Cambria and Angie Cella pitch Blinger, Angie’s invention that safely allows you to adorn your hair, clothing, and accessories with gems and then easily remove them, in Shark Tank episode 1520. Angie literally dreamt the idea back in 2014. She claims God came to her in another dream and told her to make it. So that’s what she set out to do.
Things were a bit rocky at first. Angie had the idea, but went through 5 engineering firms before she got a working prototype. By that time she’d burned through her savings and taken on a fair amount of debt. Angie also raised $10,509 in a Kickstarter campaign in September, 2017 – but it wasn’t enough. The finished products were delivered in December, 2018. She addressed her children and said she wanted to sell their house so she could go to China and make the manufacturing tool. Her kids were supportive. She sold the house and did just that. That was in May, 2018.
Her family is glad she did it, too. In October, 2018, she went to the Dallas Toy Fair and connected with Wal Mart. It was an instant hit. The product, which looks like a round stapler, temporarly fashions gems like Swarovski Crystals to the hair. They can be easily removed by reversing the process. In 2019, Angie licensed Blinger to Wicked Cool Toys and the product went world wide. She sold 50 million units in 2019 alone! She eventually moved herself and her kids into their dream home. What she needs a Shark for is beyond me.
Company Information
Video
Posts about Blinger on Shark Tank Blog
Blinger Shark Tank Recap
Cambria and Angie enter the Shark Tank seeking $200,000 for a 5% stake in their company. Angie tells the story of how the idea for her business came to her in a dream. In the dream, God told her He wants her to make this product. Now, Blinger is everyone’s dream. It allows “fashionistas” to add crystals, pearls and other gems to their hair without heat or hair damage. Angie demonstrates the product by putting crystals in Cambria’s hair. Cambria says it’s the perfect way to enhance your look for any occaision. The Sharks are impressed by how easy it is.
You can dance all night with confidence thanks to their proprietary, medical grade, skin-safe adhesive. To remove the gems, you simply brush them out. They ask “which one of you Sharks is ready to ‘Bling it on’ with us?”
Samples and Questions
Each Shark has a set of custon gems and a Bling on their table. The male Sharks have wigs, too. There is a black Blinger and a pink Blinger on each table. The pink on is for girls and the black one – which comes with Swarovski Crystals – is for women. The women’s model is $49 and the girls’ model is $29.99. Lori tries it out on Kevin who is wearing a blond wig.
Angie says it took her 4 years to get a prototype. She went through 5 engineering firms. She’s a single mom with 4 kids. By the time the 5th engineer gave her a working prototype, she was in massive debt to the tune of $1.7 million. She couldn’t get any more loans and she couldn’t find investors. She got her kids together and said “why don’t I sell the house and do the manufacturing myself?”. The kids were onboard. She sold the house, rented a townhouse and started working through Skype with a factory in China. Next, she booked a booth at the Dallas Toy Fair and by the end of the first day, Blinger was rumored to be “Toy of the Year.” She got to pitch 2 toy companies and did a licensing deal with one of them for a 5% royalty. In 2019 they sold over $20 million wholesale.
Then Covid happened. Sales went down and Angie’s income went down. In 2021, sales were still down. By the summer of 2022, Serena Williams was seen with Swarovski Crystals in her hair and demand went up, but there were illegal infringers all over the internet. Angie had retained the rights to the women’s market and got the rights back for the girls’ product.
Numbers
So far this year (2023), they have $1.7 million in sales. She’s projecting $4.2 mifor the year with $1.5 million profit. They currently have about $2.5 million in inventory. She just wants a Shark’s help for the $200,000 because she has no business experience. Angie has two women working for her and Cambria but Cambria is in college and the Army. She doesn’t have a CFO and she needs a bookkeeper.
Who’s In?
Kevin says he’s seen a lot of deals in his 15 years on Shark Tank and this one is unbelievable. He thinks Angie needs someone to take over operations; She’s the creator and visionary “but wow, what a mess you have.” Kevin says he loves her story and wishes her the best but he’s out. Mark says they’re effectively out of business unless they sell their inventory. He says Angie needs somebody to run this whole thing and she’s not in a position to take on an investor because everything is a mess; he’s out.
Blinger Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. Six hours after the episode initially aired, the company did $77,000 in sales. In the week following their initial appearance, they racked up $242,000 in sales. When Angie met with Barbara in New York, she’d been planning to release new products; Barbara talked her out of it and told her to focus on Blinger.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Blinger & Cambria and Angie Cella as more details become available.
Barbara says she admires Angie’s persistence and offers $200,000 for 25% contingent on coming to New York at Barbara’s expense. She wants Angie to lay out her business on index cards and Barbara will reorganize everything. Robert admires Angie too but says if she doesn’t do a deal with someone like Barbara, she won’t survive; he’s out. Lori says they’ve done a fabulous job creating something really cool. Lori thinks they should go with Barbara’s offer; she’s out. Angie thinks 25% is a little too much. Barbara says she’ll fund purchase orders and Angie agrees to the deal.
