business? lisa: well, for mr. cory's cookies, i see so much.

i see an opportunity for a lot of mothers. like, we want to hire 70% inexperienced single mothers because i had him young, so... i was, like, 16, and i was in foster care. well, i ran away, and then i got pregnant with him. you know, when you're young, you don't know what you're doing, and then as i got older, i just had to survive. and then, you know, the cookies came into play, and i was just, like, i didn't think... lemonis: how did it come up? cory: we needed a car, and i wanted to give my mom a car. lisa: our friend allowed mr. cory to set up shop and sell hot cocoa for a dollar. cory: when we first started the cookie company, like, when i was selling it outside, we had a lemonade recipe and hot chocolate, and then we just focused on the cookies. lisa: i told him to do it for college. i felt like my son was too young to take on that burden. lemonis: take on what burden? lisa: to want to buy me a car. cory: and then ellen degeneres helped us and got us a car, which was really amazing, and we still have it. lemonis: and how do you have time to do this? you have a full-time job in addition to this? lisa: no. i just run this. lemonis: you run this business? cory: yeah. lemonis: and then when he's in school, you're doing most of the work. lisa: yeah.

lemonis: how old are you? cory: 13. lemonis: really? cory: yep. 13. lemonis: you're not 30? cory: no. i'm 13. lemonis: are you sure? can i see your i.d.? it's very common in small businesses that the business doesn't necessarily have an office yet. they work out of their home, so lisa, cory's mom, invited me to go back to their house where they run their business. cory: all right. thank you. bye. hello. lemonis: how you doing, buddy? cory: good. good. good. lisa: hi. lemonis: thanks for having me over. lisa: yeah. this is my el caso. lemonis: your el caso. there you go. lisa: this is where it all started. you want to show him your room? show him your room. cory: yeah. this is my room. this is my crazy room. lemonis: is that you? cory: yep. lemonis: how old were you there? cory: 2 or 3. lemonis: 3? lisa: yeah. lemonis: then what's all this? cory: this is goals. lemonis: talk to me about these goals. do you mind? cory: mm-hmm. lemonis: walk me through them. cory: some of them we didn't get, and then some of them we actually got. so, like, a car we got. so we want to get a store and a kitchen.

we want a big wholesale account. meeting the c.e.o. of jpmorgan. lemonis: so you want to meet jamie dimon at jpmorgan? cory: yeah. mm-hmm. lemonis: okay. most kids that are 13 would be like, "i want to go to the world series or win a trophy at my soccer tournament." cory's list is "i want to meet the chairman of the world's largest bank." he's got a better plan than i do. i'll see you at the commercial kitchen. i'll see you at the commercial kitchen. cory: perfect. nick: welcome. nick prastos. lemonis: nick, how are you? i'm marcus. nick: nice to meet you. lemonis: nice to meet you. is this an event space? nick: it's an event space, and then next door we have our commercial kitchen where mr. cory does his cooking. cory: hello. lemonis: is this where the magic happens? cory: yes, and i actually have a gift for you. it's a shirt. lemonis: okay. cory: oh! now, that looks nice. lemonis: so you know that i'm people, process, product guy, right? cory: mm-hmm. lemonis: so the people, we're square. cory: yeah. yep. lemonis: we got good people.

i need to understand the process and how the product works. cory: okay. lisa: so don't mix it too much. after that, just mix it... you don't want it too creamy. lemonis: where did you learn how to bake, lisa? lisa: school of hard knocks. lemonis: you want me to still leave it a little chunky, right? lisa: yeah. just like that. yep, and then you're gonna take four eggs and crack them. what kind of cracking was that? lemonis: what do you mean? lisa: you got to crack it one time, and you're putting eggshells in here. like that, one egg. go ahead. there! you got it. that's it. no more cracking eggs. lemonis: have you ever looked for a co-packer? lisa: we have a co-packer we just got with. lemonis: oh, you did? lisa: yeah, but it's more of a license agreement, so it's not really a co-packer if that makes sense. lemonis: okay, so i would like to meet them. lisa: all right. lemonis: okay. now, what do all the ingredients cost to go in here? lisa: for one batch of dough, 41 cookies, it cost us $5 to make with packaging included.

