Shark Tank: Mesa mom's idea keeps babies cool in summer heat
Meet the Mesa couple who brought their idea 'a way to keep babies and moms cool in the summer heat' to Shark Tank and struck a big deal. Jackie Samuelson, a mother from Mesa, Arizona, came up with the idea for Lady Alpha, a breast-feeding cover with an attachable cooling fan to keep both mom and baby comfortable in the heat. Her product was successful on the reality TV show, "Shark Tank," where Barbra Corcoran offered $100,000 for a 10% stake. The process took six months to develop, with no advertising or marketing paid. Jackie believes that women are more likely to create businesses from home than in the past due to the ease of doing so.
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Jackie Samuelson came up with the idea for Lady Alpha after she had her daughter, Sunny. Breastfeeding Sunny in the brutal Arizona heat, was no easy task.
"Anytime we would go out, I would be sweating bullets," Jackie said." A lot of the time, especially if we were at a park, I would walk all the way back to my car with my baby and I would turn on the car, just to crank up the AC so she wouldn't be sweating and red and parched."
The solution? A breast-feeding cover with an attachable cooling fan to keep both mom and baby comfortable in the heat. Jackie's product struck a deal with Barbra Corcoran on Shark Tank, $100,000 for a 10% stake in the company.
There are about 20 to 50,000 companies that applied to be on Shark Tank, according to Jackie. Of those companies, 150 fly out to Hollywood. From those that fly out and pitch to the Sharks, only 80 to 90 of them get aired. Jackie and her husband from Mesa, Arizona, were one of those pitches.
"My daughter means the world to me and so does my husband," Jackie said. "Part of what drives Lady Alpha is just wanting to, in the future, have more family time and family freedom."
"I was staying up to four in the morning sometimes"
Jackie hadn't been working when she came up with Lady Alpha. She said she could see the expenses her family had and that her husband was stressed out. She wanted to do something to help the family income from home. She browsed around the internet, conducting research into what she could do.
The idea came to her two weeks later. Jackie had the idea to connect a fan to a cover. She knew that was going to be their product.
"I was staying up to four in the morning sometimes, sleeping an hour or two and then waking up and doing everything the next day while I was home with my daughter," Jackie said. "But I feel like I was just so passionate about bringing this product out because I knew it helped me and I know it could help so many moms."
From idea to launch date, the process took six months.
Jackie had never created a business before or worked in product development. She found manufacturers, worked on measurements for the cover and worked out the logistics of connecting the fan to the cover. All of her marketing was done through social media, she said they have not paid for marketing or paid advertising.
"It is easier to build a business and create something from home as opposed to 20 years ago," Jackie said. "I feel like this is an incredible time and opportunity that we have being young women."
Season 15, Episode 17 and a segment that Jackie said she read was one of the fastest pitches on Shark Tank. Corcoran offered Jackie and Jeremy exactly what they came in asking for, $100,000 for a 10% stake.
When asked if she would help fund purchase orders when the couple decides to go into retail, Corcoran simply replied, "I'm a good girl, no problem."
"I remember my lips were quivering," Jackie said. "But once we started pitching, they started smiling and giggling and I knew they liked us. I got that vibe almost immediately and everything kind of just flowed after that and it was like a regular conversation."
On the plane to Los Angeles, Jackie said she and her husband practiced their answers from a packet with over 100 questions. She said the questions the Sharks asked them were easier than what they prepared for.
Jackie said she was expecting to get an offer.
"My husband and I were like okay, let's prepare, let's prepare because we know they're going to be fighting over us," Jackie said. "We went in with all the confidence in the world, 'Oh my gosh.' But before anyone can even offer anything, Barbra's like 'hey, I'll make this easy on everyone, I'll give you exactly what you want.'"
Pre-orders are currently in place for the Nursing Cool Cover, and she said moms want to buy it ahead of time because they are scared it is going to sell out.
"Moms are saying things like, where was this when I was breastfeeding?" Jackie said. "Where was this five years ago? Where was this last year? Or like, this is brilliant, I'm gonna get this for my baby showers, for my friends and stuff like that. So we've had very, very good and positive feedback and support from people."
Marcia Samuelson, Jeremy's mother and Jackie's mother-in-law, said she has been included in the couple's process. She was there with Jackie's mom Alma when they got engaged and she was part of the watch party for when they went on Shark Tank. She said she was one of the first ones to buy the product and is so proud of them.
"What Jackie hasn't known she will look up, she will Google, she will research," Marcia said. "She has done more than I ever could. I am just so amazed. She just has the energy, the spirit, she just works hard for what she wants and the kids, Jeremy and Jackie, they just don't let anything get in the way. They have a vision, they work toward it and they accomplish it. It's amazing."
When she was breastfeeding, Marcia said she would have loved to have the product.
"To be covered and not have to feel like you're being punished by going into another room, or a bathroom or a changing room, it's amazing," Marcia said.
For the future of Lady Alpha, Jackie said she hopes to have the Nursing Cool Cover be readily available for moms all around the world. She wants the company to be a household name, something expecting mothers know about.
The company does not want to only sell cool covers. In the future, Jackie said they hope to sell other products, anything a mother would need to raise a baby: diaper bags, crib sets, toys, postpartum kits and more.
"When I think of mothers I think of someone that is extremely strong, that is beautiful, that is ladylike and to me, Lady Alpha is everything a mother is," Jackie said.
주제: Shark Tank