In the last seven months, three local startups have stepped on the "Shark Tank" stage with a pitch and a prayer. And all three have come out with a deal.
The latest company to do so is Mooresville-based Sheets Laundry Club, a provider of eco-friendly, plastic-free laundry products that was founded in 2019 by Chris Videau and Chris Campbell. Videau and Campbell appeared on the Nov. 19 episode of ABC's "Shark Tank," where they secured a deal with KIND founder Daniel Lubetzky.
The duo came in asking for a $500,000 investment for 5% equity and agreed to Lubetzky's offer of $500,000 for 8% equity and 2% board advisory shares.
"Ultimately, we went in looking ... for a deal from Daniel. His past in building KIND resonated with who we are and where we want to be," Videau said. "We understand the value he can bring. Ultimately, we have so much we can learn from his experience and his team."
Videau said the idea behind Sheets Laundry Club was to create laundry products that were as effective as leading brands but better for the environment. The laundry products range from detergent sheets to scent boosters, dryer sheets to stain remover. The packaging is all recyclable. Sheets Laundry Club recently released a line of plastic-free kitchen cleaning supplies and self-care products.
"We are a plastic-free laundry alternative to mainstream detergent and products with the mission and goal to reduce and fight the plastic crisis," he said. "We went about it in a way that didn’t cost more for consumers than they're used to paying."
Videau said adrenaline was flowing from the time the doors opened to the time they left the stage, but he and Campbell felt prepared as they presented the pitch and answered dozens of follow up questions.
"The initial pitch, we’d spent several months preparing and rehearsing ... I was definitely a little bit out of my comfort zone, but I did what I needed to do," he said. "A lot of it was a blur, but overall, the feedback was good. They had questions about the product and how it was used, so we were able to educate them."
Videau said Sheets Laundry Club plans to use the new funds to expand the team work on new product innovation and find new and alternative ways to eliminate plastic in the home cleaning industry. He said the company has new products coming down the pipeline in early to mid-2022.
"We’ve got a lot of moving pieces and some things I can’t really disclose yet," he said. "We developing a lot of new products in the sheet form that will help clean in the home space."
Videau added, "We’re taking things people are using in a spray bottle and learning how to put them into a sheet form."
This, he said, should give Sheets Laundry Club greater visibility and the opportunity to be sold in retail chain stores. Currently the products are sold on the company website as well as Camping World, Gander RV and a variety of privately owned shops.
"We’d really like to get into some larger retail locations in 2022 and prove to big brands that there is a demand for alternative laundry detergent and that people are tired of the plastics crisis," Videau said.
