FoHawx

Jocelyn Fine and Kelly Dineen pitch their fun line of safety helmet accessories called Fohawx to the Sharks in episode 513 on December 6. The two moms are Toys R Us veterans; Jocelyn worked as a business development consultant and Kelly was involved with the visual merchandising management team.

FoHawx were “invented” by Jocelyn’s daughter, Maya. Jocelyn’s son didn’t want to wear his bike helmet, so Maya cut out a paper mohawk and glued it to his helmet. When her son wore his helmet without a fuss, she thought she was on to something and teamed up with her friend and created a line of bike helmet accessories that are fun and colorful. FoHawx works on all kinds of helmets and even adults are wearing FoHawx.

FoHawx are available on Amazon, at dozens of small toy shops and at both WalMart and Toys R Us.

FoHawx Shark Tank Recap

Jocelyn and Kelly approach the Sharks seeking an investment of $150,000 in return for a 30% stake in FoHawx. The ladies come into the Tank with a group of young kids riding bikes and trikes, all wearing helmets featuring brightly colored foam fringed decorations. The FoHawx come with an adhesive velcro strip, allowing the decorations to be attached to any helmet, and swapped.

The FoHawx cost $5 to make, and the MSRP is $19.99. They’ve sold $50,000 worth of FoHawx so far through 80 specialty retailers in a year, and are in online retail testing with Toys R Us and Walmart.

Kevin O’Leary believes the sales are too low for a year’s worth of effort. The Sharks want to bring the price point down to $9.99. There’s a bit of chaos as they argue the merits of a lower price point, but the consensus seems to be that the sales are too low, and that the ladies need to consider how to drive distribution.

Barbara Corcoran tells the ladies they “need to face the reality” about their pricing and business. She’s out. Mark Cuban says the ladies are “selling us on the dream, and not discussing the green.” He’s out. Robert Herjavec believes the competition from existing products is too strong. He’s out. Daymond John believes the number of sales per store is too low. He’s out. Kevin O’Leary says he’s given them the numbers, but they just don’t want to hear reality. The ladies argue, but all the Sharks have gone out, and they leave with no deal.

FoHawx Shark Tank Update

Although the ladies fought hard for FoHawx in the Shark Tank, leading Barbara Corcoran to call the conversation “exhausting” after they left, Jocelyn and Kelly were soon forced to face the cold reality; The Sharks were right about their company. Although they enjoyed a boost from the Shark Tank effect for about a month, it soon became clear that their price point was offering a serious barrier to sales and their company was just not working.

About a year after airing on Shark Tank, FoHawx dissolved, closing down the helmet accessories business forever. While it’s sometimes difficult to see entrepreneurs miss out on a chance at success, over half of small businesses started every year end up closing down. With the dedication and determination these two showed, we’re sure it’s not the last we’ll hear from the Jersey girls who created FoHawx.