ni: nayes, that's true. finia: i'm gonna shoot for that. lemonis: i thought you were shooting for the moon? finia: i am shooting for the moon! lemonis: can we sell some more macarons first? finia: yes. lemonis: okay. ♪ brett: hey. lemonis: hi. brett: can you see me? lemonis: not really. strud: can you hear me? brett: okay, tell me how to do that. is that better? lemonis: much better. [ laughs ] well, we're off to a great start, i guess. you guys ready? brett: yes. lemonis: tonight we're gonna give you an inside look at an episode from season 7 -- polar bear coolers. this is one of the funnest groups that i've ever worked with but, in some cases, maybe one of the more frustrating, as well. strud: no, it's the asset, man.

you told me, i'm the asset, remember? brett: surprise, marcus. this is our show. strud: come on, marcus, we're taking you on, man. lemonis: wait a minute. we're changing the show from "the profit" to "polar bear profits." strud: [ laughs ] brett: [ laughs ] lemonis: over the years that i've been making "the profit," i've visited countless businesses. let's go make some money! [ horn honking ] i've traveled the country trying to fix the people... and you do $1 million a year? you should be proud of that. man: but we don't know how to keep any of it. lemonis: ...fix the process... you see? it flimsy. don't ever make these again. you don't sell them. ...and create a few products. juli: it reduces anxiety and depression. lemonis: i kind of like it. i spent countless days working on these companies. how much money did you burn through? parker: $650,000. lemonis: but we can't always fit everything i'm thinking into the show. tonight we're gonna give you an inside look at an episode from season 7 -- polar bear coolers. over the next hour, i'm gonna take you

behind the scenes to share with you what i was actually thinking during filming... in 2016, the online business went down 4%. hayden: that's the year that i no longer started handling the website. strud: you should have been fighting for that with me. hayden: i did. lemonis: 'cause you're a control freak, other people don't feel valued. brett: get out of your own damn way, strud. lemonis: ...share some secrets... brett: you had him. you lost him. lemonis: the gift that you gave me is the uniqueness of who you are forced me to realize that i have to accept everybody for who they are. strud: i don't really have time to explain every part. lemonis: ...and give you an honest assessment of my decisions. the company lost $35,000. no, no, don't point at him. what's going on with business? strud: oh, man, marcus. it's flatlining. lemonis: let me make an offer to you right now. i should buy polar bear from you. my name is marcus lemonis, and this is an inside look at "the profit." obviously in this new day, in this new world that we're living in, this is one of the businesses

that it's important to understand, what do you do now? how do you reinvent yourself? how do you move forward? what's tomorrow look like? and i think what we're gonna try to do tonight is provide some insight on how businesses sometimes have to pivot when they least expect it. ♪ [ rock music plays ] hayden: hello. lemonis: what's that music? hayden: you didn't know what you walked into, did you? lemonis: how you doing? i'm marcus. hayden: i'm hayden. nice to meet you. lemonis: hayden, how are you? geoff: marcus, geoff gold. lemonis: nice to meet you. brett: i'm brett. lemonis: how are you? lemonis: what's... brett: that's strud upstairs, playing. lemonis: in the middle of the workday? okay. i have never walked into a situation where somebody was jamming out. strud: how you doing? [ music stops ] how are you? hey, marcus! lemonis: i'm marcus. strud: i'm so pleased to meet you. lemonis: what is your name? strud: strud.

lemonis: okay. stephanie: stephanie. lemonis: stephanie, nice to meet you. lemonis: are you the owner? strud: yes. lemonis: okay. and what is your role here? stephanie: i just own him. lemonis: are you his wife or just... stephanie: he calls me his "love-life-partner." strud: love-life-partner. stephanie: so it's a mouthful. so, what's the polar bear jingle? is there a jingle? strud: no. there's no particular jingle. lemonis: well, just play me something. [ rock music plays ] strud: ♪ marcus lemonis, we've seen your show ♪ ♪ and it sure is fine lemonis: okay. ♪ strud: ♪ why don't you come on down to georgia ♪ ♪ meet polar bear, we'll have a good time ♪ lemonis: look, i love the fact that strud likes to have fun. if he was upstairs writing jingles or commercials or doing videos -- things that actually drove the business forward -- i wouldn't care. and i'm wondering if that's the reason that i'm actually here -- 'cause he can't focus. strud: we're the pioneers of the soft performance cooler, okay? 20 years, i've been doing that. right now we are super stressed. i mean, there's been a lot of hard times. lemonis: what are you stressed about? strud: last year was $2.5 million,

but in 2017, we were $3.5 million. lemonis: whoa! strud: so we've gone down $1 million in two years, marcus. that's the problem. lemonis: the fact that he lost over 30% in revenue from '17 to '18 is a really big deal. where is the product? why don't we go look at the product? strud: let's go do that. ♪ lemonis: so you're his sister? brett: i am. lemonis: how many other siblings? brett: that's it, just he and i. lemonis: hey, brett, thanks for being here. and we want everybody to understand who strud is a little bit more and why you are who you are, partially because of her. one of the things that we did not include in the show because we just didn't have time is the very earnest and sincere conversation that you and i had after i met strud. and it was one of the things that i think really helped me gain clarity on the sincerity of your family, you and your brother. i know it's tough for you to talk about, but i also know that you don't hide it because you want to help other people. brett: absolutely.