lemonis: 41 cookies cost $5. how much in labor? lisa: there's no labor because it's just me. cory: because we don't have payroll. lemonis: well, you're worth a lot. lisa: but i don't pay myself, to be honest. lemonis: lisa, are you a dreamer? lisa: daydream, yeah. lemonis: what do you daydream about? lisa: that i'm in an office building with a suit on. bossed up, you know, walk to my office. see my store actually selling cookies, like, really selling cookies. lemonis: and how do you see yourself getting there? lisa: i keep open when opportunity comes. i just keep putting myself in places. like, i go to networking events, but i have put my trust on some people and i got hurt. i've let the guards down, and i said i don't ever want to do that again. lemonis: why not? lisa: because i've been burned a lot. when you grow up in the system, you can't trust nobody. you got to always fend for yourself, or maybe that's a baggage that i always hold. lemonis: you have to have a little bit of faith in yourself before you put any faith in anybody else.

she has no problem admitting that she doesn't trust people, and she's gonna keep her guard up. and i always tell people to trust the process, and i think in this particular case, i'm gonna have to actually trust her process. cory: mmm. lemonis: i feel like the next time we get together, i'd like to go over the financials and really understand what exists. you prepared for that? cory: yes. lisa: no. lemonis: you're not prepared? how come? lisa: because it don't look good. lemonis: well, it's my job to help you. thanks for today, by the way. cory: thank you. lemonis: i had fun. lisa: you did? lemonis: i did. lisa: awesome. cory: thank you. lemonis: i don't think i'm gonna have another cookie tonight, but i had fun. ♪ hi, guys. how are you? cory: hello. how are you? lemonis: good to see you. lisa: how you doing? lemonis: look how nice you look. lisa: yeah. i have a suit on. lemonis: new business suit? cory: i put on my suit. i saw a picture of you, so i put on, like, the same gray suit you wore. lemonis: the same gray suit, black tie.

cory: yep. lemonis: well, i thought maybe we could go over some financials. cory: we have a few. this is our profit and loss statement for 2017. lemonis: okay. cory: and this is 2016. lemonis: okay. cory: 2015. 2014. and then i have the balance sheets for 2016. lemonis: okay. i've probably met with over 100 businesses, and very rarely does somebody ever show up with four years of financial statements and a balance sheet. who puts this all together? cory: me and my mom. lemonis: so in 2014, you did $12,000 in business. shows that you made $7,000. cory: yes. lemonis: in 2015, you did $16,000 of business, and it shows that you made $8,000. cory: yes. lemonis: in 2016, you did $28,000 worth of business, and you made $10,000. cory: yeah. lemonis: so what's nice about it is every single year,

you sold more. cory: yeah. lemonis: you went from $12,000 to $16,000 to $28,000. is there any debt in the company? lisa: the company has no debt. lemonis: okay. so what i want to do focus on is things that are easy to execute that don't put all the burden on your mom and don't take you away from your studies or playing or being with your friends, and you can still be the face of the business with your mom. cory: okay. lemonis: does that make sense? cory: yes. lemonis: okay. i'd like to take a chance on you guys. so what i'd like to do is put in $100,000, and i'll have 40%, and you'll have 60% because you've created the idea, the product, and the demand. i don't need to have control of you. i trust you. that money is gonna go into designing packaging, building brochures, rebuilding a website, coming up with product development and launching the product. cory: that's awesome. thank you. lemonis: do we have a deal? cory: i guess we do.

lemonis: whoa, put your hand back. lisa: that was fast. never shake too fast. lemonis: yeah. lisa: don't get desperate. i'm just nervous because i've been just by myself for this long. you have other people talk to us and say, "the moon and the skies and the sun," and then boom. lemonis: what i need you to try to do, lisa, is to trust me, and i know that's hard for you because i'm sure you've heard people say that to you before, right? lisa: it's like, "agh." i'm not really important in this situation. i feel like it's about the business and it's cory's, so this is what i'm trying to do for him. i don't know. it's never really about me. that's why i'm keeping it real. i'm just talking. lemonis: so i'll keep it real, okay? lisa: please do. lemonis: the biggest opportunity i see is with you because this business needs a leader, and i feel like with the right training, that you are the real superstar here

because in my mind, you're important. lisa: i just got to go. i'm sorry. can i get up? i just got to go to the bathroom. i'm sorry. lemonis: so you guys already have a deal in place? lisa: yeah. david: it's a straight licensing deal with a royalty through our company, clever cookie. lemonis: so you have an exclusive with them? david: yes.

