When Jackie was nursing her first child, she found covering up was too hot for both her and her baby. The reason: they live in Arizona. She wanted something that would keep her and baby cool yet covered. That was the inspiration for the Nursing Cool Cover by Lady Alpha.
The secret is a 3 speed fan is attached to the breast feeding cover. This keeps mom and baby cool while feeding. The fan is blade free so baby won’t get hurt and mom won’t tangle her hair. As an added benefit, the white noise of the fan lulls baby to sleep.
The Cool Covers come in 5 colors: Sage Remington, Champagne Mami, Midnight Magic, Cool Blue and Hot Pink. Each costs $59.95. They are available without the attached fan as well for $39.95. The company is selling on a pre-order basis only as of the original air date. They likely need a Shark’s cash for inventory.
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Posts about Lady Alpha on Shark Tank Blog
The Nursing Cool Cover by Lady Alpha
Lady Alpha Shark Tank Recap
Jeremy and Jackie enter the Shark Tank seeking $100,000 for 10% equity in their company. Last year they were blessed with the most beautiful baby girl, Sunny. She brought the sunshine into their lives but man does she bring the heat. Literally every time she breast fed Sunny they’d both be drenched in sweat. Jackie tried every nursing cover under the sun but they kept running into the same problem. Sweaty, stressed and without a solution, they were forced to take matters into their own hands with the Lady Alpha nursing cool cover.
Lady Alpha is the only nursing cover on the market with an integrated fan to keep your baby cool while breast feeding. Simply attach the fan to the light, breathable cover with Velcro and place it over you and your baby. The rechargeable, bladeless fan has 3 speeds and its flexible design allows for an adjustable opening to allow hands free eye contact with your baby at all times. The muslin cover is “baby tug proof,” so even with the squirmiest baby, it’s not going anywhere. People say “don’t sweat the small stuff” and we say “why sweat at all?” They ask the Sharks “which one of you is ready to be the coolest Shark and help moms and babies everywhere?”
Samples and Questions
Robert tries his on and says it really works. Kevin asks if sweaty babies are a big deal and Jackie says yes. They sell them for $59.95 and they cost $17.30 to make. Since launching 7 months ago they have sold 1400 units for a total of $79,000. They initially bought 300 units thinking it would take all year to sell them and they sold out in 4 weeks. They use social media to get customers and got an investment of $15,000 from Jackie’s uncle Robert and were going to spend it on IP and product. She knew they’d have to take social media by storm so she built a community around moms.
Jeremy works at a hospital as a strategic sourcing program manager but his background is working on his family farm at a young age. He hated it at the time but it taught him about hard work, sacrifice and rolling up your sleeves to get stuff done. Jackie is a first generation Latina immigrant raised by a single mother. She’s full time with the business and being a mom. Her mom came to America for the American Dream. Growing up, she watched her mother work multiple jobs and struggle to provide for the family. After high school she went to college for half a semester, but she ended up in corporate America working for credit card companies, in collections, personal loans and car sales. She always had a “hustler mentality” and watched her mom start a house cleaning business which she joined in on.
More Questions
When they first became parents, breast feeding in public became a stressful ordeal and if they wanted to go to family events or public functions, they needed a solution to the problem. A lightbulb went off in Jeremy’s head about attaching a fan to a feeding cover. He told Jackie and she ran with it. She took it to her grandmother who’s a seamstress and with $15 she had the first prototype in 2 days. Their utility patent was just approved 2 weeks ago.
Lori wants to know how often women talk about this problem. Jackie says it’s a silent problem. She took hers to the park and showed it to other moms and they looked like they’d seen a ghost. They all wanted one. There’s no other feeding cover on the market with a fan. Since they launched, they consistantly ran out of inventory and had to operate with pre-orders. The demand Jackie has created exceeds their access to capital. They’re currently waiting on 600 units, but a lot of moms wanted to pre-order so they’d be sure they got one. In 1 day they sold 482 units on pre-order. Barbara offers $100,000 for 10% – just what they asked for – and Jeremy and Jackie accept.
Lady Alpha 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 first re-run of this episode is in June, 2024, just 3 months after the original air date. At this time there is no hard evidence the deal with Barbara has closed. On Show night, Barbara Tweeted this:
Welcome to the family, #LadyAlpha! Excited to get started. #SharkTank
@ABCSharkTank
Just after airing, Jackie told a local news station they sold over 3500 units (over $200,000 worth of product) and they have thousands more on the way for pre-orders. As of the first re-run date, they are still selling via pre-order with delivery promised in mid July, 2024.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Lady Alpha & Jeremy and Jackie Samuelson as more details become available.
