Foam Cooler Founders Try To Impress The Investors With Their Enthusiastic Pitch
Highlights
- Foam Cooler is brought to the judges on Shark Tank by David Kittle and Chad Lee.
- The entrepreneurs seek $150K for 10% equity.
- Foam Cooler receives offers from two prominent faces on the Shark Tank panel.
Overview
| Category | Details |
| Name | Foam Cooler |
| Founder | David Kittle and Chad Lee |
| Industry | Commercial Refrigeration |
| Product | Cooler |
| Funding | Self-funded |
| Investment Ask | $150K |
| Equity Offered | 10% |
| Valuation | $1.5 million |
Aspiring entrepreneurs David Kittle (from Charlotte, North Carolina) and Chad Lee (from Bentonville, Arkansas) make their way to the Shark panelists with Foam. The duo starts their pitch by discussing how the coolers available today are geared only for the hardcore top-of-the-mountain outdoor experience.
There is no solution for people who do not need to keep ice for 10 days or cannot afford expensive coolers. Foam Cooler has been devised to solve the same problem through their simple and functional way of keeping drinks cold. Users can take it to the beach, park, pool, or boat.
David and Chad claim that Foam Cooler is the world’s first 100% EVA foam cooler. The entrepreneurs add that the material is lightweight, sustainable, durable, and even floats on water.
To prove its durability, the duo calls upon a person with a heavy bulldozer-like machine that runs over the cooler. Much to the Sharks’ surprise, nothing happens to it. A little section of the set’s floor breaks, though.
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David and Chad appear on Shark Tank, seeking $150K for 10% equity in Foam Cooler. The Sharks appear laughing throughout the enthusiastic pitch. The entrepreneurs then present their samples to the judges. Impressed by the presentation, they start with their questions one after the other.
Talking about their sales, the entrepreneur duo claim to have made $114K in sales year to date. Plus, right before its Shark Tank appearance, Foam Cooler received a ‘commitment for another $137K, which brings their sales to $251K this year to date.
Both David and Chad previously used to work at Coleman. David is a product designer who has designed Shark Tank products like Tushbaby (seen in Season 10) and Guardian Bikes (seen in Shark Tank Season 8). Seeing his clients make big on the show, he thought of coming up with himself.
On the other hand, Chad comes from the sales and product development side of the business. The Foam Cooler founder worked for Walmart, Costco, and Target for many years.
Kevin O’Leary wants to know about their distinguishing factor. The entrepreneurs point out the ‘lightweight’ feature of Foam Cooler.
Discussing the costs, Chad says they retail it for $99 and wholesale it for $50 (depending on the channel). The landing cost of the Foam Cooler is $25.
They are about to launch in Target in about a week by selling directly. They will start with 99 stores. Kevin is not impressed. But Lori Greiner thinks it is a smart move as businesses ‘can get killed’ by getting into a lot of stores.
Daymond John is not happy with the prices.
Chad says that the people at Target got into a Zoom call with them, loved their product, and agreed to associate with Foam Cooler. Lori is impressed with the fact that they did not even send a sample but still got the offer. She thinks Target did it sight unseen because they see tons of products and they have a category buyer.
Kevin thinks all of these do not matter, but Lori feels it does. Both of them have a slight argument at this point. Lori thinks the Foam Cooler founders controlled the buyer instead of the buyer controlling them.
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Lori says she will be a buyer for the ‘great entrepreneurs.’ But she chooses not to make an offer as it is not the right investment for her. Mark likes the product and thinks David and Chad are ‘driven’ and ‘focused.’ However, he exits the deal as he does ‘not see the risk/reward for it for him.’
Todd Graves says ice chests are ‘not in his wheelhouse.’ So, he, too, steps out of the deal.
Kevin thinks ‘it is a total crapshoot.’ If Foam Cooler sells through Target, ‘things will happen’ only then. He makes an offer ‘commensurate with the risk.’ Kevin adds that he will take the Foam Cooler to his distributors that do his ‘pizza oven’ as ‘they know every single big box guy.’
Kevin offers $150K for 33.3% equity. He wants to be the third partner.
Daymond thinks Foam Cooler is going out to get the license to various brands. He says he will take a flyer with an offer same as Kevin. But he stops instantly and proposes a deal at $150K for 30% equity.
The entrepreneurs try to counter the deals with $150K for 17% equity. Both Kevin and Daymond reject it. The duo then makes another counteroffer of $150K for 25% equity. The Sharks refuse it.
In the end, David and Chad end their Shark Tank journey by accepting Daymond’s deal of $150K for 30% equity.
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