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that you are the real superstar here because in my mind, you're important. lisa: i just got to go. i'm sorry. can i get up? i just got to go to the bathroom. i'm sorry. lemonis: will you do me a favor? will you go order us two more milkshakes at the counter? cory: okay, sure. lisa: i can't do this. i just can't. this is so hard. i'm trying to do it for cory. lemonis: lisa, you okay? lisa: i'm sorry, i'm just... i don't know why i deserve it. i feel like i don't. cory: hey. lemonis: thank you, buddy. lisa: thank you. it's emotional for me because, you know, when you don't have somebody seeing you and they look past you, it's hard for you to grasp when somebody says, "oh, you're beautiful," when all your life you've been called ugly, right? just imagine it. all your life you've been called ugly, and then... lemonis: i was always called fat and ugly,

but it worked out okay for me, so i get to laugh at them. all the people that gave you a hard time, let's laugh back at them. we've all been in a place in our lives where we wanted people to take a chance on us, and every time that had ever happened to me came rushing back, and i felt like this was the moment where i was gonna take my resources... thank you. ...and bet on somebody that nobody else ever bet on. so my offer is $100,000 for 40% of the business. i think you need to make a salary from the company. you cannot work for free anymore. do you agree with that? lisa: yeah. so i want to keep the product natural in the way it is, as the integrity as possible. lemonis: you don't want to change the philosophy of the company, which is a natural product. we have a deal? lisa: it's a real check. lemonis: yes. lisa: we want to do the deal under one condition. cory: we need mentorship. lisa: mentorship. lemonis: we're gonna get a team of people together that are gonna help you.

you are not gonna be alone. lisa: good people, right? lemonis: no. they're all bad people. lisa: oh, i ain't messing with you. we have a deal because my handshake is the contract? cory: okay. lemonis: okay, buddy. guess what's coming next? math. you ready? lisa: yeah. born ready. lemonis: lisa told me that she found a co-packer to help her mass-produce the cookie, and she did a licensing deal with them, and i quite frankly want to meet them so i can understand the terms of the deal. how are you? david: hi, how are you? lisa: hi. david: dave wild. lemonis: dave, nice to meet you. if that company was able to make the product without compromising the quality, then i'm open to it. how did you guys meet? david: lisa originally called us to see if we would manufacture product for them, and... lemonis: so are you a cookie company? david: we are. we manufacture them. lemonis: okay. can you give me a little background? i'm sorry. i'm kind of walking... david: i've been in the cookie business for 25 years. lemonis: oh, wow. so you guys already have a deal in place? lisa: yeah. lemonis: okay.

what is the deal? david: it's a straight licensing deal with a royalty. lisa: where, you know, they sell the product, i get a percentage of... david: there is minimum guarantees. lemonis: minimum guarantees to them? david: yes. lemonis: okay. david: and then there's a royalty rate of 8%. lemonis: what areas do you have? what exclusivities do you have, and how does all that work? david: so the retail product would go through our company, clever cookie. lemonis: so you have an exclusive with them? david: yes. lemonis: okay. david: they are permitted to sell product online and through their own stores. lemonis: they don't have any stores. david: right. lemonis: i don't want to get into a debate whether 8% is the right licensing fee or not. in the world of licensing, yeah, i guess it's not a bad fee, but i don't think lisa understood that she was essentially giving away all of her rights, all of her intellectual property, her recipe, her marks, her brand, in all of these different retail categories for 8%? if they do a million dollars in business, she's gonna get 80 grand? and what's the minimum? david: the guarantees?

lemonis: yeah. david: first year... lemonis: $500,000? david: i think it's $500,000, and then it grows to a million, and then... lemonis: so they're guaranteed to receive $500,000? david: no. 8% of... that's the gross sales number. lemonis: so they're guaranteed to receive only $40,000? david: that's correct. lemonis: and you took the entire retail line? so they're not permitted to do anything at retail because you have it, and all they get paid is a percentage? david: yes. lemonis: right, and they do all the work, or they use my resources, they only get 8% of that? david: well, that's a typical licensing deal. yeah. lisa: i feel like because you're used to being, like, this boss, and if there is something you do, i don't like, i'm gonna tell you about yourself. lemonis: lisa, my biggest fear is that you're going to try to sabotage our relationship. lisa: probably i would.

