Founded with the mission to provide clean water internationally to disenfranchised countries and produce local sustainability efforts, this three-year-old water company is working to prioritize social impact.
Everybody Water offers unflavored water in fully recyclable cartons, available online and at local retail locations. The Cohasset-based company then donates 3% of its gross annual revenue to help fund global clean-water projects through Water1st International.
“We've traveled around the world with Water1st. We know the projects intimately," co-founder Kimberly Reilly said. "I hope it shines through to our customers and our community that this isn't just us giving to any nonprofit, it's giving one that we believe in and one that is doing the best work that we can find."
Reilly and Hayes work together as the only full-time employees at Everybody Water. They have a team of nine part-time employees that are also mothers who value the flexibility and mission of the company.
Everybody Water
Everybody Water formally launched in January of 2019. Its founders began discussing the shared importance of their social impact mission about five years ago, and after a year of research, they formed their LLC. The company is now in the beginning stages of its crowdfunding campaign hosted on StartEngine, a platform that is advised by Kevin O’Leary, also known as, “Mr. Wonderful” from Shark Tank. So far, the campaign has raised $99,000 with 47 investors.
“We both have daughters, four girls between us and one of the things that was super important to us was what is globally holding back women and girls from success,” co-founder Megan Hayes said.
Reilly and Hayes are the only full-time employees at Everybody Water. They have a team of nine part-time employees who are also mothers who value the flexibility and mission of the company.
Not Just A Water Pump
With that intent in mind, Reilly and Hayes worked to research what disenfranchises women the most. To their surprise, it was access to water. Around the world, more than 2 billion people do not have access to clean water. This lack of access in the home affects women and girls disproportionately, as they are tasked with walking miles for hours on end every day to collect water for their households. By bringing running water directly into the home, Everybody Water hopes to free women and girls to pursue educational and career opportunities.
“I also grew up overseas in Thailand and Egypt, so I had seen it firsthand. But as a kid, I never made the connection. I saw people walking with water and getting dirty water. But I didn't realize that's why girls didn't go to school, and women couldn't work,” Hayes said.
The two describe their initial ventures with Everybody Water as grassroots. They were selling water out of their cars and working with hospitality venues to sell water at local festivals.
But during the pandemic, business slowed down.
“We tried to find the silver linings and built a lot of great relationships to set up new distribution. We were also able to tighten up our branding and dedicate a lot of time to working on this crowdfunding campaign which is our main focus right now,” Reilly said.
The bright side of crowdfunding is “you feel more comfortable entering it, especially being a women owned business. There are very few women owned businesses that get a lot of venture capital,” Hayes said.
Rocket Innovations Inc. founders Joe Lemay and Jake Epstein pitch the "Shark Tank" investors in 2016. Though they failed to get an investment, the company has continued to excel. "The Shark Tank appearance has provided a baseline of entry for many customers, and a brand awareness that is unmatched. Even though we appeared on the season finale three years, and dozens of episodes ago, there are just so many super fans of the show that remember us or see us on a rerun and say 'hey, weren't you guys on Shark Tank?'" the founders said in a statement.
Rocketbook has sold over 2 million cloud-connected notebooks that erases when exposed to water. The invention is based off the company's original pitch of a notebook that erases once microwaved. "We have also taken pride in becoming a big success even though the Sharks weren't into the idea of a notebook you put in the microwave. In fact, some of our most impactful mentions to this day are related to the top products and successes that DIDN'T get a Shark Tank investment," the founders said in a statement. In 2019, the company plans to launch a whiteboard innovation, which has 30,000 united pre-ordered on Kickstarter.
LovePop founders Wombi Rose and John Wise have raised millions since it received an investment from Kevin O'Leary in 2015, and now has a kiosk in South Station. "Shark Tank was an unbelievable way to launch Lovepop," the founders said. "We still hear from customers every day that they remember our pitch - and it was so many years ago now! We were lucky to land a Shark who is not just an investor, but a mentor and supporter as well. Kevin O'Leary has been with us through this amazing ride, opening doors and offering awesome advice along the way."
"Lovepop is growing like crazy," the founders said. "Our Boston HQ has more than doubled in size in the last year and we're still hiring! Our mission is to create 1 billion magical moments, and we are well on our way with over 10 million magical moments to date. Creatively, we've never had more fun. Not only are we releasing multiple designs a week, in 2019 we're working with the likes of Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and Marvel on awesome new collaborative designs."
Tracey and Scott Noonan with daughter Danielle have seen tremendous growth of their business Wicked Good Cupcakes since scoring a royalty deal with Kevin O'Leary on the show in 2013. "It pretty much flipped the world upside down," Scott Noonan said. "We grew tremendously. That year alone we grew over 500 percent. It pretty much turned us into a national brand at that point. It was fairly life altering for sure." In 2018, the company reported revenue north of $5 million, and is on pace to do $6 million in 2019.
Kevin O'Leary talks with Wicked Good Cupcakes in 2013. Co-founder Noonan said the company continues to grow through online sales, both from individuals gifting to others, and from corporate gifts. "We do a lot of corporate gifting because we can customize the product and labeling," Noonan said. "The e-commerce and corporate part are our two biggest growth verticals. We’ve opened up a franchising mobile truck in a couple markets – Indianapolis, Indiana and two in Florida. That market will continue to grow as well."
Alice Rossiter founded Alice's table in 2015, teaching women to host floral arrangement classes. She went on Shark Tank in January 2018, and saw an immediate change in her business after she scored a deal with Mark Cuban and Sara Blakely. "Just the exposure from the tv show is marketing you could never pay for as a small company like ours," Lewis said. "That was incredible. We went from about 100 business owners to 300 business owners pretty much overnight with Shark Tank. It was a step change for the business for sure. It’s a long process but totally worth it."
"We’re growing pretty quickly," Lewis said. "Last year we saw 4x growth from the year before (in revenue) and we anticipate similar growth this year." Lewis added that the company of eight individuals would grow to 15-20 by the end of the year. "We launched a new program this year where we enable our business owners to build a team. In the past, independent business owners have been every man for themselves. And our top performers have asked for ways to build income and their ability to perform, which is music to our ears. We created a way for them to do that through a team offering. It allows us to anticipate for rapid growth."
Melissa Gersin pitches Tranquilo Mat to "Shark Tank" investors Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec in a Feb. 2017 episode. The portable soothing mat calms crying babies by mimicking the sounds and motions of the womb. Herjavec invested in the company.
Boston entrepreneur Tania Green and her business, PMS Bites was featured on a May 2016 episode of ABC's "Shark Tank." The product was geared toward women on their periods and featured gluten-free, natural and vegan ingredients that Green says help with bloating, cramping and irritability. Though she didn't get a deal, the exposure led to an immediate increase in sales. "Within the first two months, it was 158 percent increase in revenue," Green said. The show also prompted Donnie Wahlberg to reach out for a possible investment, but that never came to fruition. Mark Andrus, co-founder of Stacy’s Pita Chips, eventually signed on as an investor.
Green said right now the business is on hiatus as she reevaluates where she'd like the company to go. She's since started looking into expanding to general chocolate, and incorporating CBD oil, a derivative from hemp and marijuana. "My initial intention was never to sell them. The fact that it got that big and well known and was so much opportunity was great," Green said.
Max Valverde went on Shark Tank in 2014 to promote Morninghead, a shower cap that wets hair so it can be restyled in the morning. The company, which is based out of Needham, didn't respond to interview requests, but is still selling its product on Amazon.
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