Amy Leinbach (The Big Bee) and her young daughter Marlo (The Little Bee) invent, develop, and distribute reusable goods designed with both kids and adults in mind. Their business was born through tinkering and brainstorming, built from the ground up with no outside funding. Big Bee Little Bee’s products include the Marker Parker, ScrubBEE and Build-A-Straw.
Before Shark Tank
Amy has always had an entrepreneurial spirit. As a child she ran imaginary businesses in her basement including a restaurant, travel agency, movie theater, school, donut shop, and discount store called Cheap Amy’s. Although her only customers were her parents and brother, she was very attentive to their needs and the imaginary success of her businesses. She even had brochures and video commercials (with the help of very supportive parents).
But Amy’s childhood businesses weren’t all imaginary, she was a real-life voice over actor in popular commercials for huge brands including General Mills (Trix cereal) and Procter & Gamble (Bounty paper towels). Amy was one of the actors who got to say “Silly Rabbit, Trix are for kids!”. She continued doing voice over work as an adult including being the voice of Stella from Nickelodeon’s Winx Club.
Amy also holds advanced degrees in education and taught Special Education at the middle school level. She enjoyed helping a child break through specific challenges they were facing, teaching them problem solving skills, and empowering them to be more independent. Empowering kids remains Amy’s focus with Big Bee Little Bee.
Marlo is a student but actively involved in all parts of the business including inventing new products. She has also done voice over work including the voice of a talking doll for Mattel, a young Bachelorette on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and a little girl in an upcoming feature film.
Big Bee Little Bee Products
The Marker Parker
The Marker Parker is an organizer for coloring markers with tapered, tightly fitting columns that allow your child to remove a marker but leave the cap in the Parker. This means you’re not left chasing down marker caps that have rolled away or throwing away dried out markers. The Marker Parker was invented Marlo when she was just six years old.
The Original ScrubBEE
The Original ScrubBEE is an easy-grip silicone scrubber used to gently clean delicate skin and teach kids about good hygiene. It is 100% FDA Grade Silicone and dishwasher safe. The ScrubBEE comes with a bonus reusable soap saver pouch, perfect for preserving bar soap.
Build-A-Straw
Build-A-Straw is an easy to clean reusable silicone straw which breaks apart into 4 interchangeable pieces. This allows you to create a straw of any length, and makes it easy to clean the inside using the included straw cleaner. Build-A-Straw is made of dishwasher safe food grade silicone and is free of BPA, Phthalates, PVC and lead.
Big Bee Little Bee in the Shark Tank
| Company | Big Bee Little Bee |
| Shark Tank Air Date | 10/21/2022 |
| Season | Season 14 Episode 5 |
| Entrepreneurs | Amy Leinbach and Marlo Leinbach |
| Pitch | $100,000 for 20% equity |
| On-air Deal* | No deal |
| Shark | No deal |
| Website | bigbeelittlebee.com |
Entrepreneurs Amy Leinbach and Marlo Leinbach ventured into the Shark Tank seeking a $100,000 investment in exchange for a 20% equity stake in their business, Big Bee Little Bee. The pitch raised significant financial concerns among the Sharks. Kevin O’Leary underscored the critical issue of the business’s recent inability to generate a net profit, leading him to withdraw from the negotiations. Mark Cuban agreed and followed suit.
The predicament worsened for Big Bee Little Bee as, following these departures, all remaining Sharks opted out of the investment. The business’s financial struggles and perceived lack of a focused, standout product evidently weighed heavily on the Sharks’ decisions. Consequently, Amy and Marlo left the Tank without securing a deal, underscoring the formidable hurdles faced by businesses seeking capital infusion in an environment where profitability and strategic direction are paramount.
Giving Back
Big Bee Little Bee supports nonprofit organizations that help children including Delivering Good and Shelter Partnership. They also work directly with their local foster group home.
Big Bee Little Bee helped bring a new school to some of Uganda’s most vulnerable children through ongoing support of Imani Milele Children.
Big Bee, Little Bee is a proud member of 1% for the Planet, pledging to donate 1% of annual sales to support nonprofit organizations focused on the environment.
