Sun-Staches

College buddies and business partners Dan Gerson, David Levich, and Eric Liberman hope the Sharks find a fit for Sun-Staches, their line of novelty sunglasses with mustaches attached. The three men created the concept in college as a goof: a friend of theirs couldn’t grow a mustache, so they fastened one to a pair of sunglasses.

This “AHA moment” led to a business selling their Sun-Staches and the three men started experimenting with other ways to dress up regular, old sunglasses. The complete line now includes all sorts of characters from cowboys to pirates and licensed Sun-Staches with everything from sports teams to Ninja Turtles.

Celebrities seem to like the product. Dozens of photos of famous people from Bill Murray to Justin Beiber litter their “press page.” They sell Sun-Staches online at Amazon and they’re available at Urban Outfitters. The company has revenue in excess of $6 million yearly, so they’re clearly doing something right!

They probably need a Shark to help them get into more retail outlets. Which one of the Sharks will slip on some Sun-Staches?

Sun-Staches Shark Tank Recap

David, Eric, and Dan enter seeking $300K for 5% equity. The Sharks are taken aback by that number and amused by the products, but from the look on the Shark’s faces show they aren’t taking them seriously. They hand out sample Sun-Staches: a cowboy for Robert, a black cat for Lori, a devil for Mr. Wonderful, a football helmet for Daymond, and a leprauchaun for Mark (who refused to wear it).

When the Sun-Staches guys tell the Sharks they did $5.7 million in sales last year, the Sharks start taking things seriously. They sell online and in specialty retailers like Toys R US and Party City. The products range fro $7.99-$12.99 retail and they make them for $0.75 to $1.50 each. The Sharks like the margins and the $750K in profits.

Mr. Wonderful doesn’t like the valuation – he thinks they’re worth $2.5 million. Then the guys tell them Target wants them in ALL their stores. The big play for Sun-Staches is licensing, and that’s why they want a Shark.

Lori can’t get excited about the product, she’s out. Kevin hates the valuation – he’s out too. Robert thinks they are too in love with the future, he goes out. The guys ask to hear an offer, Mark wants a bottom line. Mr. Wonderful suggests they ask for $300K for 20% and they go to 10%. Daymond says they are about to go down the toilet right before a break.

When they return, Daymond offers to help with licensing and offers $300K for 25%; he says he’ll take them to $20 million in a year or two. The guys counter with $300 for 12% in a partnership with Mark and Daymond but Mark goes out. They counter Daymond with $300K for 15%, Daymond counters with 20% and asks for an immediate answer, they counter with 17% but Daymond holds firm at 20% and they make a deal!

Sun-Staches Shark Tank Update

David Levich, Eric Liberman & Dan Gershon from Chatsworth, CA give an update on their H2W Inc. (Sunstaches) business that makes novelty eyewear and other licensed looks in episode 627. We’ll see what they’ve been up to since they taped.

In the update, Daymond reveals he got Sun-Staches a licensing deal with Marvel! Even without the deal, they’ve done $4.2 million in sales in just 5 months. Apparently, Sun-Staches tried to license with Marvel previously, but they were turned down. Daymond and the Shark Tank effect made it happen.

In an episode 712 update segment, Daymond hosts Bombas, MySelf Belts, Sun-Staches, and Cozy Bug at an entrepreneurs workshop about increasing internet sales. Celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito is cooking for the group and giving advice on social media. He says businesses have to engage fans constantly to increase sales. They share a gourmet meal and Daymond says these businesses have combined sales of over $11 million since appearing on Shark Tank. He thinks they are all going to an entirely new level.

In addition to the Marvel deal, the company did licensing deals with Disney, Pokemon, Nintendo, Warner Bros and more. Their success didn’t go unnoticed as hundreds of knock offs flooded the marketplace. They managed to remove more than 1,000 imitators off of Amazon, eBay and some major retailers. Their efforts actually led to arrests in China. Fast forward to October, 2022 and the company is still chugging along with $5 million in annual revenue.