lemonis: what's it like growing up with him? brett: oh, boy. lemonis: come on, brett. brett: it's fun. i mean, i would do anything he asked me to do, just 'cause i thought he was so cool. lemonis: still even today? brett: no, i think he's just an absolute buffoon now. [ both laugh ] no, it's insane. he's very intense. great guy but very intense. so that's where we've had some issue. in the past, i had a full-time job here and loved it. and then i had an incident that took place that took me out of polar bear. lemonis: a health incident? brett: rehab. i had a terrible drug problem at one time. lemonis: oh, okay. and you're feeling better now? brett: yeah. i got clean, got... lemonis: congratulations to you. brett: ...10 years. thank you. lemonis: very proud of you. brett: thank you. i advocate for mental illness and addiction. actually, it's the facility that helped me, that i got help through, so they ended up hiring me. lemonis: that's awesome. brett: it's incredible. it really is. we're all done. lemonis: that is about right. brett: thank you. lemonis: let's go see the warehouse. strud: okay, let's do that. come on.

brett: oh, my god. that got real, didn't it? lemonis: the reason that i'm so grateful about how open and honest you are about this, it's important to understand that there is tolerance and forgiveness and understanding required to run a business and that businesses are built on people. lots of things happen to people. you don't need to be embarrassed. you don't need to apologize. you own it. you learn from it. you teach other people how to avoid it. brett: i'm absolutely not embarrassed. what i did was embarrassing in the past. recovery's not embarrassing. there's absolutely nothing embarrassing about getting help. everybody has something going on in their life, and that's what makes us human. lemonis: and that is the one thing that i think makes small business in america so special. and i want to thank you for being so open and transparent about that. brett: absolutely. lemonis: is this the full assortment? strud: yeah. this is the h2o, the waterproof line.

so, the difference in these two models, marcus, is this is closed-cell foam, like the foam in your life vest. it's squishy. it's waterproof. lemonis: okay. strud: and this is open-cell foam, like the foam in your couch. it sucks water up like a sponge. lemonis: in order for a company to be successful, it needs to be able to tell its story quickly and cleanly. instead, he's starting to go into all these technical terms, like "closed-cell foam" or "open-cell foam." all i essentially want to know is, how long do things stay cold, how much does it cost, and does it do what i need it to do? i'll be honest with you. the construction of it and the details -- the quality looks good. as i look at all the coolers, it was a bit overwhelming. ♪ wow. so, what are these? strud: 6-packs. lemonis: how do you know? strud: because i can look at this and tell there's too many 6-packs here. lemonis: when i walk around this warehouse, it looks...chaotic, it looks disorganized. there's no rhyme or reason to where things are.

what is all this? strud: this is the return bin. lemonis: it doesn't look right. what i thought i would see, to be honest, is i thought it would see some sort of racking. strud: i mean, i can walk in here and get a visual of where everything is. lemonis: so how many 48 blacks are out here right now? strud: um...well, let's go look at them. lemonis: no, no. you said you could do it from here. strud: well, i need to look at them. i need to look. you'll see where they are. lemonis: in order to improve the profitability of the business, understanding your inventory, managing it properly, knowing what you have at the right time at the right price is quintessential to maximizing your margin. what's here? geoff: 7,000 coolers. lemonis: what are the top skus you sell? geoff: the 12-pack black. lemonis: how many do you have in stock right now? strud: honestly, i do not know how many black 12-packs we have in stock right now. lemonis: how many do you have? geoff: zero. lemonis: you don't think that's a thing you should know? how many 12-pack black coolers do you have in stock today? strud: oh, christ, come on marcus. not right now, man. lemonis: here's the funding. here you go. here's some money.

essentially, they've piled up a bunch of cash in their warehouse in different areas and don't know what they have. and anytime a company does this, it essentially puts themselves out of business, and they don't even realize it. this inventory that's sitting around needs to be, first, organized, and second, if there's too much of something, it needs to be liquidated. if there's too little of something, it needs to be ordered. you think your [bleep] looks together? strud: for my knowledge, i know what's here. lemonis: okay. so, i want to hear from your sister. brett: you were doing just fine, just fine. everything was going great. you were making lots of money. but then somebody quit manning the store and quit coming up with fresh ideas. you didn't do any marketing. you didn't do any advertising. you didn't do any social media. the social media presence didn't exist. strud: could i say something? brett: no. that's the first time i've ever seen him be quiet. the times changed, and polar bear didn't change with the times. strud: let me please say, this is the part of the show where i realized brett nash is smarter than i realized she was,

because she's exactly right. we didn't change with the times. that's what happened. lemonis: i don't want you to get mad at me when i say this. strud: i'm not gonna ever get mad at you. lemonis: but one of the reasons that i wanted brett here tonight is because i think everybody in america feels like you sucked all of the air out of the room and took it away from your sister. strud: no. i love my sister. it's nothing but pure fun for me to do something like this with her. that's right. i love you and -- lemonis: excuse me, strud. we just got through telling you that people don't want to hear from you. they want to hear from your sister. brett: right. strud: shh! brett: you're welcome, strud. strud: shh! brett: keep going. strud: go, brett, go. brett: this ought to be great. lemonis: love it. strud, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate the way you treat people? strud: 7. geoff: in the beginnibeginning, it was much nicer. things got a little more intense as we were growing.

