Here's What Happened To Unshrinkit After Shark Tank
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Shrinking your favorite wool sweater is a nightmare. It might have been itchy and expensive, but it was also cozy and chic. While there are DIY hacks with baby shampoo and fabric softener to reverse the laundry mistake, sometimes lab-tested products are the best hands to leave your baby in. That is where Unshrinkit comes in.
Harvard grads Desirée Stolar and Nate Barbera created the solution that turns shrunken wool back to new. It all began when Stolar was desperate to bring her cashmere garment back to life. They consulted chemists, wool makers, and designers to create the magic liquid they dubbed Unshrinkit. Now you don't have to worry about ruining your fall wardrobe's staple pieces.
The entrepreneurs joined Season 7 of "Shark Tank" to turn their product into a full-fledged business. They stood on the carpet asking for a $150,000 investment in exchange for 10% equity in their company. That valued Unshrinkit at $1.5 million. They didn't have anywhere around that much money in profit. However, Stolar and Barbera left the tank with a Shark on their hook.
Mark Cuban jumped to invest in Unshrinkit
When Desirée Stolar and Nate Barbera pitched to the Sharks, they only had $35,000 in sales. That translated to only 5,000 bottles of Unshrinkit sold. It wasn't a lot to show for their business, but the investors were interested in the laundry solution. Kevin O'Leary offered the pair $150,000 for 33.3% equity. That would make the trio equal partners. Luckily, that wasn't their only offer. Fashion guru, Daymond John, wanted in. He undercut O'Leary by proposing $150,000 for 25%. However, his deal was contingent on Stolar and Barbera licensing their formula.
In the end, O'Leary's high-equity ask and John's contingency were beaten by Mark Cuban's million-dollar evaluation. The Dallas Mavericks owner was willing to pay $150,000 for 15% of Unshrinkit. The entrepreneurs left the tank having accepted Cuban's offer. However, the ink never met paper.
"We did not close our deal with Mark Cuban," Stolar told A Nibble of Business. "We learned a great deal from engaging with his business team during the negotiations though. The experience of briefly working with them made us wiser about retail relations, due diligence and product quality." Despite releasing their Shark back into the water, Unshrinkit was successful without the TV investors.
Unshrinkit is still in business
Unshrinkit is making money one bottle of wool stretcher at a time. The business' annual revenue is close to $2 million. There doesn't seem to be any reason for the company to slow down, especially since there will always be wool socks and scarves miniaturized in the wash. The close to 13 million views on TikTok's "how to unshrink wool" search is proof of that.
After appearing on "Shark Tank," Unshrinkit has gotten new leadership, too. Nate Barbera left the enterprise in 2016 for the consulting firm McKinsey & Company. Since June 2022, he has been the CEO of the NIL collective Florida Victorious. Desirée Stolar remained the CEO of Unshrinkit until she sold it to a Boston e-commerce firm in 2019. As of June 2023, she is the Executive Vice President of Hill+Knowlton Strategies, an international communications consultancy.
With its new leader, Unshrinkit is going strong. It is still the money-saving hack to stretch out tight clothes that every wool garment should come with. You can buy the wardrobe savior on the Unshrinkit website and Amazon.