TushBaby
TushBaby is a product created and pitched by a very pregnant mother of two from Northern California that helps parents carry children on their hips without the attendant back pain that can come with it or the risk of dropping their kids.
TushBaby is a belt worn by the parent that is secured by a strong velcro band around the waist. On one side is a small padded seat on which the child can put their weight and that helps distribute the weight across the parent's hips to take the pressure off of their backs. The band itself is filled with pockets and utility compartments. There is also a hook on which a toy for children to play with can be attached.
The TushBaby retails for $79 per item with free shipping included. It costs $21.81 per item to manufacture.
The product has been in pre-sale and has sold 2,500 units in just five weeks. All of the sales were direct to consumer after the product story was picked up by local news outlets and it went viral. However, no units have yet to be shipped.[1] Only twenty-five people have their hands on an actual product. The entrepreneur further reports that TushBaby is selling 500 units a week and predicts being sold out of the entire first order of the product before any units are shipped.
In terms of prior investment, TushBaby has raised $75,000 in return for 5% equity from a "good family friend" (qualifying as a friends and family round).
The entrepreneur currently holds down a day job at the Microsoft Subsidiary LinkedIn but, as stated above, is very pregnant. Following the baby, the entrepreneur plans not to return and to, instead, focus entirely on the TushBaby business.
This deal aired on Episode 10.09.
Making A Deal
Mark dropped out of the deal right away as he stated that he has no interest in making investments in kids or baby products.
Both Daymond and Mr. Wonderful made offers but she lost both of them as she continued her sales pitch specifically directed at Lori.
At first, it seemed doubtful that Lori would even make an offer. But, when she did, it was for twice as much equity as the entrepreneur had originally offered but for the same amount of money, representing a bite of $1,000,000 from the original value. The entrepreneur paused for a long minute before accepting Lori's $200,000 for 20% of the business.
While the bite appeared to give the entrepreneur pause, she later stated that she was there specifically to make a deal with Lori. So, presumably she believes Lori will more than make up the value to the company.
Notes
- ↑ Ordinarily, if some form of revenue is either stated or can be divined from the pitch, it will be included in the sidebar of the business. However, because all of the sales are pre-orders and nothing has yet been shipped, the Stats Shark believes that it is fair to report nothing as those orders can be canceled and the monies refunded leading to no revenue. If revenues are reported in future episodes, those will be added to an updates section.