Slumberkins
Slumberkins is a company from Vancouver, WA, that has created a line of soothing yet education toys for small children. The "Slumberkins" are a cuddly creatures that are a cross between stuffed animals and safety blankets.
Each Slumberkin is a creature representing a particular trait or virtue to be dealt with or emulated. Examples of the creatures included a yeti representing mindfulness, a shark for conflict, a fox for how to cope with big changes, a bigfoot for self-esteem, and a sloth for something that was not clear because the entrepreneurs were interrupted before they could explain.
Each creature comes with a book containing a story to teach children positive skills related to the creature's area.
Originally the Slumberkin dolls were handmade. The two founders initially invested $200 each just for fabric.
The company has been in business for eighteen months. After leaving the garage, the entrepreneurs attempted to manufacture their product within the United States but ran out of production capacity and has been unable to meet demand in the year in which the deal aired. They found a new production partner (presumably overseas) who help them cut costs by 2/3rds.
Each doll costs between $44-55 retail and $15 per unit to produce. In the previous year, their first, they grossed $200,000 in sales and have sold "more than" $500,000 in the current year.
Slumberkins is seeking investment from the sharks because of their desire to expand into retail locations. They are hoping to use the investment from, and partnership with, a shark in order to make this happen.
Because the toy category is extremely difficult to break into, the sharks declined to partner with the entrepreneurs and Slumberkins went home without a deal.
This deal aired on Episode 9.11.