Caroline Matthes and Rose Fierman hope to lightt up the Shark Tank with Poplight, their battery powered wall light, in Shark Tank episode 1514. The pair moved into an old house and wanted lighting on either side of their bed, but they didn’t want to go the route of hiring an electrician. They envisioned a battery powered light that could just stick onto the wall. Three years later, they had a prototype.
They got things started with a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $162,498 back in March, 2023. As of the original air date, they hadn’t shipped any lights to their backers and the lights are available for pre-order on their website. They are promising to ship all orders by May, 2024. Renters like the idea of these lights because you can add custom lighting just about anywhere without major construction. The lights are battery powered and and fasten to any wall with double sided sticky tape.
As for the lights themselves, they cost $95 and come in six colors: white, yellow, pink, black, green and red. Replacement battery packs cost $24. Since they haven’t shipped any products, they likely want a Shark’s help navigating overseas manufacturing.
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Posts about Poplight on Shark Tank Blog
Pop Light: Revolutionizing Wall Lighting
Poplight Shark Tank Recap
This segment opens to an empty hallway as the Shark Tank music plays. The Sharks wonder where the entrepreneurs are when Caroline and Rose jump out from under the covers of a bed onstage. From the bed, they say they’re seeking $150,000 for 8% of their company. When they first moved in together, they needed wall lights on either side of the bed. Rose says they’re pretty handy but installing wall lighting is a real hassle. Punching holes in your wall, running wire, patching dry wall – who has the time? An electrician could cost over $1000. In this economy, there had to be a better way to install wall lighting.
They demonstrate how to install the Poplight on the set. The base attaches to the wall using double sided adhesive. There’s a built in level “so you always stick the landing the first time. Next just swivel and click Poplight into place: wall lighting in seconds! Plus, it’s dim-able. You recharge it with a USB cord and its battery. They also have an app that lets you control the lights. Whether you’re moving into a new home, apartment, dorm room or just want to install wall lighting without a fuss, Poplight has the solution. They ask the Sharks “who’s ready to revolutionize wall lighting with Poplight?”
Samples and Questions
The Sharks examine their samples. Robert says they’re “super cool.” Mark asks what happens to the wal when you remove the adhesive. They designed it so when you remove the tape, there’s no damage to the wall. Robert asks how to turn it on and they show him. Robert says it’s a great idea. The Sharks have prototypes. They just finished their first round of tooling and these are the prototypes. Lori says the tooling looks clean. They retail for $95 and cost $30 landed which puts the profit margin at around 68%. Their testing showed offering aat a higher price with a bigger discount resulted in more sales.
It takes 4 hours to charge and the charge lasts 5-9 hours depending on how bright it is but you can leave it plugged in. Lori asks if there are other lights like this and they say no. They have 3 patents: a design patent and two pending patents on the technology. They tell the Sharks about their Kickstarter campaign that raised over $170,000 in a little over 4 weeks. They launched at 6 AM and made their goal in 22 minutes. No Kickstarter orders have been shipped yet. There are $5000 in orders from their newly launched website.
Who’s In?
Both women still have full time jobs. Rose has been in tech and she’s a “data whiz.” She’s also from a family of multigenerational entrepreneurs. Caroline is a licensed clinical social worker who provides counseling to individuals and couples. She also likes figuring out how things work.
Kevin thinks it’s a total crap shoot but he offers $150,000 for 8% plus a royalty of $2 until he recoups $500,000 then it drops to $1 in perpetuity. Barbara offers $150,000 for no equity and a $20 royalty in perpetuity. Kevin calls it a brutal offer. Robert says they should take Kevin’s offer and that Barbara’s offer is ridiculous; he’s out. Lori is concerned about some of their competition; she’s out. Mark says if it can be easily removed, they win, but he’s not convinced; Mark’s out. They ask Barbara if she’d go to 12% and Barbara offers $100,000 in cash and a $50,000 credit line. They ask Kevin if he’d lower his first threshold to $350,000 and he says no. Next, they accept Kevin’s deal.
Poplight Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. Poplight finally shipped its Kickstarter orders in May, 2024. The first re-run of this episode occurs in June, 2024 – 6 months after the original air date. At this time, their website says “order now, ships next week.” At this time, there is no evidence the deal with Kevin closed.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Poplight & Caroline Matthes and Rose Fierman as more details become available.
