Barista Kane Bodiam, who ran a coffee shop and roasting business in Orange several years ago has scored the biggest investment deal on the TV Show Shark Tank.
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Mr Bodiam, the CEO of Sydney-based coffee pod making company, iCapsulate, struck a $2.5 million deal with investor Andrew Banks.
Under the deal Mr Banks would take a 22.5 per cent share in the company that Mr Bodiam said would soon make bio-degradable coffee pods that people could consume at home and dispose of in the garden.
Mr Banks, a self-made multi-millionaire, has since said a due diligence investigation of the company was underway and would wait until it was completed before finalising the deal.
The TV show, which airs on Channel 10, involves entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to a group of ‘shark’ investors.
Mr Bodiam’s deal has been heralded as the biggest in the show’s history.
He told the show his company had a current market value of $16.6 million.
The Central Western Daily has attempted to contact Mr Bodiam for an interview.
In 2008 Mr Bodiam was running the Byng Street Palazzo Ristretto Cafe Bar in Orange.
In an interview with the Central Western Daily he said he also roasted his own coffee beans at an industrial facility in Manildra.
He was critical of the attitude to coffee making by people in Orange.
“The attitude here is too relaxed,” he said.
“A lot more work has to be put into making coffee.
“A lot of coffee is drunk in Orange but the attitude of the people making it is lax.”
Mr Bodiam also said it was important for coffee to be poured without the use of spoons or other devices which were often used by inexperienced baristas to regulate the flow of froth.
Also in 2008 it was reported Mr Bodiam was planning to open a restaurant at Millthorpe’s ‘top pub’, the Commercial Hotel.
A report in the Central Western Daily said a new kitchen was being installed for Mr Bodiam’s restaurant.
“With food prepared by Annabella Bodiam, who has over 40 years catering experience, Delfins Restaurant and Bar will be opening at the rear of the building,” it said.