Daniel Lubetzky and the Founder of The Happy Birdwatcher Co. Susan Vandergriff (Image credit- Instagram @sharktankabc)
What started as a stress-relief activity slowly grew into a large-scale business. From a small kitchen in Tennessee, it has become a nationally recognized brand. Susan Vandergriff offers fascinating food to attract the birds you want.
Many birdwatchers struggle to attract specific birds to their yards with traditional feeders, but Susan’s company offers a revolutionary product that solves this problem, bringing nature’s stress-relieving tools right to your yard.
Let us, “entrepreneur-watchers,” find out everything about this venture—from her pitch on Shark Tank to what happened next. Did the sharks find her worthy enough of a partnership, or did they simply bid her goodbye with their best wishes?
About Happy Birdwatcher
| Category | Details |
| Founder (Plural if multiple) | Susan Vandergriff |
| Product Type | Bird Supplies |
| Funding (Pre-Shark Tank) | Self Funded |
| Investment Asked | $150,000 |
| Equity Offered | 10% equity |
What Happened on the Shark Tank Episode?
With the spirit of a “happy birdwatcher,” Susan Vandergriff presented a passionate pitch, revealing her love for birdwatching. It all started when she turned to nature to relieve stress and anxiety and began feeding birds.
Soon, she realized that ordinary bird feeders fail to attract birds effectively. She took it upon herself to prepare a blend that suited the birds of her region. Gradually, she started noticing an increase in the number of birds that began flocking to her garden because of her self-prepared mix.
That’s when she decided to turn it into a business and make every birdwatcher a happy birdwatcher. Her business was featured on major platforms like The Washington Post, Forbes, and Southern Living.
- The sharks inquired about her sales. Launched in 2021, the business has achieved $459K in lifetime sales. In the first year, it was only $9,000, but in 2022, it reached $109K, and by 2023, it hit $189K.
- Susan shared the selling and production costs of her best-selling product, the Simply Seeds HappySeed Box. It is a 10 lb. box that comes with a specialty mix, priced at $49, while the production cost is $26.79. She added that they make about $22 per unit. Mark asked, “Is it because it takes you a lot of time to prepare the mix?” She agreed, quickly sharing her plan to secure an investment that would lower the COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) by $3 to $4.
- Shark Daniel shared that, although he loves birds—as seen in the HummViewer episode—he struggled to offer a deal because Susan’s business had too little margin to be truly profitable.
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What Makes Happy Birdwatcher Unique?
These days, AI technologies have been gaining traction in this industry, and bird lovers are growing more and more aware of them. For example, brands like Bird Buddy and Netvue Birdfy Feeder use AI to enhance the birdwatching experience. In contrast, Happy Birdwatcher focuses on feeding birds naturally instead of using smart technology. While AI-powered feeders have their own digital features, Happy Birdwatcher sticks to the basics by providing high-quality bird food to attract and nourish birds in an eco-friendly way.
- Happy Birdwatcher offers special bird seed blends to attract the bird of your choice.
- They use bird sighting data to determine what birds are in a particular zip code and curate custom blends accordingly.
- Instead of using harmful plastic, they rely on eco-friendly packaging.
- Susan shared with Nooga Today that, from the beginning, they have donated $1 for every 10 pounds of bird seed sold.
HappySeed Boxes come in a variety of price ranges: the Starter HappySeed Box is priced at $36.00 USD, the Simply Seeds HappySeed Box is sold for $52.00 USD, and the Splendid HappySeed Box is priced at $76.00 USD. In addition, various gift subscriptions are also available on their official website.
Did Happy Birdwatcher Get a Deal on Shark Tank?
- Mr. Wonderful believed that Susan might be the premier birdseed woman, and the business idea was certainly unique. However, he did not like the business model and, for that reason, decided not to invest. The other sharks shared similar concerns.
- Mark Cuban offered valuable advice to Susan. He said, “This is a service business pretending to be a product business.” He explained that the high-touch service the company offers is what sets it apart from the rest. However, because the business does not charge for that service, it is difficult to be profitable.
- Susan could not secure a deal on the show, but she remained optimistic about the future. She said, “This whole experience has just been fantastic—wouldn’t trade it for anything!”
What Happened to Happy Birdwatcher After Shark Tank?
After the Shark Tank episode aired, Happy Birdwatcher witnessed a surge in sales. The business has been growing ever since—Susan’s cell phone is flooded with calls and orders. They have added new products to their lineup and expanded their reach. And as they should, Happy Birdwatcher is making the most of the “Shark Tank effect”.
Where Can You Buy It?
If you are a bird enthusiast and wish to attract the birds you like, then Happy Birdwatcher might be just what you need. You can find the product on their official website and take advantage of the ongoing offers and sales.
Quick Summary / TLDR
- Happy Birdwatcher is a unique business that offers bird food curated specifically for the birds you want to attract.
- It uses real-time bird sighting data—gathering and analyzing information to create the perfect blend of seeds for you.
- Although the sharks loved the product and the idea behind it, they refrained from offering any deal because of the challenging business model.
