Mark Cuban joins Cup-a-Bug founder for engineering

Mark Cuban and Justin Huang have a mutual love of education and a mutual hatred of killing bugs.

The two hit it off on Friday's episode of ABC's “Shark Tank,” where Huang pitched his product. cup-a-bug, to the program's investment judges. Huang's handheld device allows you to catch insects without killing them, similar to using a cup and a piece of paper, from a distance.

Huang, a self-proclaimed “insect sympathizer,” created the contraption for one simple reason: “I'm simply terrified of insects, even since [childhood]. As I got older, I started to feel bad for crushing them,” she said during the episode.

The 35-year-old asked investors for $50,000 in exchange for 10% of his Irvine, California-based business. “We've made it more convenient to detect a bug than to kill it. There is… there is…” he said, pausing frequently during his speech. “Using it is simple. Just place the cup over the bug and pull the handle back… I'm so nervous, I'm so nervous.”

Investors encouraged him to take a minute to collect his thoughts and move on, as Cuban shouted, “You're okay!”

“It's okay. Breathe and then think about it again,” Lori Greiner chimed in.

Huang finished strong, telling investors he launched the business after raising $28,000 in Kick starter in March 2022. The contraption sells for $40, including shipping, and had its first production run in June 2023, generating $48,000 at the time of filming, he said.

He also experienced some virality on TikTok, with approximately 107,000 followers and 10.6 million likes on the platform, as of Monday.

Cup-a-Bug is not Huang's first entrepreneurial endeavor. The mechanical engineer and UC Irvine graduate previously founded a company that made board game accessories, desk organizers and plant pots. It was called Solid Factory, according to Huang's LinkedIn Profile.

Even while working at that company, he attempted to expand his engineering repertoire. “Every night he continued studying engineering through online courses,” she said, adding: “[I’ve made] “Basically, anything that falls under the nerd umbrella.”

“My hero,” Cuban responded, praising Huang's effort to continue learning in his free time.

Cuban is a fan of lifelong learning, as a concept. He also identified with Huang in another way: They respond similarly to insects.

One in four Americans shares a similar fear, according to a 2016 Chapman University study. American Fears Pollwhich found that people in the US are more afraid of insects than they are of unemployment, financial fraud or getting seriously ill.

Cuban made Huang an investment offer: $50,000 for 20% of Cup-a-Bug, citing the engineer's passion for learning and the neatness of the invention. “I'll do the same thing,” said investor Daymond John.

Cuban quickly increased his offer to $75,000. “I want you for myself,” he told Huang. “From geek to geek.”

Huang accepted the offer. “We're going to have a lot of fun,” Cuban said. “I'll throw projects at you left and right. Every time you have an idea, you can run it with me. Code, hardware, fun stuff.”

The effects of the partnership are already evident, Huang told CNBC Make It on Monday via email. “I was thinking maybe I would sell 100 Cup-a-Bugs… it turned out to be a lot more than that,” he wrote. “[I] I didn't expect all the orders and kind messages from so many 'Shark Tank' fans. And luckily, my friends volunteered to help fulfill the orders.”

He added: “I am still in the early stages of finalizing the investment agreement, but I can say [Cuban has] a great team. “I know I can learn a lot from them and hopefully contribute to their success as well.”

Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive non-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”

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