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david: well, that's a typical licensing deal. yeah. lemonis: but for every million dollars that you do, they only get 80 grand? david: yes. this is a significantly different product, but it also is natural and... lemonis: this is not their recipe? david: this is not the recipe. we need to hit a six-month minimum shelf life. lemonis: that is not mr. cory's cookie. lisa: no. lemonis: so it was my understanding that you wanted to preserve the integrity of what you started with. lisa: yeah. that's what i told them, yeah. lemonis: but i'm hearing that this isn't even your cookie. lisa: well, i've been waiting for so long, and the product is not in no stores. so i came to them and said, "look, like, i want mr. cory's cookies out there, but i'm still trying to work on a way to not compromise what i believe in." lemonis: and do you guys have the ability to terminate with some notice? david: we do have a stipulation, yeah. lemonis: and how much... so how much time is that?

do you know? david: after one year. lemonis: i'm a little frustrated that dave didn't bring the actual contract with him. he says that mr. cory's can sell directly to consumers either through a store or online, but i don't know if what he's telling me is accurate or there is something missing here. i want to see the specifics, so the next time i see dave, i need him to have the agreement. i know how adamant she is about getting them out in the market, but it's got to be done right. regardless of what happens with the licensing agreement, we have the right to bring the product to market direct to consumer online. and so in order to do that, i need to take lisa to rastelli global, a business i've worked with in the past to find a solution to bring this product without compromising the ingredients to market. lisa: how big is this place? ray: this building is about 125,000 square feet. lemonis: product would get made in a co-packer. ray: yes. lemonis: then it would get frozen? ray: frozen at a co-packer or here. we have a blast freezer here. lemonis: and then as the orders came in, they would get packaged in the respective container? ray: that's correct. lemonis: and ship frozen?

once we ship it frozen, it will thaw by the time it arrives to the consumer, and it's perfectly fresh like the day that it was made. lisa: does it arrive cold? ray: no. whatever parameters we set to it, so, you might say, "i want it to arrive to the customer at 75 degrees," we will work backwards as a company here to making sure that happens. we want to allow you to just go sell, and then we'll do the rest. lemonis: now that we're able to deliver a fresh cookie, this packaging isn't gonna work. we're gonna need something better than a paper bag, so i'm bringing mr. cory and lisa to century packaging. frank: welcome to our plant. cory: now this is huge. lisa: cory, look. look. cory: cool. frank: first part of the process is the printing. cory: yeah. frank: and then after the printing, we dye cut. lemonis: how many could you make in an hour? frank: 40,000, 50,000 boxes in an hour. cory: wow. that's a lot. lemonis: so, who's gonna make all those cookies? cory: not me. lisa: not me. lemonis: finally, i've arranged for a co-packing facility that can mass-produce the entire line. now our whole infrastructure is in place.

all of our cookies are gonna be made by the co-packer flash frozen, then shipped to rastelli. once they arrive at rastelli, they'll get organized and stored. once they're tempered, they'll get shipped directly to the customer. so, when we first met, you said you haven't had great experiences with other people. so what i want to do is to introduce you to people to help you guys run the business. lisa: for real? lemonis: are you nervous? lisa: yeah. people in those corporate fields play on the fact i don't have an education because i don't know what's going on. lemonis: lisa really lacks self-confidence, and part of me delivering help is delivering people and resources that she can lean on and she can talk to. women business owners just like her, that's the best support ever. okay. hi. hey. lemonis: this is my business partner, lisa. she's the c.e.o. of cory's cookies. juli works in lots of different projects down in the l.a. office. zoe owns a big chocolate company...