2009, we had a meeting, and he proceeds to go on the board and drew a line, like, "this is what everybody makes. this is how much geoff makes. this is how much," you know... lemonis: in front of everybody? geoff: in front of everybody. and that meeting is where you said, "no. i'm up here. you're down here." lemonis: i believe that every bone in your body is good. i truly do believe that. what business owners across america can be unaware of is when things are going bad, they want to control everything. and the people around you want to contribute, and when you take that ability for them to contribute, you end up making people not want to work with you. were you hurt by it? geoff: absolutely. and he cut my pay 'cause he thought i was making too much money. lemonis: how much did he cut your pay by? geoff: 10 grand. lemonis: and how many years did that last? geoff: well, we got to a different arrangement about six months later. but the damage was already done in my life, so... strud: hold on. how was damage done to your life? geoff: personal stuff. strud: okay. personal stuff. geoff: when your house is worth nothing and your pay is cut by 10 grand,

it changes your life. lemonis: i don't know how you actually fix this business without totally revamping the way strud thinks. and i'm not sure it's possible. ♪ did you learn through this journey with me that your decisions affect other people more than you thought they did? strud: yes, and, of course, i love brett. and i love geoff and i love hayden, too. i really like these guys, and when things start getting more difficult for everybody, these kind of things start getting called out more. and that's difficult. and that's when you, i guess, as a person need to be able to see beyond that and be stronger than that. maybe i have a blind spot, guys. maybe there's an area of strud that just doesn't get things, and maybe that'll never change. brett: no, you get it. you got to listen! you got to listen!

that's the problem! sit back and listen! strud: okay, go. lemonis: i am willing to set up a line of credit for the business. but i want 25% equity for doing it. were you surprised at my offer? strud: i thought marcus, honestly, i would be afraid for you to invest in this company. gthat liberty mutualse customizes your insurance, i just love hitting the open road and telling people so you only pay for what you need! [squawks]

only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ it's the simple joy of washing your hands,. without ever touching a faucet. it's the little things that matter. that's why we create moments to feel kohler clean, every day. ♪ there are times when our need to connect really matters. to keep customers and employees in the know. to keep business moving. comcast business is prepared for times like these. powered by the nation's largest gig-speed network. to help give you the speed, reliability, and security you need. tools to manage your business from any device, anywhere. and a team of experts - here for you 24/7. we've always believed in the power of working together. that's why, when every connection counts... you can count on us. that liberty mutual customizes your insurance, i just love hitting the open road and telling people so you only pay for what you need! [squawks]

only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ we are running our covid-19 technology response on teams. teams has given us the possibility to continue to innovate. i can bring them in, i can actually share my screen and show the x rays. we can do that in a visit like this. we're living on teams. it's as simple as that. ibut you're not alone. apart for a bit, we're automatically refunding our customers a portion of their personal auto premiums. learn more at libertymutual.com/covid-19. [ piano playing ]

and your pay is cut by 10 grand, it changes your life. strud: i wish we had talked about it more. geoff: you never would listen. lemonis: when you own a business, you have to read people's minds, and you have to think about their feelings more than your own. let's go to last year. 2018, company generated $2.6 million in revenue. the company lost $35,000. strud: well, hold on. lost $35,000? lemonis: did you know that? no, no, don't point at him. strud: i never know my numbers on the fly. lemonis: brett, has he changed at all in that regard? brett: no. lemonis: so what are the two numbers that you would use to figure out gross profit percentage? strud: we have two -- i can't see it. i don't have my glasses. what is it? [ laughter ] lemonis: they're a little dirty. strud: hey, they work. lemonis: do they help? strud: yeah, man, they do. almost good. so i'm putting the 2.6.

geoff: don't put a period, though. strud: okay. geoff: yeah, the point doesn't -- yeah, don't add the point. strud: i'm sorry. what number are we typing in? 1-4-4-8-2-9-8? brett: you've got a 2 on there. you need to take that 2 off. strud: okay. brett: 2.6. strud: 2, 6. brett: 7, 8. strud: 7, 8. brett: 7, 8, 9. strud: 7, 8, 9. lemonis: when we sat down to negotiate, how long do you think we were in there? strud: a long time. brett: a couple of days. lemonis: it was the longest negotiation in the history of our show. we were there for 3 1/2 hours. should he know them better than this? brett: absolutely. strud: but i do know them better, but i'm very -- i'm dyslexic. i have to really look at something and focus, okay? and i don't know if i'm dyslexic or not. i'm just telling you what happens to me when i look at them, so i'm trying -- lemonis: what is dyslexia? strud: i don't even know. i think it has trouble --

lemonis: but you labeled yourself. strud: what i want to communicate to you, marcus, is i have trouble visualizing things. brett: issues. strud: i have trouble visualizing things and registering them visually. it takes me a minute to process it, okay. lemonis: but do you know what dyslexia is? strud: no, it's a disease of the -- no, i don't know. tell me. lemonis: but you labeled yourself with it. strud: well, i'm trying to communicate to you that i have an issue. lemonis: do you have meningitis? strud: no. lemonis: do you know what it is? strud: no. lemonis: okay, how do you know you don't have it? strud: because someone would have told me by now. lemonis: okay. 2017, the company did $3.2 million in revenue and made $16,000. lemonis: 2016. $3.5 million in revenue. made 88 grand. so from '16 to '17 to '18, it's drop, drop, drop, drop. strud: okay, so -- lemonis: why? and you can't blame anybody. strud: okay. um... lemonis: it's really -- i'm telling you, this is gonna determine whether i move forward. if you answer wrong, i'm leaving.

