Naja

Entrepreneur Catalina Girald, a self-professed “Nueva Latina,” pitches Naja (pronounced NIGH- YAH), her line of luxury lingerie at fair prices, in Shark Tank episode 621. Catalina, who just started Naja in 2013 with a successful Kickstarter, has a varied educational and business background, but she bases her business philosophy on her strong family values.

Naja is the latest of a long list of “socioeconomically conscious” companies to appear in the Shark Tank in season six. The lingerie is produced in Girald’s native Colombia at her uncle’s lingerie factory. Naja employs single mothers at above market wages to produce both the end product and the bag it comes in. As part of Girald’s Underwear for Hope program, Naja takes a portion of each sale and teaches single moms in Colombia how to sew, furthering their employment potential and earning power.

As for the lingerie, Naja has bold, bright, and sassy products. They’re luxury brand quality at a reasonable price. They’ve just released a fast-food themed lingerie line and their “Free the Bush” line gained momentum when Instagram started banning images of women with unshaven bikini lines. Naja lingerie is only available via their website for now, but that could change.

Ms. Girald has a good thing going. She likely wants a Shark’s help to scale quickly and get into the retail distribution chain.

Naja Shark Tank Recap

Catalina enters seeking $500K for 5% of the company. She says she thinks it’s time for a new lingerie brand and explains her business and says she’s disrupting the $14 billion lingerie industry. She hands out samples and Robert says he won’t try them on. Each item has a message on the inside of the lingerie.

Catalina says she’s done $145K in 5 months. The margins are 72%, Robert is impressed. Mr. Wonderful wants to know why the business is worth $10 million; Catalina says the figure is based on what they’ve raised in the past. She says she’s from the Silicon Valley VC world and that Mark would understand the valuation. Previously, the business raised $850K at a $5 million valuation.

Naja says her brand is made by how she buys her raw materials and makes her products. Mr. Wonderful says brand is everything and she’s not a brand yet. She defends her valuation and Mark says the valuation is based on someone else saying yes. Mark doesn’t like her sales metrics, he thinks she should have more re-orders than just 14%; he thinks there should be more passion.

Who’s In?

Mark goes out and Robert quickly follows. Mr. Wonderful thinks the valuation is ridiculous, he says she needs to make MONEY. He says if he were to give $500K he’s need 50%; Catalina says “that’s not happening.” Kevin goes out. Lori says she’s seen a lot of entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley get too wrapped up in raising money and not getting down to “brass tacks,” she’s out.

Daymond asks how her negotiating style worked for her in the Shark Tank, Catalina says it hasn’t gone well. Daymond says she made a mistake correcting the Sharks, but he loves the designs. He says he can’t come close to her valuation. Mark says she needs to make projections, Catalina projects $14 million. Lori wants to know where the number came from; Robert says that the figure is crazy. Daymond thinks the money that’s been invested is “stupid money.” He wishes the valuation were more realistic; if it was, he would have been all in, but he’s out.

RESULT: NO DEAL

Naja Shark Tank Update

The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. In 2018, they ditched their sports bras and related apparel and introduced the Everyday Organic Cotton line. Like many apparel companies, they introduced facemasks at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company continues to utilize recycled materials in its constantly growing inventory of lingerie. As of December, 2023, this business is still going strong with $2.9 million in annual revenue.