Adrian Zhang and Justine Tiu, the founders of Durham-based crochet startup The Woobles, have already turned a $200 investment into a $5 million enterprise by helping people learn to crochet.
Tomorrow, thanks to an unexpected email from a casting director, their two-year-old company gets its “Shark Tank” debut.
The pair are contractually prohibited from saying what happens on the show — at least until it airs. But Zhang said diving into the tank in front of investors such as Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban was a surreal experience the couple won’t soon forget.
“You go in there and it’s like you’re on a different planet,” Zhang said.
Tiu added, “That planet looks exactly what it looks like on TV.”
For the couple, who met in a Duke University chemistry classroom, it’s an amazing milestone.
The pair didn’t initially set out to be entrepreneurs. Tiu was a designer at Google (NASDAQ: NYSE), Zhang a Wall Street trader. Tiu didn’t even pick up a crochet needle until 2016, and Zhang learned from one of her kits. Yet they both took a chance, quitting their jobs to go all in on The Woobles, moving from New York to Durham in the midst of the global pandemic to make their idea into a full-fledged company.
Making it to “Shark Tank” amid those odds is a milestone that could be life-changing. The pair refer to their startup as an ed-tech company, teaching the physical skill of crocheting through technology. It’s about learning and getting out of one’s comfort zone — which is exactly how the pair described the TV experience.
“We just never thought this would happen,” Tiu said. “I’m a pretty private person. … So it was just a very out-of-your-comfort-zone, mind-blowing experience. … But we tell our customers to be open to learning something new and trying something new, see where it gets you.”
Where it could get them — at least according to alumni of the show — is a lot of exposure.
Entrepreneur Dinesh Tadepalli said his advice is to brace for impact. When his Morrisville company, IncrEDIBLE Eats, made its “Shark Tank” debut last October, he scored four shark offers — including a winning deal with Home Shopping Network maven Greiner for an investment in his firm, which develops edible utensils.
Ultimately, the deal failed to close. But the appearance on ABC (NYSE: DIS) alone prompted a $50,000 revenue bump in just two days, according to Tadepalli.
He has advice for The Woobles — be prepared for the eyeballs they’re going to get tomorrow when the episode airs at 8 p.m.
“They need to make sure their website takes care of the additional traffic,” he said earlier this week, adding that they also need to have plenty of product on hand, and to be sure to collect email addresses from potential customers “for future products.”
Tiu said the firm is stocking up — not just for “Shark Tank,” but for the holidays, traditionally its busiest season.
Tadepalli said the marketing boost keeps going, long after the show airs.
In the months since Tadepalli’s “Shark Tank” appearance, online sales have been “very good.” He said the traction from just his “Shark Tank” pitch on Youtube (NASDAQ: GOOG) has been incredible. Sony Pictures Television (NYSE: SONY) put his pitch on the platform two months ago and it’s already snagged nearly 4 million views.
Initially, Tadepalli had planned to partner with retailers — perhaps even a name-brand ice cream chain — to get his spoons in the hands of more consumers. That part of the business has slowed, he said, a result of “the current inflation and worker shortage.”
But the company plans to launch edible straws next month.
A number of North Carolina companies that appeared on "Shark Tank" in recent years are still operating — and thriving. But not everyone survived after debuting in the tank.
Here's how N.C. entrepreneurs have fared after "Shark Tank"
From Slawsa to IncrEDIBLE Eats: How NC entrepreneurs have fared after 'Shark Tank'
Kevin Flannery, the Cary-based founder of Wispots, told sharks in the 2009 premiere episode that he had taken out two mortgages so he could support his company, which created what he described as an interactive patient center. But the sharks were taken aback by the product’s $10,000 price tag and failed to invest. The company was folded into a firm called WiFiciency.
Duke University-born Kalyx Technologies, a startup making comfortable sports bras, was unable to secure an investment when the team presented on Shark Tank in 2009. The company was founded by former golfer and Duke grad Kimberly Cayce, who later sold the firm to ActivewearUSA.
