Duane “Myko” Cheers, Danita Claytor and Jumoke Jackson founded Everything Legendary in 2019 in D.C. to create a healthy food choice for their mothers. Cheers and Claytor teamed up with Jackson, a chef, to create their burger, made of pea protein and other vegan ingredients and seasonings.
They started selling at local pop-ups and street festivals. Since then, their plant-based business has gained traction with a wider audience. “Once we had that, we took it to the streets with pop-up stores and street festival sampling, and let the community taste it for themselves,” co-founder Cheers said.
“We all know that today’s consumers are demanding that their food be nutritious and supercharged with flavor.”
The trio took their business to the “Shark Tank” on ABC. They pitched their plant-based burger on season 12 of the show. “One of the largest vegan restaurants based down in Atlanta, they tried to buy us early on,” Cheers told the show. “But there weren’t any sharks. I don’t want to make deals with stingrays; we came here to do business with the great whites!”
After pitching their business, billionaire Mark Cuban was convinced about their business model and decided to invest $300,000 for 22% of the business. “Amazing, driven, smart entrepreneurs with a great product always make a great investment,” Cuban told the Washington Business Journal. “Duane really impressed me and has continued to impress me since we started working together.”
After striking a deal with Cuban, the trio sold $250,000 worth of burgers online within 24 hours of the episode airing. “This is a vegan, flavorful movement that we’re starting right now. And we’re revolutionizing the entire industry,” Duane “Myko” Cheers, co-founder of Everything Legendary, said.
“I believe that our product is better. You guys heard it on Shark Tank. All five sharks shared that this is the best plant-based burger they’ve ever had.”
The trio launched their business with $17,000 in personal savings and an additional $30,000 in credit, Cheers said. Prior to featuring on Shark Tank, they had made $165,000 in sales.
“Our only challenge now is to market the business more,” he said. “We have capacity to produce 400,000 burgers a day,” Cheers told Washington Business Journal. The company has now evolved to a six-person company and is now focused on global expansion and staffing.
