Brandi Dugal hoppes a Shark can read into a deal for The Fidget Game, her games that teach kids how to read quickly, in Shark Tank episode 1504. Brandi knows a thing or two about teaching. She taught in Canada, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bahrain, and the United States. She has a Masters Degree in Education and is a certified Reading Specialist K-6 and ESL Specialist. There was a common theme in each locale she taught in: parents had difficulty teaching their kids to read at home.
The Fidget Game is a series of games that use game-based, multisensory learning and follows the Science of Reading. Basically, Brandi has taken proven reading strategies and made them into a game. Kids can be up to grade level with her games in just a few weeks. It’s such a good system, The Fidget Game is used in over 40,000 schools internationally.
There are several different games in the collection. There’s a sight words game and Word Pop. Word Pop helps kids learn letter sound blending, master 50 common words, read simple sentences and gets them ready to learn multisyllabic words and sight words. There are also several series of flash cards, Word Bingo and more. Each game costs $29.95. There are games for pre-K kids all the way up to 4th grade. Kids using the program can get to grade level reading in as little as 2 weeks. Brandi likely wants a Shark’s help scaling up to the next level.
Company Information
Video
Posts about The Fidget Game on Shark Tank Blog
Fidget Games: Making Learning Accessible and Fun
The Fidget Game Shark Tank Recap
Brandi enters the Shark Tank and says she’s a teacher turned entrepreneur. She wants to partner with a Shark to make tons of cash and tackle the literacy problem. When she was a teacher, her students that struggled with reading were frustrated and embarrased. She watch kids go from being confident learners to thinking they were stupid. She knew that could follow a child for the rest of their life, so she decided to “gameify” reading to make it fun and stress free and the results were astounding. Her students began devouring books like hungry Sharks.
That’s why she developed The Fidget Game. It’s not your average board game, it’s a “teacher in a box.” The games are multi-sensory, alligned with the science of reading and they work. Here’s how you play: a child chooses a cards, if they choose a “heart” card, they need to know the word by heart. If they choose a lightening bolt card, they need to sound the word out. If they’re right, they roll the dice and get to popp the bubbles on the mat. Whoevr pops all their bubbles wins. She’s seeking $500,000 for 10%.
Q&A
Barbara wants Brandi to justify that number. Brandi says her company wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for Barbara. She came home one day and her husband shocked her when he said he wanted a divorce. She was depressed and a week after he left she was laying in bed. A Tik Tok video of Barbara’s story came on and inspired Brandi. She wrote up her business plan, moved into her mom’s basement and designed the game.
She’s been in business 13 months and she’s done $3.2 million in sales. The Sharks are impressed. Daymond, Barbara and Kevin are all dyslexic. Kevin talks about The Learning Company and the power of improving reading. He says it’s the reason she’s done $3.2 million in 13 months. She says she won’t stop until it’s an international company.
Sales
85% of sales are on Amazon and 15% is on her website. At the beginning, she sent 100 teachers the game and asked for feedback. The teachers blew it up on Tik Tok and people started ordering on Amazon which helped her rank there. She was the number 1 reading game on Amazon in 6 months. There are people copying her game but what keeps her out front is the learning guide she provides with the game which is alligned with the science of reading which is mandated in states.
The game costs $3.89 landed, Word Pop is $3.45, customer acquisition is $6.40 and her return on advertising is on 2.6 on Facebook and 3.7 on Amazon. Both games sell for $29.99. Net margin is 25%, but last month it was at 32%. This year she’ll make $1.25 million in profit. Brandi wants a Shark to help expand the product to a point where she takes kids through their entire literacy journey then she wants to gameify other parts of the curriculum. IInternational expansion and games in other languages are also part of her plan. She also wants to get into the English as a second language market. She wants a Shark so she can focus on the creative side and be mentored on who to hire to run the business side.
Who’s In?
Barbara offers $500,000 for 20%. Brandi says she loves Barbara and she’s the right partner. She counters with 15%. Barbara agrees and they do the deal!
The Fidget Game Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. Since the original air date, The Fidget Game has gotten into over 50,000 schools. The company has also added new games that teach math and telling time. Brandi also donates games to schools in need. Sales went through the roof after appearing and she should do well over $5 million in sales in 2024.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on The Fidget Game & Brandi Dugal as more details become available.