Fayetteville entrepreneur Ken Howell presented Uncle Zip’s Beef Jerky to the sharks in 2011 and left without an investment. The firm's website is still operating.
Wilmington’s Freaker USA, which created one-size-fits-all beverage insulators appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2012, but didn’t close an investment with a shark. It is, however, still operating, as its website is still chock full of insulators for sale.
Sparta-based inventor Donny McCall tried to sell sharks on a retractable cargo rack dubbed the Invis-a-Rack in 2012. But, after he declined to listen when they told him he should manufacture his product overseas, they rejected him for an investment.
According to his LinkedIn profile, McCall is now a licensed agent at North Carolina Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company.
Recycled sneaker firm Remyxx, the brainchild of Charlotte entrepreneur Gary Gagnon, appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2012, securing a $50,000 investment pledge from Daymond John (pictured), though the deal reportedly fell through.
According to his LinkedIn page, the company would still go on to sell more than 4,000 pairs of shoes and score $200,000 revenue via website-direct, Amazon, affiliates, and shops. Gagnon’s LinkedIn profile now lists him as the director of business development at Microban International.
Cramerton entrepreneur Julie Busha presented Slawsa – a cross between a coleslaw and a salsa – on "Shark Tank" in 2013 and walked out without an investment. But Slawsa may have gotten the last laugh, as it's still selling, according to its website. And it claims to have been featured in multiple television shows such as "Two Broke Girls" and "The Big Bang Theory."
Mooresville entrepreneur Tigere Chriga presented The Floating Mug Co to "Shark Tank" in 2014. The cup – a combination of mug and coaster – was unable to secure an investment and its website was not in operation Monday.
EvREwares Sticky Ties turned down Mark Cuban’s $200,000 offer to buy their company in 2015. Raleigh entrepreneurs Ellie Brown and Becca Nelson would say later that, following their episode, it was tough going for the firm, which sold tie-shaped stickers. The internet was full of comments from people skeptical about their business model. “I guess we never really anticipated what would happen from a social perception,” Brown said in 2015. The firm would later close up shop.
Frill Clothing is still in operation, though its Raleigh founders are no longer leading the company. Sharon Bui and Kate Steadman, graduates of N.C. State and Appalachian State, respectively, were 19-year-old college students when they founded sorority-focused fashion firm Frill in 2012. The company was able to secure a $100,000 deal with not one, but two sharks – Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary – in 2015. The firm is still in existence, its website billing itself as the "one stop sorority shop."
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Technically, Twin Z Pillow Co was a New Hampshire company when it secured a $75,000 investment from shark Lori Greiner in 2015, though Michelle Barsosky is an N.C. State University graduate. Michelle and Jason Barsosky moved their headquarters to commercial space in Mooresville that same year, however. The firm, which makes nursing pillows for twins, is still selling, according to its website.
Raleigh’s David Cohen presented Sunscreenr, a device that detects spots you might have missed when applying sunscreen, to sharks in 2016. Cohen left the tank with an $800,000 pledge from “Mr. Wonderful” Kevin O’Leary (pictured). But the deal never ended up closing, according to what Cohen wrote in a 2017 Kickstarter pitch.
The devices had been listed for about $140 on the firm's website. But as of Monday, the website was down. Founder Cohen still had its parent firm, Voxelight, on his LinkedIn profile. But he recently took a job as Staff Life Sciences Technology Manager at Plexus Corporation.
Husband and wife duo Patrick and Harriet Mills surprised the sharks in 2018, bringing in a nude male model to show how their franchised art studio Wine & Design worked. The couple landed a $500,000 from shark Kevin O'Leary, but lawsuits between Harriet Mills and co-founder Emmy Preiss show the deal fell through.
Cary entrepreneur Shane Cox presented his throwable microphone ball on "Shark Tank" in 2017. Mark Cuban, Rohan Oza and Lori Greiner (pictured) signed on for a $300,000 investment. According to its website, the product is now being marketed toward classrooms.
As outlined in a securities filing, Raleigh-based travel rewards startup netted $320,000 in equity from a single investor: Mark Cuban. The company appeared on the show in November 2018.
The firm was later acquired by Experian.
