Here's What Went Down With Koko Face Yoga After Shark Tank
When Koko Hayashi was 27, she found herself desperately looking for a solution to a botched cosmetic surgery. After having a chin implant removed, she felt that her face just didn't look the same as it did, and so, in an effort to regain her confidence, she turned to yoga. But maybe not the kind of yoga you're thinking of.
The Japanese-born entrepreneur actually started doing facial yoga, designed to tighten the muscles in the face for a more youthful appearance. "I realized I should have natural solution like Face Yoga," she recalled whiles speaking to Natfluence in 2019. "Since then, I have been practicing face yoga exercises, keeping good face posture and good facial expressions." In 2019, Hayashi appeared at The Yoga Expo Los Angeles, and after gaining a lot of attention, she decided it was time to get serious about her passion and turn it into a big business. "I realized that it is my talent, and started thinking about scaling the business," she said.
And, clearly, that decision paid off. The business, named Koko Face Yoga, got a lot of attention from business people — including the producers of "Shark Tank." Hayashi told Billion Success that she was actually contacted to go on the show after the scouting team saw her in a feature for "Good Housekeeping." And this is what happened next.
Koko Face Yoga wasn't seen as a great investment by the Sharks
Koko Hayashi made her way into the rocky waters of "Shark Tank" with her business (known then as Face Yoga with Koko) during Season 11. The 2019 episode saw the aspiring businesswoman ask Sharks Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, and guest Shark, Rohan Oza, for $200,000 in exchange for 20% of their company. During her pitch, Hayashi explained that she was looking to get more instructors onboard, as well as trying to grow her business online.
Hayashi got off to a fun start when she showed O'Leary a mocked up image of what he'd look like in a few years time if he didn't give facial yoga a go, but her enthusiastic pitch (and revelation that she charges $200 for a private class!) just wasn't enough to get the Sharks onboard. And after Hayashi explained that she had another business going which made her more profit than Koko Face Yoga, the Sharks weren't exactly impressed. "Shouldn't you maybe be focusing on the business that makes you money?" Oza asked.
After O'Leary asked if he'd also be investing in her other company for $200,000 (which Hayashi made it clear he wouldn't) the Sharks were quick to drop out. Hayashi didn't leave the Tank without some praise, though. Despite refusing to invest, Cuban described the businesswoman as "amazing" for managing to scale a business based only on facial movements. Hey, a compliment is a compliment!
Shark Tank brought Koko Hayashi a little more attention than she could handle
Despite not landing a deal with the "Shark Tank" entrepreneurs, Koko Hayashi didn't slow down when it came to Koko Face Yoga. She explained to Billion Success that just appearing on the show brought a lot of attention to the company. Attention she maybe wasn't quite ready for. "When my segment aired on 'Shark Tank,' our app product was not ready," Hayashi recalled. "We were rushing to launch our Face Yoga app, and while it was on sale via the Apple and Google stores, the quality of the app was where we wanted it to be, so we had to do a lot of troubleshooting. It was chaos."
One thing you may not know about her appearance on the ABC show, though? There was a moment cut from the episode that would have seen one Shark make an investment after all. Hayashi claimed an unnamed Shark actually offered her $100,000 during her time in the Tank, which didn't make it to air. "[It was] for an interesting idea that I didn't think about at that time," she shared, noting she'd signed a non-disclosure agreement so couldn't share further details.
As for her advice for others looking to appear on the series? Be interesting for viewers. "I don't think they care if the business will get an investment or not," she claimed. "They care about how many views they get from the segment, at least that's my opinion."
Koko Face Yoga is still in business, and Koko Hayashi hasn't said goodbye to TV
But despite a rocky time after "Shark Tank," Koko Hayashi didn't let the tough times get the better of her. As of December 2023, just like Love Is Project, Koko Face Yoga is still in business and seemingly doing pretty well — even without a Shark's investment. Over on the brand's official website, Hayashi offers access to the company's app, as well as online and in-person lessons. One 50-minute video session with Hayashi will set you back $350, while an in-person session with the entrepreneur is priced at $400. The site also offers products created by the company, including sleep tape.
Hayashi and her business have also gained plenty of attention from famous faces outside of the "Shark Tank" cast... even appearing on "Keeping Up with the Kardashians." Hayashi popped up on Season 16 of the series, which aired in 2019, in a scene that saw her teaching the famous family how to do facial yoga. That wasn't her only foray into the TV world, though. In 2023, Hayashi took her talents to "America's Got Talent" as she encouraged judges Howie Mandel, Heidi Klum, Sofía Vergara, and Simon Cowell to give face yoga a go. Sadly though, her audition landed in three X's and she didn't make it to the next round.
Koko Hayashi still has big plans for Koko Face Yoga
After surviving an unsuccessful "Shark Tank" pitch and a failed "America's Got Talent" audition, Koko Hayashi is still inspiring us with her determination. The entrepreneur still has some big plans for her career and her facial yoga business, and she shared some of her big ideas for the company's future while speaking to Natfluence. "With AI & facial recognition tech, we would like to launch face yoga app, so people can try the exercises on the go! We already have patent pending technologies, so just have to start developing it," she said.
Koko Face Yoga is also continuing to expand its presence online. Hayashi has continued to share various facial yoga tips across her social media accounts, including introducing her Instagram followers to the likes of the cheek squat and proper face posture techniques.
And it seems like Hayashi is still a very busy women. In addition to her work on Koko Face Yoga, according to her LinkedIn, Hayashi is still very much involved with the other business she spoke about on "Shark Tank." The entrepreneur is still working with her second company, Mirai Clinical, as well as her facial yoga business, with the former offering hygiene products using Japanese persimmon.