Credit: Bombas Website
Highlights
- Bombas made its way to the judges in the sixth season of Shark Tank.
- Except for Daymond John, no investor was interested in offering a deal.
- Bombas is now a billion dollar business with multiple lines of products.
Shark Tank has contributed to many success stories over the years with the most innovative products and interesting pitches. But there are only a few products that are still fresh in the memory of viewers owing to their unique nature and uses. One such product is Bombas.
Before getting into the intrinsic details, have a look at its Shark Tank appearance:
Bombas Shark Tank Pitch
Randy Goldberg and David Heath, an entrepreneur duo from New York made their way to the investors with Bombas about a decade ago. This sock brand was an idea that emerged out of a conscious idea to help the homeless with the most essential clothing item, i.e., socks.
The entrepreneurs sought an investment of $200K at 5% equity in their company. Elaborating further on the many features and benefits of Bombas, they revealed that their socks were available in multiple colors and the perfect fit for athletes.
Additionally, it offered numerous other features for its users, including a honeycomb support system, Y stitching in the ankles, and a unique ‘stay up technology.’
But what impressed the judges the most was that for every sold pair, they would donate another pair to homeless shelters.
The Bombas founders then revealed that they had been funding their company via an Indiegogo campaign. By then, they had requested a $15K investment and managed to raise more than $140K. The founders credited their socially conscious thought as the reason behind the success.
The reason why they approached the Shark Tank was because they had been selling only on the online platform until then. To get into stores, they needed help from an established business figure, just like the Sharks.
Bombas Shark Tank Negotiation
As per the then venture funding, Bombas was valued at $4 million. Whereas, the entrepreneurs envisioned making $1.2 million in sales per year. This did not go well with Kevin who called them “sock cockroaches,” and refused to invest.
Robert and Lori stepped out of the deal as well, owing to their respective concerns regarding the customer acquisition. Mark wasn’t happy with the low margins, so he, too, chose to stay out of the deal.
Bombas Shark Tank Deal
With four judges opting out of the deal, the entrepreneurs’ only hope was Daymond. Kevin pressured them into rethinking their valuation. Daymond stated the same and offered to help with the inventory provided that they revised their previous valuation.
A serious round of offers and counter-offers followed this. The final deal, though, was locked with Daymond for $200K at a 17.5% equity stake.
Bombas Current Value
Now that you’ve got a fair idea about the ‘Bombas Shark Tank’ episode, here’s a detailed explanation of its success story:
Within a year of its appearance on the show, Bombas started setting new records in the history of Shark Tank’s successes. In an update segment of the sixth season, it was revealed that Bombas had already made over $11 million.
Furthermore, in the eighth season, it again found its place in the update segment owing to its staggering sales figure of $100 million. There was no stopping for the Bombas Shark Tank journey after this.
It was revealed in the eleventh season that the company had become the top sales earner in the show’s history, with more than $300 million in sales. Bombas then featured in the ‘Greatest of All Time Special’ edition in 2020.
The story was no different for Bombas in 2021, as it had earned $171 million annually in revenues and was on the verge of emerging as a billion-dollar empire. In March 2023, they achieved the humongous mark of $250 million in annual revenue.
But the most significant breakthrough for Bombas came in the fifteenth season when it was revealed that they had made more than $1 billion in lifetime sales. With this, it became the first-ever Shark Tank company to achieve this feat.
Currently, Bombas employs 150 people across 15 facilities spread around 8 different nations. Additionally, they have maintained their promise of helping the homeless by having donated more than 100 million items to shelters.
Bombas Success Story
Bombas is one such company that gained profit by sharing their products. Here are the growth drivers behind the majestic success of Bombas:
The Giveaway Concept: Unlike other brands, which come up with the concept of giving back to society after achieving the estimated targets, Bombas was set up upon the idea of helping the needy. It is due to the same reason that the brand has already met the clothing needs of millions of homeless people.
Direct-To-Consumer Approach: As discussed earlier, Bombas founders originally sold their products on the online platform only. This allowed them to connect to their users on a personal level much before they made their way to the market. The extra need to attract new customers was relatively easy.
Continuous Developments: Bombas didn’t restrict their offerings to selling socks only. Instead, after achieving decent success, it added new products to the line, including underwear and shirts. These two categories were again much requested by the homeless people.
Bottomline
The Bombas Shark Tank journey exemplifies the potential of a socially responsible brand with an innovative line of products. With an unwavering commitment to its vision and strategic business model, it has emerged as the biggest success story of Shark Tank.
References
1. How The Billion-Dollar Sock Guys From ‘Shark Tank’ Learned To Say No, Forbes, Eric Ryan
2. Shark Tank’s Most Successful Brand of All Time Wasn’t Even Supposed to Be a Business at First. Here’s How It Became One With $1 Billion in Lifetime Revenue., Entrepreneur, Written by Amanda Breen, Edited by Jessica Thomas
Entrepreneur, auteur, raconteur. Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A father of five who freelances in a variety of publications, Rob has a stable of websites including Shark Tank Blog, Hot Dog Stories, Rob Merlino.com and more.
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