♪ strud: it's 100% bad decisions made on my part, marcus. lemonis: that's it. that's the answer. the fact that strud was able to answer the question correctly showed me that he is aware of his own liability, which gives me a little bit of hope. can we look at the balance sheet real quick? just look at the current one. $422,000 in assets. on the liability side, $124,000 in payables. so the business is relatively clean. so, normally, i would write a check. my worry is how he would actually manage the money. i almost need to keep him... on a tight leash. this business only needs, financially, the ability to ramp up its inventory as sales ramp up. here's what i'm willing to do. you know, it's funny, 'cause normally people have this idea in their mind of what they can expect when we sit down to negotiate.

what did you think was gonna happen when we sat down to negotiate? be honest. strud: i thought, "this is a little early for a negotiation." you don't know me. you don't know the company. and i'd watched the show many times. i didn't understand that it happened the first day, but it makes sense. lemonis: i willing to set up a line of credit for the business. if the goal is to get back to $3 million... strud: yes. lemonis: you'll need a $540,000 line of credit. you earn into the line of credit as the sales grow. i'm gonna provide them with a revolving line of credit that allows them to borrow money from the line, build inventory up, and as the inventory sells back down, take the profits from that and pay down the line. over and over again, they'll continue to pull on the line and pay it back, pull on the line and pay it back. and retained earnings over time will replace the need for the revolver. i'll have the interest rate be 5%. strud: that's good. lemonis: but i want 25% equity for doing it. ♪ were you surprised at my offer, the way i structured the deal?

strud: no, i thought it was exactly what would have worked here in a perfect scenario at that time. what you did do is you gave me an opportunity to earn your trust, to put our product in the stores. you put money up front. you gave me spread. lemonis: strud, what's going on with business? strud: oh, man, marcus. god, man. there's a whole nother show to do on this thing, man. it's flatlining. marcus, honestly, i would be afraid for you to invest in this company right now, marcus, because i don't know if i have the answers to get out of this, okay? right now, this company is, as you say, insolvent. but i would need more help than just money. marcus, i am so appreciative that you've come here, and i would be honored to be a partner with you. lemonis: okay. let's rock and roll. hayden: yeah! strud: totally worn out, man. you wore me down, man. lemonis: i don't think that's possible. strud: you wore me down, brother. i mean, not all the way, but...

geoff: how are you? lemonis: what's happening? geoff: just living it. lemonis: what's up, my man? strud: hey! lemonis: so, what is all this? strud: this is direct sales to consumer online, okay? lemonis: look, we've commissioned to start a new website, but the one thing that we need more than anything is the historical data from the old website -- who bought what and when and why -- so we understand exactly how and when it dropped off. in 2016, the online business was 60% of your business. 18% amazon, 42% website. then it went to 38% website, down 4%. and the amazon went down 3%. hayden: you know what happened that year? that's the year that i no longer started handling the website. strud: if that was the case, you should have come to me, go, "hold on, man. we're losing our asses here because you guys don't have me at the helm." hayden: we've had that conversation. strud: i don't think we have enough. you should have been fighting for that with me. hayden: i did. lemonis: as far as i'm concerned, strud either stops the blame game or i'm out of here. strud: if i saw hayden turn sales around ever once... hayden: ever once? strud: no, i mean -- yeah, no. we don't know. hayden: why do you pay me?

♪ strud: polar bear coolers. keep it cool. [bleep] i can pay the same amount for someone to do it the first time right. lemonis: you are gonna be defined as a leader in how you handle things when they're not going well. strud: i feel like i do that. lemonis: well, ask your sister if she agrees. strud: i know she doesn't. lemonis: so that's two of us that don't agree. if you're looking to take your business to the next level, log on to...

another work from home day in the books. time for a [whistle] charlie, cocktail? bobby? mimi? rodrigo, marchello? professor smith, would you care to join me for a cocktail in the lounge? uncle cliff, look at you. maurice have you met kendall? kendall have you met maurice? elanor, back from paris i see. miss livingston, care to set the mood? well, i believe we're in good company. let's drink to that. ♪

we're committed to serving, our communities by doing what we do best. serving you and making one great steak. that's why we have curbside takeaway and delivery on outback.com because at outback steakhouse, we're here to serve you. and geico loves helping riders get to where they're going, so to help even more, geico is giving new and current customers a fifteen percent credit on their motorcycle policies with the geico giveback. and because we're committed for the long haul, the credit lasts your full policy term. the geico giveback. helping riders focus on the road ahead. the geico giveback. it's the simple joy of washing your hands,. without ever touching a faucet. it's the little things that matter. that's why we create moments to feel kohler clean, every day. ♪

