Harrison Broadhurst and Chris Rannefors hope a Shark goes to bat for BatBnB, their line of designer bat houses, in Shark Tank episode 1022. The pair first began sketching designs for their bat houses in 2016. Rannefors started building bat houses with his dad as a kid. Broadhurst’s mother studied bats with her grade school biology classes. The guys set out to build a better bat house when they learned mosquito populations were growing due to warmer, wetter winters while bat populations were suffering due to habitat loss, disease, and wind turbines. Bats are the best natural mosquito control in the world: one eats about one thousand mosquitoes per hour.
Rannefors recognized the benefit of bats and that many bat houses on the market were poorly designed for the animal and/or aesthetically unpleasing. BatBnB houses feature snug spaces (which bats like), interior grooves for the bats to grip onto, and a rot resistant, water sealed cedar structure. They got their business going with an IndieGoGo campaign that raised $119,782 back in September of 2017. They also have the endorsement of renowned bat ecologist, Merlin Tuttle.
Now, they have customers in 47 states and 7 different countries. There are seven different BatBnB models ranging in price from $95 to $350 for the “Mammoth” model. They’re designed to attach to a house, barn or pole. Each model is sleek and elegant looking and provides an optimal place for bats to live and safely raise their young. They sell direct on their website and on Amazon. The guys – now known to their friends as “the Batmen,” are looking for a Shark to help them with mass production and wider distribution. Will a Shark invest or think this idea is batty?
BATBnB Company Information
Video
Posts about BATBnB on Shark Tank Blog
Bat BnB – Crowdfunded Bat Houses
BATBnB Shark Tank Recap
Harrison and Chris enter the Shark Tank seeking $100,000 for a 16% of their bat house business. They give their pitch and hand out samples. Each unit costs $89 to make and they sell for $239. So far, they have $135,000 in revenue. They project $145,000 in sales for the current year (2018). Kevin has knowledge of bats from when he lived in Tunisia as a teen, which the other Sharks needle him about. Harrison and Chris think selling to the public sector at the county level could be good for business.
Robert is the first Shark out, calling it a hobby business. Mark agrees with Robert and says it’s too small for him to invest in; he’s out. Lori is creeped out by bats; she’s out. Daymond says he has lots of bats on his property and doesn’t see any reduction in insects; he’s out. Kevin offers $100,000 for a 33.3%. The guys agree with one condition: Kevin has to dress in a bat suit sometime in the future. Kevin agrees and they do the deal.
BATBnB Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. The deal with Kevin never closed. The company keeps a pretty low profile on social media. In 2020, Harrison and Chris made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list. They also made news in Maine after Kennebec Estuary Land Trust won a BATBnB in an online competition for nonprofits devoted to bat conservation. As of August, 2022, both men still have full time jobs while they run their bat business.
In the summer of 2023, the company introduced a Bird BnB to attract song birds. By 2024, they say they’ve housed over 600,000 bats. They’ve expanded to include plush toys, shirts and hats, stickers, bat detectors, bat house signs, birdhouses and more. As of July, 2024, the company is still in business with annual revenue of less than $1 million.
