Will North Carolina startup Sheets Laundry Club sink or swim when it appears on "Shark Tank" this Friday?
CEO and co-founder Chris Videau couldn't reveal details of the episode but said if it is anything like the preparation his team underwent prior to taping, it's sure to be a wild ride.
Mooresville-based Sheets Laundry Club was co-founded in 2019 by Videau and Chris Campbell as an eco-friendly, plastic-free laundry alternative. Videau said the idea was to create laundry products that were as effective as leading brands but better for the environment.
"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 added, "(We knew) if we could create a product that didn’t cost more and was easy to use, it would be a win-win for everyone."
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.
The team connected with producers for ABC's "Shark Tank" in May and began the lengthy application process, which Videau described as intense. He said the process forced them to take a deeper look at the business in a way that will be beneficial long after the cameras stop rolling.
"Through the application process you learn a lot more about your business that you didn’t maybe have a great grasp on before," he said. "That really allowed me to step back and dial into some things that maybe needed cleaning up, like diving into expenses and understanding those better so we can continue to grow the brand in a cost-effective manner."
Videau said he was also able to work closely with the company's board of directors to build a business plan that makes sense on a larger scale than they had previously envisioned.
"This process really allowed us to build a plan that was effective and gave us strategies to grow over the next 12 to 24 months," he said.
After getting the green light from producers that the startup was chosen for a taping, Videau said the team kicked things into high gear to prepare. He said though he'd always been a fan of the show, he began watching episodes with more intention, making note of what to expect from the sharks.
"We worked on questions we assumed they’d ask and spent a lot of time with our investors ... We wanted to have a great conversation piece that wasn’t just about the product and about the numbers," he said. "Ultimately, for me, it’s about the mission and educating people in America that there are safe alternatives for what they’re using."
Catch Sheets Laundry Club on "Shark Tank" at 8 p.m. Friday.