hayden: why are you paying me if i never made you money? strud: well, because i've had a lot of belief that you would. but you also have to show me how that's happening. you need to put it on paper for me and go, "here's what i did." hayden: we did that. that's why my pay went up. strud: either i made a huge mistake or you made a huge mistake by not making that clear to me. lemonis: you are gonna be defined as a leader in how you handle things when they're not going well more than you are when they are going well. strud: i feel like i do that. when things are getting tough, you've got to get tough

and you've got to get down there. and you've got to make things work. when you're in the foxhole and it's coming down hard, you've got to have people who are right there. and that's a tough job. lemonis: well, ask your sister if she agrees. strud: i know she doesn't, but hold on. lemonis: so that's two of us that don't agree. in communicating with a very creative, eccentric-type person, you have to curate your message in a way that they could understand it. if you don't feel like you're getting it across one way, you got to try a different way. he's never going to adjust his digesting information for you. you're gonna have to adjust your communicating to fit him. strud: thank you. lemonis: don't be all cocky about it. strud: i'm not. lemonis: one of the things that i loved about going into different businesses isn't what i'm going to teach, it's what i'm gonna learn. i feel like the more interesting people i can meet, the more i can assess other situations better. and the gift that you gave me through this entire process is the uniqueness of who you are forced me

to realize that i have to accept everybody for who they are. ultimately, we want to organize our assets. we want to know what our top sellers are. we want to get rid of all the skus that you have way too much of and get our cash out of them. polar bear is in real need of working capital, and the only way to really do that is to take this dead inventory -- all of it -- and turn it into cash. we're gonna create a giant pile in the middle of everything that we don't want to carry anymore. hayden: okay. strud: oh, man. lemonis: let's just get to work. the goal is for this business to reboot itself by going back to the core products. anything that looks like it's been sitting awhile, i want them to shed themselves of that, get that cash, and reinvest in the core product. strud: that's an interesting move, to come in and start moving stuff out the door like that. hayden: what you're looking at right here is 6-pack navy blue. lemonis: how many do we have? how many have we sold? hayden: right now, we have 289. this time period last year, we sold 95. lemonis: the amount of inventory that a company should have

should be based on historical sales factored in with how long it takes to replenish that inventory. so if i can get product in 30 days, then i only need a 30-day supply. if it takes me four months to get the product from china, then i need a 120-day supply. when we were going through that warehouse, we had a couple good arguments that actually didn't make the show. take a look at this clip. what have you learned about your people today? strud: today what i've learned about my people, okay. that they will do whatever you ask them to do. lemonis: what's the difference between me getting them to do it and you getting them to do it? strud: i don't know. i'm still identifying that. you want them to take initiative, man. you got to pay for initiative, marcus. lemonis: you're starting to piss me off. strud: okay, i'm sorry. lemonis: and the reason you are is because people are here trying to do good for your business. strud: okay. yeah. i can see that. lemonis: yeah, so let's just take it the [bleep] down a little bit. strud: one of the things i loved that you said is,

"strud, i want you to argue with me. i want you to tell me your side. i want to battle this with you." i love that in people. lemonis: i love it when people disagree with me because i want them to have conviction. and when i'm in business with people, i surround myself with people that usually think completely different than me. [ guitar music plays ] strud: there you go. brett: uh-oh. [ laughs ] strud: ♪ oh-la-la-la-la-la lemonis: okay, i need some cooler stuff. how much fun was miami beach? brett: so much fun, but how silly did i look on the beach in my executive wear? strud: you looked better than me, that's for sure. lemonis: so, i want to take the products and get some feedback from people. strud: great idea. lemonis: strud struggles with the ability to tell his story, why people should even have the product. the best way to perfect that skill is to do it one-on-one face-to-face with somebody. strud: i honestly -- i sucked at that. brett: it was so bad. strud: this is closed-cell foam. that's open-cell foam. this is the foam like in your life vest.

this is like the foam in your couch. the difference in this and this is this is a closed-cell foam, this is open-cell foam. lemonis: keep it simple. here's the cooler. what's it gonna do for me? what is the most popular thing here? hayden: that 12-pack silver sells more skus that anything else. lemonis: so would you say that this is an insulation sensation? hayden: ooh! strud: yes. yes, i would. i like that! lemonis: if you keep saying that, "insulation sensation," you'll never say the word "foam" again. strud: you're so right. lemonis: say "foam sensation." strud: i can't do it. lemonis: just try it. strud: [ speaks gibberish ] you just can't even do it. it's got to be "insulation." lemonis: so, let's go test the insulation sensation. strud: i love it! lemonis: okay. ♪ strud: ohh! the water's calling, marcus. ♪ brett: you lost him. you had him. you lost him. lemonis: what prompted you to just take your clothes off and jump in the ocean? strud: the ocean. i was gonna swim to cuba. man, i was gone. i was out of there. brett: keep the clothes on. strud: it didn't look good on film, man,

i'll tell you that right now. but i would do it again. lemonis: so, here's what i want you guys to do -- short videos. but i want to see the product in action. i want to see the insulation. i want to see the flotation. i want to see the duration. be yourself. strud: okay. hayden: filming right now. strud: come on! bring it! 48-hour duration insulation. polar bear coolers -- keep it cool. [bleep] do it again. hayden: that was perfect, actually. strud: no, it's not right. i could pay the same amount for someone to do it the first time right. lemonis: suddenly, things take a bizarre turn. strud: when the pay gets cut for business reasons, we can talk about that, but if you bring that on me, i'm going to respond to that. lemonis: this little discussion around a social media post starts dredging up all the things from the past. now the train's off the tracks big-time. hayden: cut my pay 40% overnight. strud: hold on. we need to know the details to have this conversion. hayden: i know the details. strud: you chose to not continue to work with me every day to grow it.