lisa: hi, zoe. zoe: nice to meet you. lemonis: ...out of pennsylvania. lisa: i love chocolate. lemonis: ramona owns a hair-care company called ashtae. ramona: how you doing? lemonis: this is lisa. lisa s.: nice to meet you. lemonis: she's the owner of a giant pet-store chain. juli: so how's the process been? lisa: it's crazy. it's a lot of work and stuff to understand, that i don't understand a lot. zoe: i think it always takes time, and as you go, you figure it out. juli: and what's wonderful is that, like, you can literally call up to any one of us and say, "i don't know what the [bleep] i'm doing." ramona: we're just human and the uncertainty makes us all very nervous. lisa: yeah. i do that all the time. i'll be like, "i can't do this no more. the hell with this. i mean, i done walked out on stuff," but i don't stop because of my son, honestly. i really do this more for cory. ramona: but i think there's more to it than just your son. juli: cory is gonna be who he is. ramona: absolutely. juli: he's gonna succeed, but that doesn't mean that you can't, too. lisa: i also had a lot of people that were mean to me and hard to me, so it was like, "you don't got time to be a [bleep]" you know what i'm saying? excuse my language.

lemonis: no matter how tough you are with me, it will not change my behavior. lisa: sometimes things can come off hard because i had a hard life, like, i feel like maybe because you're used to being, like, this boss, and you have this personality where i know this, i know that, and if there is something you do that i don't like, i'll tell you about yourself. lemonis: lisa, my biggest fear is that you're going to try to sabotage our relationship because you will want to push me away. lisa: probably i would. lemonis: why? lisa: that's the type of person i am, so i'm gonna say the way i feel, and if you don't like it, whether you gave me a million dollars, whether you took my company and sold it to freaking mcdonald's or whatever, i don't give a damn. lemonis: that's just not me. lisa: i'm just telling you the way i'm looking at it. lemonis: i know, but you've already predetermined who i am without even getting to know me. lisa: okay, but i'm telling you, you may not like it, but i'm not gonna compromise who i am. lemonis: you told me at the last time we met that she could sell it online. david: i don't know that i said that, but... lemonis: so are you saying that she does not have the right to sell it online? david: well, obviously she doesn't.

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super weird. lisa: i'm just telling you the way i'm looking at it. lemonis: i know, but you've already predetermined who i am without even getting to know me. lisa: okay, but i'm telling you, i'm not gonna compromise who i am. lemonis: but no matter what you try to do to push me away, you're not going to be able to do it. lisa: i just feel like, am i just, like, a failure right now? i don't have an education. i was 16 when i had cory. ramona: i don't have education,

and for a long time, i beat myself up just because i didn't have the pedigree that society said i had to have. there is a job for you to do, and it's going to require you to put your big girl drawers on like my mama used to say. what are you going to do with it? lisa: that's the million dollar question. ramona: yes. lisa: what you gonna do with it? ♪ lemonis: we are hard at work, getting the final details ready to bring mr. cory's to market. lisa is setting up her new website on the shopify platform. this is where you'd have, like, the picture of the cookies or you and cory. lemonis: i'd like to even build a recurring model where you can get a delivery every month. buy a subscription. lisa: oh, yeah. i had that! some of my first customers did that. lemonis: so i have... lisa: i have great ideas. thank you for taking that from me. lemonis: in addition, in order to sell the product to consumers,

we have to know all of the nutritional information and disclose it, so i brought lisa and cory to a food scientist. rick: what we notice when we looked at your recipes was you have 50 calories per 12 grams. lemonis: in those 12 grams, it has 50 calories and 2.5 grams of fat. your cookie weighs 2.3 times more than that, so your cookie isn't 12 grams, it's 28 grams. so if 12 is 50, then 28 has to be, what? cory: 117. lemonis: and by the way, he's really getting better at the math. lisa: that's about good for a cookie for that size. rick: it's very good. lisa: jpmorgan! remember this place, cory? we took a picture here. lemonis: all right. well, why don't we head in? lisa: are we going in? lemonis: mm-hmm. cory: mom. lemonis: today i'm taking lisa and cory on a field trip. it's a bit of a surprise. so on your list of people you wanted to meet,

