Fort, a St. Louis toy startup that appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank” television show and raised millions through a Kickstarter campaign, has had its product recalled.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission on Oct. 12 said it has recalled a children’s play tent sold by Fort because of loose and broken magnets that have caused multiple injuries. The recall requested “consumers to dispose of recalled children’s play tents and not to resell or donate them.”
The recall comes as Fort founder Conor Lewis said in May he was shutting down the business, which has also faced customer complaints. Amid the complaints, the Better Business Bureau gave the company an F rating, KSDK reported earlier this year.
Lewis launched Simulated Wood Grain Design LLC, which does business as Fort, in 2020 with a focus on selling its fort-building system online directly to consumers. Fort received acclaim after rapidly luring backing on crowdfunding website Kickstarter, with Lewis having said the funding campaign drew $2 million from supporters in its first 10 hours. It raised a total of $3.1 million from 9,859 supporters. Lewis, while appearing on ABC reality television show “Shark Tank” in 2022, described Fort’s product as being a storable and stackable way to build pillow forts. Its product included several cushions that had magnets designed to connect the cushions to create forts. KSDK reported that Fort’s Kickstarter campaign raised a record amount of funding for a St. Louis-area company.
The recall on Fort’s children's play tent said the product has led to 17 reports of loose and broken magnets that have caused lacerations in two adults and a pinched finger to a child. There are about 13,250 units of the product, according to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Lewis didn't immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the recall.
Fort faced challenges even as it successfully landed funding from Kickstarter, Lewis said in an episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank” that aired April 1, 2022. He told the TV show’s celebrity investors that Fort had initially sold its product at a price that was lower than costs of manufacturing and shipping it to customers. While he later raised the price, he told the “Shark Tank” investors the company had burned through “basically all” of its cash. Lewis on “Shark Tank” sought a $500,000 investment for a 10% stake in Fort, but none of the investors made a deal with him.