hold on. hold on, hold on, hold on! we had a serious conflict on things that i needed you to work with me on to grow the company. strud: now we have an issue... maybe i haven't been as appreciative or making people feel appreciated, but i'm in here trying to make it better for everybody. brett: do you think that you are the only reason polar bear is going right now? i'm just asking you to take a look around, maybe, and see that there are other people involved that have all this burden on them financially as well as you do. strud: i understand that. so i'm the leader of this thing. if i can get through it, they're gonna get through it with me. lemonis: see, that's the problem. you have full control of it. and so everybody that works here feels under-appreciated. brett: did you hear what marcus said to you? get our of your own damn way, strud. strud: now we have an issue the best entertainment experience.s xfinity x1. it started with a few fifty dollars here. eighty dollars.

a hundred dollars. i had good health insurance. why isn't this covered? well, then they started getting bigger. eight-hundred dollars. eighteen hundred dollars. i saved for this. but not that much. i'm glad i had aflac. they gave me money when i needed it most. that's why aflac is here, to help with the expenses health insurance doesn't cover. i love that aflac duck. aflac! get to know us at aflac.com no uh uh, no way come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card. it's the simple joy of washing your hands,. without ever touching a faucet. it's the little things that matter. that's why we create moments to feel kohler clean, every day. ♪ that's why working together ist more important than ever.

at&t is committed to keeping you connected. so you can keep your patients cared for. your customers served. your students inspired. and your employees closer than ever. our network is resilient. our people are strong. our job is to keep your business connected . it's what we've always done. it's what we'll always do. and wells fargo employees are finding ways to do our part. need help like never before by helping people stay in their homes, through mortgage payment relief efforts. helping local businesses in their vital role in the american economy. and helping hundreds of local organizations provide food and other critical needs... when you need us, wells fargo is here to help.

of something we have to figure out still. okay? then you blew up. hayden: do you want to understand why i made that decision? strud: not yet. lemonis: just 'cause i feel like this isn't gonna go anywhere good... hayden: it's not. lemonis: ...maybe you and i can go talk. strud: let me grab a shirt, if you don't mind. lemonis: i don't know who started it with who or how it all exploded, but all of a sudden, we're dredging up all these things from the past in the middle of south beach. what gets you so amped up? strud: there's so much that has to be done in such little time.

i don't really have time to explain every part. lemonis: once and for all, let's close that loop. how about if you don't ever bring up the past again and you say to him, "you know what? do you think it would be a good idea if we figured out how to kick ass going forward?" strud: absolutely! he's gonna say yes. i can ask him. lemonis: go ask him. strud: come here, hayden. hayden: what's up, buddy? strud: get in here, man! hayden: let me on in. strud: [ laughs ] hey. do you think it would be a good idea if you and i just bury the hatchet and move forward and make this company rock? hayden: absolutely. you know it. strud: let's do it, man. hayden: i'm on it. lemonis: did you resolve things with him in that moment, or did you feel like they were still unresolved? strud: well, no, no, no, they were not resolved. this was thrown together so fast, and now, i meant what i've said. i am a person who wants to resolve things. you know, hayden's a great person to hang out with. i love hayden, but there is a little offset. like, i'm a musician, and he's an engineer. lemonis: the problem is, because you're a control freak, other people don't feel valued. strud: you know, i understand and i will do some soul searching on that, marcus.

brett: do you hear what he's said, though? did you hear what marcus said to you? when you are working on something, the way that you go about it smothers the other people that are trying to help you rise up. get out of your own damn way, strud. ♪ ♪ lemonis: the warehouse looks exactly the same. brett, when i came back to the warehouse, did you warn him that things weren't done? brett: i didn't know that, that the shelving and stuff hadn't been completed. lemonis: strud, what did you think? i mean, you obviously saw the disappointment on my face. strud: i didn't think you were really disappointed. like, i mean, if you were that disappointed over that -- lemonis: watch my face in this scene, and you tell me what you see. it kind of all looks the same. strud: are you frustrated?

lemonis: i'm more disappointed. strud: are you? that the shelves wouldn't have already been in here? lemonis: no. it just doesn't feel any different in here. the job board's not up. strud: no, it is. it's around the corner. geoff thought it would be better because that's where it's all read from, over there. lemonis: yeah. i'm starting to get annoyed by the fact that he's not listening to me. and we can have this debate all day long and all night long, and no matter how many excuses you give me, you're not gonna change my mind. you don't see disappointment? strud: well, i do see disappointment, but i didn't know if we were just putting that on a little heavy for the show, honestly. that's maybe what i thought. brett: [ laughs ] lemonis: what has everybody here been doing? just hanging out? strud: no. geoff handles the things he handles. hayden handles the things he -- lemonis: describe those for me. strud: hayden answers the phones and does customer service, oversees amazon and the facebook and social media. lemonis: so the advertising? strud: no. social media. hayden: every bit of advertising has to be generathere. lemonis: but, see, that's the problem.