who's on your list? cory: c.e.o. of chase. lemonis: we're gonna go meet him. cory: oh! lemonis: you told me in your room that you wanted to meet the chairman of jpmorgan. didn't you tell me that? cory: yeah. lisa: he's lying. lemonis: no. cory: no. lisa: i don't think i'm prepared. why didn't you tell me? look, i look busted. i don't have a suit on. lemonis: you look nice. don't worry, we're going to go talk to him. cory: okay. lemonis: okay? lisa: this is crazy. dimon: marcus. how are you, sir? lemonis: i'm doing great. how are you? dimon: hey, how are you? cory: hi. nice to meet you. dimon: i've heard some awful nice things about you. cory: oh, thank you. nice to meet you. dimon: how are you doing? good to meet you. cory: mr. cory. lemonis: how are you, sir? lisa: hi, i'm cookie mom, lisa. dimon: cookie mom, it's you. how are you? lisa: how you doing? cory: here's my business card. dimon: whoa. lisa: sorry, i'm just, like, a groupie with this. i'm just so excited because one of my son's goals was to meet you. it's just so amazing, that's all. dimon: how did you even know about me? cory: i read, like, "forbes" and "forbes magazine." dimon: you're kidding me. cory: it's really inspiring. it's pretty cool. dimon: thank you.

cory: what was one of the hardest things you... happened to your company, and, like, how did you solve it? dimon: well, you know, first of all, many companies, yours, there are always hardships. cory: yeah. dimon: always ups and downs, so you always got to be prepared for them and just persevere through the downs. you know, get help when you need it. that's another thing you learn in life, you can't do all the things well, so who you partner with is really important. so, i mean, i think hooking up with marcus is gonna be the best thing that happened to you. cory: nice to meet, again. dimon: you too. lisa: can i take a picture real quick? dimon: of course you can. lemonis: i felt that cory and lisa needed to have some small wins along the way. being in business isn't about making a million dollars in the first year. it's about enjoying and celebrating the little wins, and then letting them mount up over time. cory: oh, wow. that was amazing. lemonis: he loved it. cory: yeah. lisa: like, i'm not built for this type of work. lemonis: yes, you are. lisa: it's not me. lisa: i don't think i can take the company where it needs to be. i think he can. lemonis: you can. i'm positive. i wouldn't be standing here. i know there's more inside of you, and i'm gonna keep digging because i know what you're capable of. lisa: it takes time.

lemonis: it does take time, and that's trust. as we build trust with each other, that will help. lisa: that's hard for me to do. lemonis: i know, but i think you trust me more today than you did when you first met me. lisa: yes, i do. lemonis: and hopefully a month from now, you'll trust me more then than you do now. ♪ i've been uncomfortable since the day that i met dave, not really understanding the inner workings of the agreement, so i called him up and told him that i wanted to see him again because i want to dig into this contract and get some answers. david: hey, lisa. lisa: hi. david: how are you? lemonis: good seeing you. so the two of you are partners. i'm sorry that we didn't get a chance to meet. michael: i was traveling last time. lemonis: so the current deal that's on the table, did you guys bring a copy of it? can we talk through it? lisa: at the time the deal was great because when you don't have money, you got to settle for what you got. lemonis: how long is the deal? david: three years. lemonis: and so have payments been made up to now? david: there has been one payment made. lemonis: there has. okay. is it made monthly or quarterly? lisa: quarterly, i think. david: quarterly, yeah.

lemonis: okay. so where are we on the product? david: these are shelf stable for three weeks. we made it out of frozen dough. lisa: that's not my cookie. it's not mr. cory's cookie. david: but the original cookie only has 24- to 48-hour shelf life. lisa: i can't sit there and say, "okay. i'm gonna compromise and put garbage all in my cookies because i want to make the retailer happy." lemonis: so you guys have the retail rights, and she can sell online until the cows come home? david: okay. lemonis: do you disagree with that? david: i don't know. lemonis: what do you mean you don't know? you did the deal. lemonis: everything else was supposed to be through clever cookie. lemonis: the last time i met with dave, i mentioned, "okay. you have retail. we're gonna do online." he never once said, "no. no. no. you can't do that." so that would include... david: amazon. lemonis: jet. david: qvc. lemonis: so where does it say that? david: i wasn't prepared to... lemonis: but it's not prepared, dave. it's in the agreement or it's not. i'm now learning that dave believes that he has the rights to any sort of distribution.

what i was understanding is that we were just restricted on the grocery side because i'm meeting with amazon tomorrow. are you guys okay with that? david: i don't have my lawyer here. lemonis: wow. you told me at the last time we met that she could sell it online. david: i don't know that i said that, but... lemonis: so are you saying that she does not have the right to sell it online? david: well, obviously she doesn't. right? lisa: well, guess what? we're not even selling a cookie, so mr. cory's cookies ain't gonna make no money because if this don't become the mr. cory's cookies, i'm not approving any of it. it has to be mr. cory's cookies, and i've waited all this time and now i don't even have a product or nothing. i got to go. this is bull[bleep] ♪ lemonis: if your business is in trouble and you need my help, log on to...

