In a testament to the local innovation ecosystem, two Denver startups walked off ABC’s "Shark Tank" on Friday night with money in the bank.
Virtual wedding startup Wedfuly and laundry innovator Wad-Free both appeared on the Nov. 5 episode to pitch their companies to the sharks. The panel of investors included Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond John, Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec.
Denver-based Wedfuly launched in 2017 to offer virtual wedding planning services to engaged couples. When the pandemic hit and money got tight, founder and CEO Caroline Creidenberg made a pivot, taking the company into the virtual wedding space.
Wedfuly offers comprehensive virtual wedding services, from emceeing the event to handling multimedia elements and guest management. The company did its first virtual wedding in March and has since worked with nearly 1,000 couples to share weddings with 200,000 guests from around the world.
Inside the tank, Creidenberg’s pitch for $200,000 for a 5% stake in her company garnered interest and counteroffers from O’Leary and Herjavec, leaving her with a tough decision. When Herjavec offered $200,000 for 10%, Wedfuly took the deal.
Reflecting on her experience, Creidenberg was thankful for the opportunity, despite the intimidating nature of the filming process.
“I don’t even know how to describe it. It’s all this built-up anticipation and then you get out there and leave it all on the line. They tell you, ‘treat it as the Super Bowl of your entrepreneurship experience,’” she said.
Wedfuly was joined by Wad-Free and founder Cyndi Bray in Friday’s "Shark Tank" episode.
Bray launched the laundry-focused startup during the pandemic as a solution to a problem that had long plagued her. After years of watching her bed sheets bunch up when placed in the washer or dryer, Bray created Wad-Free for Bed Sheets.
The concept for the product is straightforward, as users are instructed to place each of the corners of their sheets into the small tabs. From there, Bray says the product cleans sheets better, dries them quicker and eliminates the possibility of bunching or twisting.
On the episode, Bray sought $200,000 for a 5% stake in her company. And, after some back and forth with Greiner, Bray took a deal with O’Leary for $200k for a 5% stake of her company, and a royalty of $1.50 per unit sold until $1 million is paid off.
Over the weekend, Bray said her sales boomed and she experienced the single-busiest day of sales in her company’s history.
“The market is there, and the demand is there and Wad Free is coming to laundry rooms across America,” she said. And, despite concerns about having enough product, Bray said her factory just north of Denver was able to produce enough Wad Free to meet the massive customer interest.
She added that some customers that ordered on Friday had already received their products. Following the television appearance, Bray is planning to release additional laundry-focused products in the future.
“It’s a matter of scaling and growing my product line and getting it into retail,” she said.