you have full control of it. and so everybody that works here feels under-appreciated. and it isn't just about their pay. it's important as a business owner that you surround yourself with really solid people that add a level of credibility that sometimes you can't. and a lot of times, business owners and leaders surround themselves with people that are weaker than them because it makes them feel better about themselves, when, in fact, it actually makes them a worse businessperson. so the number-one lesson tonight is surround yourself with better people than yourself. it'll make your business stronger. strud: i agree with you 100%, marcus. go, team polar bear! yeah, all right. all right, keep it cool. lemonis: with the passion and the brains and the creativity, you're priceless. strud: hey, hey, hey, man. lemonis: but you need to get out of the business of managing people.

it's the simple joy of aswashing your hands,. without ever touching a faucet. it's the little things that matter. that's why we create moments to feel kohler clean, every day. ♪ no uh uh, no way come on, no no n-n-n-no-no only discover has no annual fee on any card.

they're going to be paying for this for a long time. they will, but with accident forgiveness allstate won't raise your rates just because of an accident, even if it's your fault. cut! sonny. was that good? line! the desert never lies. isn't that what i said? no you were talking about allstate and insurance. i just... when i... let's try again. everybody back to one. accident forgiveness from allstate. click or call for a quote today. accident forgiveness from allstate. hey allergy muddlers... achoo! ...do your sneezes turn heads?

♪ try zyrtec... ...zyrtec starts working hard at hour one... and works twice as hard when you take it again the next day. zyrtec muddle no more. and try children's zyrtec for consistently powerful relief of your kid's allergies. there are times when our need to connect really matters. to keep customers and employees in the know. to keep business moving. comcast business is prepared for times like these. powered by the nation's largest gig-speed network. to help give you the speed, reliability, and security you need. tools to manage your business from any device, anywhere. and a team of experts - here for you 24/7. we've always believed in the power of working together. that's why, when every connection counts... you can count on us. we are running our covid-19 technology response on teams.

teams has given us the possibility to continue to innovate. i can bring them in, i can actually share my screen and show the x rays. we can do that in a visit like this. we're living on teams. it's as simple as that. what is the most important kind of capital in a business? strud: the most important kind of capital. remind me again, capital. what is capital? lemonis: so capital could be money. that's financial capital. what other types of capital are there? strud: i don't know. oh, i want -- sometimes i have to really digest things, marcus. lemonis: okay, we'll come back to it. how about we come back to it? strud: let me say something. hayden, you're important to me. i mean, in the beginning, we had so much fun, man.

i just hit it off with you, and i was like, man, there was something there, you know? it felt like you were my brother, you know? brett -- she understands me in ways that no one else ever will. it's just nice to have. geoff has been there, man. it's important to me that you've stuck through. i'm so proud of you and us. geoff: mm-hmm. thank you. ♪ lemonis: ta-da! you know what, bud? it's these kind of discussions that reinforce for people why they stick with you -- appreciation. strud: [ sighing ] yeah. capital, capital. lemonis: you want a hint? strud: i don't know if i do want a hint. lemonis: well, if i don't give you a hint, are we gonna be here three hours? strud: humans. lemonis: say it with me. make a sentence. strud: humans are the most important capital to any business. lemonis: thank you. somebody like you

with the passion and the brains and the creativity, you're priceless. where's the racking? hayden: racking is being installed on wednesday. we're doing 4-feet-deep racks, but in the middle, you double them up so we can put our biggest skus so we can access from both sides and push through. lemonis: it's only 11 grand. hayden: isn't that amazing? lemonis: okay, great. brett: yay! strud: yay! brett: progress! lemonis: now that strud is finally appreciating his staff, things are falling in place. the warehouse racking's being put in. [ indistinct talking ] the inventory is finally being organized. how does the warehouse look today? strud: it looks awesome because we do have the shelves, and a lot of the shelves are not necessary, i admit. but they are nice. it is organized. when you walk in here, you feel like, you know, okay, everything's in its place. we've sold all the coolers, marcus. we sold them all in nine days. lemonis: all of them? strud: all of them. hayden and geoff killed it. lemonis: i am totally blown away by what they were able to accomplish. ♪

geoff: okay. ready? lemonis: a few weeks ago, strud and i were down in miami and i tried to just give him a chance to see how his sales ability would be. he didn't do well in miami, so i'm gonna give him one more shot. strud: so, let's open her up, let's get some coolers out. get in here now! come on! team polar bear. one, two, three. go, team polar bear! other than the heat, that was the funnest day. and when you said, "strud, what if all the people in this stadium had a polar bear cooler?" man, i was like, "marcus, you just don't even know." hey, hey, hey, man. you guys go the tailgate going. you got some food, got some drinking. you ever want to keep your drinks cold all day long? man: yes. strud: you ever want to be hands-free with your cooler on your back? lemonis: what's up, guys? how are you? strud: will you guys check this out, polar bear coolers? alright? alright, keep it cool. man: yeah, absolutely. [ people cheering ] lemonis: do you think these people want to hear you sing?