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i'm aggravated, okay? lemonis: why? why? lisa: at the end of the day, mr. cory's cookies is not making money. everybody is making money. all i care about is my son and building a brand, but this is the problem when you don't have the right resources or the brain, you get [bleep] and this is what happens because the product is not where it is supposed to be. i waited a whole year, and i don't have nothing. i'm back to square one. i don't know what to do. i'm just very, very frustrated. lemonis: okay. here's the deal. do you want me to try to figure this out, or do you want me just to walk away? because i don't want to walk away. lisa: i didn't say walk away. lemonis: okay. lisa: i didn't say that. lemonis: then let me do my thing. lisa: [ sighs ] lemonis: lisa was like, "wait a minute. i can't sell it retail. i can't sell wholesale. i can't operate my own website. i can't do anything. what did i do?" here is what i think would help this situation. we got to start making some decisions. we are going to launch an e-commerce business, and if it violates the agreement,

i understand that you guys have rights and remedies under the agreement to pursue whatever it is and i respect that. we will accept whatever the consequences are. if he wants to come after us for getting in the online business, which is by the way very vague in the agreement, have at it. if the product is going to sell at market, it also needs to sell online because it's complementary branding. michael: i think we're trying to do the same thing. lemonis: yeah. david: we realize that there's a definite benefit. lemonis: through all of us working together. david: absolutely. lemonis: if dave is able to develop a product that is shelf stable and it meets lisa's standards, then clever cookie will be able to sell to big-box retailers like walmart. meanwhile, lisa and i will focus on fresh, soft-baked cookies and we'll sell them online. lisa: i know it's going to be different, but it has to be as close as possible. lemonis: and we're gonna get there. we'll work through it. david: okay. lemonis: we'll work through it. you feel better? david: i'm fine. lemonis: you feel better? great. all right. david: yep. lemonis: thank you.

david: really appreciate it. lemonis: thank you. david: thanks, lisa. lisa: thank you. lemonis: today is a big day for mr. cory's cookies because amazon is really working to help small businesses establish their own market place with a landing page that promotes their story and their products. if mr. cory's can convince amazon that they're a good fit, this could be a multi-million dollar partnership. lisa: so, cory, when you go in there, have confidence in yourself and show yourself that you have this, not all this. cory: yeah. okay. lisa: okay? all right. sallie ann: welcome. lemonis: hi, there. how are you? sallie ann: so good to see you. welcome to amazon. we're gonna come this way. cory: yeah. come on. sallie ann: yeah, please. cory: aw, cool. lemonis: the reason that we came here today is they have really decided to focus on small business. sallie ann: we're a small team, and we actually help small businesses grow and succeed on amazon. lemonis: and become big businesses. sallie ann: and become big. lemonis: this is your show, buddy.

cory: so our mission is helping the world one cookie at a time. to never add any wacky ingredients we cannot pronounce. our retail market is 75%. the cookies are 120 calories, and that's not bad. lemonis: cory, that was a pretty good summary. cory: thank you. sallie ann: how many flavors do you have? cory: four basics. lemonis: and then this is the new packaging. lisa: we're gonna have a cartoonage of mr. cory. cory: mm-hmm. and it gives, like, a little story in the back. sallie ann: very nice. lemonis: take a bite of one. sallie ann: ooh. jennifer: excellent. these are really good. lisa: our goal is to hire 70% single moms in the workforce field who are inexperienced because me, as a single mom, i never got to get a good job. if you want your child to be the best they can be, you put them first. imagine hiring people like that who don't have that degree and all this other stuff, but we can help them by giving them a chance. sallie ann: tell your story. i think that's so important. you speak to every mom out there, and i think that's an important piece of the story. sallie ann: yeah. jennifer: it sells me as a mom. sallie ann: lisa telling it, i mean, it's so powerful when you tell it,

