Tselikis - Cousins Maine Lobster

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To Enzo

Youre my biggest and best accomplishment.

I will always be here to guide and support you. Dream big, the world is yours, anything is possible. I love you.

SL

To Maggie

For supporting me with endless love, laughter, and loyalty. Thank you for reminding me to always be silly and enjoy life, and for allowing me the opportunity to chase my number one goal, each and every day, of making you the happiest woman alive. To a life full of health, smiles and love.

JT

To our parents: Jeannie Lomac, Julie and Steve Tselikis we love you and thank you for your love, support, and consistent reassurance that we can accomplish anything we want in life. You have always taught us to follow our dreams, to be good people, to support our family, have fun, and smile. We are forever grateful for your love and for putting up with us!

To our grandparents: Mina and Joe Lomac, Mary and John Lomac, Julia Tselikis: Words could never describe our love and bond with each of you. You created the values that we have todaythe values we built a business around and the values we carry with our friends and family. Our hearts will always be filled with the sweetest and purist memories of us together.

Erika Hartounian and Maggie Tselikis: You are our rocks, through good and bad, high and low. You feel our stress, anxiety, pain, and you take it in stride. You are kind, beautiful, and caring. We love you and thank you for all that you do.

Shaun Higgins: Forever our brother. We are so thankful you are on this ride with us. You bleed Cousins Maine Lobster. Your passion and dedication has allowed us to continue to take huge steps and reach unforeseen gains. Lets get to the top of the hill.

Annie Tselikis: We are beyond thankful for all that you have done and continue to do for us and Cousins Maine Lobster. We are excited for the future and know you and Oliver will always be by our side every step of the way. We love you!

Barbara Corcoran: Your fearless mentality has allowed us to take risks and reach for heights we never knew existed. We are family, forever.

To the entire CML Family: We all are a part of this magical journey. Each of us is writing history. We thank you for all of your dedication, care, passion, and vision.

Yun Linger, Clay Newbill, Sami Aziz, and the Shark Tank family: To say we couldnt have done it without you would be the understatement of our lifetime. Wow! Thank you so much. You literally made our dreams come true.

Jason Allison: Youre a legend, a handsome legend at that. Thank you for years of loyalty, trust, and generosity.

Kat Cole: Your guidance, mentorship, and friendship go beyond words. Thank you so much.

Diane Perez: Extra love for you, always. Lets get that brownstone!

Blake Dvorak and Kirsten Neuhaus: Thank you all for working so hard on this project and making our dream a reality.

Taj Lomac, Tristan Lomac, Orion Melvin, and Sky Melvin: You guys can do anything you want in this world! Work hard, be good men, and have as much fun as possible.

Our team in LA: You are the best in the business. Smart, dedicated, focused, and always willing to go the extra mile. We are lucky to have such a foundation. Thank you.

To our true friends, our brothers, you support us and keep us laughing always, we appreciate you and love you.

We couldnt forget you: The Lomac and Lomac MacNair family, Bobby and Betsy Fino, Steve and Shannon Lacovara, the Higgins family, Morey Highbarger, John Norton and the Cozy family, Jonathan Norton, Shawn McEwen, Vinny and Char Maietta, Pistol and Christine Cloutier, Peggy Stitham, Geoff Hassan, Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Jack Canfield, Nick Loukes, the BCH family, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Los Angeles, Lawrence Pittman, Jacob Marroquin, Pam Dipietro Hale, the HC boys. To everyone who has helped us and supported us along the way, we could never thank you enough. Love to you all!

Barbara, welcome to the family.

With those words, Jim and Sabin embraced me in a great big Maine hug. I wasnt about to complain. When these guys walked into the Tank, I saw what everyone at home would seetwo handsome studs whom I wish I was young enough to date. Alas, I was old enough to be their mother, but I had just agreed to be their new business partner. I didnt know it at the time, but I had made one of the best business deals of my career. Readers are about to learn why I can say that without fear of exaggeration. But let me offer a few thoughts before I let the cousins take over (which they do a lot).

Jim and Sabin dont lack confidence. It emanated from them that day in the Tank and remains one of their primary strengths as businessmen. Confidence is an attractive quality, especially in a young entrepreneur, and I spotted it immediately. So did the other sharks, some of whom could barely contain their laughter when Jim and Sabin valued their one-truck company (yes, just one) at over a million dollars. Thats confidence.

The result was a scene I had witnessed countless times on Shark Tank : a young, idealistic entrepreneur (or two) standing helplessly before the bright studio lights as the sharks gobble up big chunks of their dreams. Most contestants dont handle it very well. Sweating and exhausted, many lose focus and stumble over simple questions and start to fall apart. One by one the sharks bow out.

Jim and Sabin? They never missed a beat. They took the worst the sharks dished out and still had the confidence to negotiate with me over equity. I was impressed.

You dont see that type of composure from two untested, wet-behind-the-ears entrepreneurs. I decided these guys were different. Sure, they were in love with their product, but so are most of the contestants we see on the show. The difference was that Jim and Sabin were in love with their product for all the right reasons. They had a vision for Cousins Maine Lobster that went way beyond more trucks or bigger sales. Their vision was more personal and intimate. For them, Maine wasnt a catchy marketing gimmick. Maine was their home, and that mattered to them more than anything else; it was a gift they wanted to share with the world.

Since joining their family, Ive watched Jim and Sabin grow from a couple of young studs to confident hotshots and mature business partners. Along the way, theyve also become excellent parents to their growing family of franchiseesnow in twenty cities. That one truck has become the flagship of a fleet of sleek black Cousins Maine Lobster trucks that deliver the best lobster rolls anywhere this side of the Gulf of Maineto say nothing of their restaurant or online businesses. That sort of success doesnt just happen.

How does it happen? Ive learned to look for the same characteristics in all my future partners. They must have energy and hustle, work really hard, both physically and mentally, and they need to be fast on their feet. One reason I look for these characteristics today is because of Jim and Sabin. They have grown Cousins Maine Lobster into a hugely successful business precisely because they have a rule that they will never be outworked by anyone else. Although they have turned into ace businessmen, they are still the same hungry, passionate, and incredibly driven guys that I saw walk into the Tank all those years ago.