strud: ♪ are you ready for a cool nation? ♪ ♪ with a brand that's rocking the nation ♪ ♪ guaranteed to make you smile ♪ gonna have to keep it cool for a while ♪ brett: alrighty! strud: yeah, alright. lemonis: strud wasn't doing anything other than what i wanted him to be doing, which was letting his big, bright personality shine. strud: hike! whoo! lemonis: so when all this stuff went up on the shelves, what did you notice you were out of? strud: we're going to need a lot of orange and blue coolers. [ laughter ] you started shaking your head before i could get it out of my mouth. whoever edited that, man, they killed it. lemonis: now that i've seen them with customers and their pitch -- a lot more refined -- i want to understand how much inventory they have, what day supplies they have, what they want to order, and how much it's going to be. tell everybody what happened at camping world when you went to see the buyers. strud: i told marcus, "look, i'm going up to minnesota. you said that i could meet these guys. i'm going up there to meet them." a deal got put together -- marcus would buy product for camping world.

this is the camping world model right here. this is the only one of its kind that's here. you're the only one who's going to have them. lemonis: i want you to know that i was very proud of how they felt about your product knowledge and what you were bringing to the table. it reaffirmed what i think your pivot is. what would you need? geoff cole: 75. lemonis: great. do you buy off on that? strud: yeah, i do. lemonis: let me make an offer to you right now. i should buy polar bear from you. for exclusives, extras, and business advice, visit... lemonis: i want you to know that i was very proud. [anthony] hey mama, what's up? [mama] i'm confused. confused about what, everything ok? yeah, i only see one price on my phone bill. that doesn't sound confusing mama. you're on t-mobile, taxes and fees are included.

oh come on, there's always extra fees! not on t-mobile mama. why can't all my bills be like this? i don't know mama. bye mama, love you. anthony? umph! at t-mobile, taxes and fees are included. and right now, when you switch your family, get 4 lines of unlimited for just $35 a line. businesses are closing. living rooms are now offices and schools. our world is suddenly different. but one thing stays the same. sate farm is there. to any of our customers currently facing financial burdens, call your state farm agent because we're here to help make this "new" normal, feel just a little more... normal. like a good neighbor, state farm is there.®

it reaffirmed what i think your pivot is. you need to create products, you need to come up with ideas, and you need to get out of the business of owning and managing people. strud: yes. yes. please, yes. i agree. ♪ lemonis: how much total inventory do we have right now? geoff cole: about 5,000 coolers. strud: lowest we've ever had. lemonis: cleanest you've ever been. strud: cleanest we've ever been. yes. lemonis: how much dollar inventory do you have right now? geoff cole: about $140,000. lemonis: and where should it be in your mind? geoff cole: i think it should be about twice that. almost $300,000. lemonis: okay, so then what would you need? geoff cole: 75. lemonis: great. do you buy off on that? strud: yeah, i do. lemonis: do you trust him?

strud: i do, absolutely. yeah. lemonis: okay. ♪ [ laughter ] strud: thank you, marcus. lemonis: okay? now, i want to just tell you this. normally, i give this check much earlier, but i wasn't initially confident that you would get out of your own way. and the thing that was scaring me the most was your previous lack of appreciation for people. and i think that you've demonstrated to all of them that you care about them, you care about the business, that you understand that having everything be right makes the business move much better. strud: yeah. thank you again, marcus. lemonis: there you go, brother. strud: thank you. i appreciate your help, marcus. thank you. lemonis: we can refine the product, and we can fix the process. but what ultimately determines the success of a business going forward, is if the people have a different perspective than the day i met them.

let me make an offer to you right now. strud: okay. lemonis: i think this is the moment in time where you should pivot your career. how much inventory do you have now? strud: roughly $300,000 in coolers and roughly 10,000 coolers. lemonis: the deal that you and i should make is that i should buy polar bear from you. and i'd like to pay you a royalty in perpetuity for every polar bear cooler that is sold so that you can still see polar bear succeed until infinity. strud: love that. love it, love it, man. lemonis: so i buy the inventory for $300,000, and you take that cash, and you clear up your vendors. and then going forward, i pay you a 2% royalty on everything that i sell. and you just get mailbox money. in exchange for that royalty, you have to continue to help with the product development, continue to invent new ideas,

and be able to live the life you want to live. strud: that's -- you're right, marcus. i'm with you on that. i mean, if i could just get the pressure off -- we're so close, marcus. we're so close. lemonis: so, do you need a minute to think about it? strud: i'm a zombie. i'd rather work on the relationship with stephanie and my children than have to fight with the website issue and try to manage people and -- lemonis: brett, i'm sorry, did he say yes or no? brett: i think that's a big fat yes. yeah. this is a dream come true. you have made it, bro. you did it. strud: i feel very proud after hearing my sister say what she just said. i really feel very proud, and i feel like there's future. i feel like there's hope. i feel relief. lemonis: congratulations. strud: thank you. lemonis: that's a wrap. good night, guys. i love you. brett: good night. love you. thanks for everything. ♪

and i'm natalie morales. and this is "dateline." i walk in, and my sister's not there. her door is open. her lights are on. her bed's undone. everything was horrible, and i felt it. craig melvin (voiceover): she'd been fearless on the front lines in iraq. pretty amazing. i saw her as a really strong soldier. craig melvin (voiceover): but something had her terrified at home. craig melvin (voiceover): a desperate call to police, and then she vanished. something made her pretty scared. yes. josh mankiewicz: there's nothing to say what that was.