and i think on amazon, we want to bring that to life. we'll help you with marketing. we'll help you as you on board. give you consultants to kind of help you navigate the big amazon landscape. we're like an extension of your team. lemonis: i thought lisa did great. she went from somebody feeling like she didn't belong somewhere, to sitting in a conference room at amazon's new york headquarters basically saying, "we're entrepreneurs. let's do business together." thank you very much. jennifer: thanks so much. sallie ann: yeah. thank you, marcus. lemonis: after meeting with amazon, i asked cory and lisa to meet me in downtown englewood. there was some unfinished business i wanted to discuss. we are gonna look at office spaces, right? so walk me through the whole office idea that you guys have. lisa: let's say we have new accounts, new clients, it's not gonna look good. you can't come to my house, and people are gonna starbucks or coffee shops, which is what we currently do. lemonis: what do you think, cory? cory: i think we need it because we're gonna need customer service, too, when we get online. we're gonna need an account department

to get accounts. lemonis: so let's just look at it, and then next week, at the end of the week, we can make a decision. cory: okay. lemonis: is that fair? cory: yeah. cool. lisa: sure. thank you. cory: oh, my god. ♪ [ laughing ] ♪ lemonis: for exclusives, extras, and business advice, visit theprofit.cnbc.com.

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♪ [ laughs ] ♪ lisa: oh, my god. this is my office. cory: amazing. oh, they have cookies! look at that! lisa: thank you. cory: wow. lisa: this is real. i can't believe somebody like me really got an office.

cory: yeah. lisa: i got an office! cory: i'm out of here. lisa: i'm sorry. cookie mom got an office! woman: camera up here. i'm here. lisa: i don't care. they got to hear that. she said, "good for you." lemonis: she did? lisa: she did. she said, "good for you." lemonis: so this office cost $3,200 a month. if the margins are 75%, how much revenue do you have to do? my experience with cory has been unbelievable. he's far more engaged, and he understands the magnitude of what we're doing. and while i don't totally believe him, he says he likes math now. can we sell 100 a day? cory: mm-hmm. over. lemonis: do you know how many i think we can sell? -500? -1,000 minimum. cory: i think we can. lemonis: we're gonna be rolling in some dough. cory: yeah! lemonis: you like that? lisa: rolling in some dough. lemonis: you like that? cory: yeah. lemonis: you like that? i've been waiting for about a month to say that to you. cory: yeah? lemonis: i think through the process, what i enjoyed more than anything else is watching cory and lisa really evolve into business owners.

i have one favor to ask. just one. when i first met you, you doubted a lot, and so all i ask out of this whole relationship is other people who think like you used to think, that you help convince them that anything is possible. we run a good business. we take care of the business. we take care of our customers, but that we tell other people when they say to you, "it's not possible," you say to them, "i'm an example. it's possible." and you have to really be a leader and show people that. that's why i invested in you because i felt like you earned the shot, and you are one unbelievable mother. lisa: thank you. lemonis: i guess most importantly, i wanted both of them to know that they are worthy, and they deserve to be here. this is for you. you've earned it. that's your key. and i have a very strong feeling that in years to come,

this thing is gonna be huge. it's time to run a business. cory: wahoo! lemonis: okay? lisa: thank you. thanks. ♪ we got an office ♪ we got an office, we got an office ♪ cory: oh. mom, look. headphones. ♪ a new york fashion designer was once a phenomenal success... what's the biggest year that you've had? susana: 13 million. lemonis: ...but today, she finds herself under siege. susana: there's no respect here for me at all. there's no respect. where's the respect? lemonis: customers are deserting her label. anna: honestly, we didn't make any money since 2009. lemonis: friends and family are demanding a piece of her business. susana: the brothers think i owe them their birth right. lemonis: i feel like you're being kind of, like, shaken down. and instead of standing up for herself and fighting for her brand, she's letting it fall apart at the seams. susana: this is bull[bleep] it's total bull[bleep] lemonis: if i can't help her regain confidence and harness her incredible talent... susana: it's really stressful to...