Brian Lim looks to light up the Shark Tank with Emazing Lights, his wildly successful LED lighted glove company, in Shark Tank episode 621. Lim was a pioneer in the art of “gloving,” giving a light show using light up gloves at raves and other electronic dance music venues.
He started the business in 2010 with $100 and made it his mission to give light shows at raves with his LED gloves. Fast forward to 2015 and Lim has a solid business doing over $16 million in annual sales! EmazingLights was the 189th fastest growing company in 2014 on the annual “Inc. 5000” list. The gloves cost anywhere from $12 for a basic pair to $100 for premium gloves. The company also sells other glowing items from sunglasses to apparel and accessories.
EDM is a multi-billion dollar a year market and Mr. Lim made Emazing Lights into one of the premier businesses on the scene. His fiancée, Christina, runs a sister company called iHeartRaves, an online super market for rave related items. Whether Lim wants cash for expansion or a Shark’s help with manufacturing remains to be seen. Will a Shark rave about Emazing Lights?
Emazing Lights Shark Tank Recap
Brian enters wearing the Emazing Lights mascot costume and asks for $650K for 5% of the business. The lights dim and some of his helpers demonstrate gloving for the Sharks. When the demo ends, Brian hands out samples and the questions start. Robert thinks they’re cool.
Kevin wants to know why the business is worth $13 million. Brian says he’ll do $5.5 million in sales this year. He explains how he’s started IHEARTRAVES.com which has done $2.5 million in sales. Brian tells how his parents immigrated from China and that instilled a work ethic in him and he compares himself to Mark – he sold CDs door to door.
The patents he has on EmazingLights are for the programming of the glove lights. Mark wants to know the pricing. The margins run from $10-$17, but Mark wants to know what’s next. Gloving, Brian explains, has become a “performance sport.” Daymond compares gloving to break dancing and Brian says it’s transcending the EDM scene; he thinks it could be a billion dollar business. Mark thinks global expansion is the next thing.
Who’s In?
Mr. Wonderful offers to loan Brian $650K at 3%, Brian declines – he wants a partner and doesn’t want debt; Kevin is out. Daymond wants to know why Brian asked for 5%, Brian says make an offer; Daymond offers $650K for 20% of the licensing deals he brings in. Robert says Brian is the “real deal.” Robert and Lori team up to offer $1 million for 8% equity. Mark offers $650K for 8% and brings Daymond in for a 20% commission on any deals he licenses. Robert and Lori counter with $1 million for 5%.
Brian says he understands the offers and says it’s not about the money. Still, he’s agonizing. After a pause, he accepts Mark and Daymond’s offer! Brian says he can’t imagine what his work week is going to look like anymore!
RESULT: DEAL with Mark and Daymond for $650K for 8% plus 20% commission on all licensing deals.
Emazing Lights 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 the Sharks closed an Emazing Lights shot into the stratosphere. In a few months after airing, Lim had to double his staff and office space to accommodate the flood of orders. The company did licensing deals with MGM, selling their products at six of MGM’s properties in Las Vegas. The pandemic hit this business hard. They were doing sales in the neighborhood of $15-$20 million going into 2020, then raves and other events ceased for over a year. In August, 2021, the company hd 50 full-time employees and 3,000 square feet of warehouse space. In January, 2023, they were forced to shut the business down. This statement appeared on the company Facebook page:
To our customers & community,
In 2010 we started our business selling light gloves out of the trunk of a car. We wanted to create a company that embodied the magic we felt when giving and receiving light shows and share that with the entire world. We started as a small family business and were able to grow and see that vision come to life. It grew to something bigger than we ever thought it could be and we are eternally grateful for that. However, we’ve encountered more challenges than we ever anticipated. We never truly recovered from the gloving ban at major festivals in the early 2010s and after a global pandemic shutting down all gatherings from festivals to light show meet ups, we’ve faced devastating company losses. After much deliberation, we regret to inform you we’ve come to the difficult decision to close down EmazingLights.com.
This journey would not have even been possible without you, our EMAZING customers and community. We are beyond grateful to have been a part of the light show movement. Thank you for supporting our vision, sharing your light shows, joining our competitions, and spreading joy at festivals, light art meet-ups, and beyond. Your support is what kept us going as long as we could and you’ve impacted our lives more than you could ever know.
We know that the gloving and flow arts community is so much bigger than our brand and hope you all continue to spread the joy and love for it that inspired us to start this journey 12 years ago.
All recent orders placed will still be fulfilled and our customer service team will still be available for any assistance. All remaining inventory can be purchased on our sister website iHeartRaves.com and select products available on Amazon.
As of August, 2024, Brian is still running 2 clothing brans: Into The AM and iHeart Raves.
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