Greg Cronin shows the Sharks his locker organizers, called LockerBones, in episode 514 on January 17. He invented LockerBones when his daughter got to middle school to help her keep her locker in more efficient order. She didn’t like stuffing her school books into the large, open space inside her locker; she wanted an easier way to store her things. Cronin spent two years perfecting the solution.
Locker Bones is essentially a set of shelves that easily fit together inside a locker. There’s no hardware – everything slides into place – and they can fit any size locker. Cronin found some initial success with schools in the Jackson, Mississippi area. He also set up a fundraising mechanism so schools and/or PTA’s can sell LockerBones to raise money. LockerBones make trips to the locker quick and easy for school kids and parents like knowing everything is neat and tidy.
Cronin is likely looking to the Sharks for help with manufacturing and marketing.
LockerBones Shark Tank Recap
Greg and Steven come to the Sharks seeking a $175,000 investment in return for 10% of LockerBones. Greg shows the Sharks a locker with books piled in the bottom, calling it a symptom of “Disorganitus.”
Steven pulls the demonstrative model out of the locker, to show the simplicity of the product. The design has been patented, which is a common question from the Sharks. When the dads sent a LockerBones organizer to school, within a few months the school’s Organizational Officer contacted them for 60 more of the homemade version. The pair has come to the Shark Tank looking for an investment to make a mass-market, plastic version of the organizer.
They’ve sold a total of 500 units in 2 years. Lori Greiner wants to know what the model is going to cost. They’ve already paid $28,000 to tool a previous model which failed. The low sales numbers and the previous failure leave the Sharks leery. The pair explain that the organizer has been redesigned, and that they have a contract in place with Amazon, for 10,000 pieces in wood. They want the capital to fulfill the order.
Kevin O’Leary wants to know if they’ve gone to Staples, which holds 30% of the school supply market. The pair hasn’t gone to Staples or Office Depot because those retailers want plastic. The pair have not moved forward because they don’t feel their patent is strong enough until they’re ready to produce a plastic version.
Mark Cuban is unimpressed with the business strategy thus far. He tells the pair they’re “chasing the dream, not the green.” He’s out. Kevin O’Leary believes the pair should be working harder on distribution to schools. He’s out. Barbara Corcoran agrees with the other two Sharks, that the pair’s sales strategy isn’t strong enough. She’s out.
Robert Herjavec is interested, but he doesn’t want to go in alone. He asks Lori Greiner to go in with him for 50% of the company for $175,000. The pair accept the offer.
LockerBones Shark Tank Update
The entrepreneurial dads leave the stage with a deal that includes not one but two Sharks. The deal never closed, but the real value came in the Shark Tank effect that so many entrepreneurs experience. Soon after the airing, Staples contacted the pair, and moved them into development to get the LockerBones ready for back to school sales.
Sales took off, and before they knew it, the entrepreneurial dads were a huge hit. The LockerBones systems are now available in either wood or plastic through Amazon, and the pair hope to have them on retail shelves in the near future. This is one Shark Tank product that is a hit, make no “bones” about it.
Fast forward to July, 2021 and the company appears to be out of business. The website is dark, the products are “currently unavailable” on Amazon and social media has been dark since 2018.
Posts About LockerBones on Shark Tank Blog
Locker Organizer – Locker Bones
LockerBones Information
Hey u should make them for inside kitchen cabinets and bathrooms and for retail shelf system and for closets if u use my idea please help me out