Seneca Hampton hopes to wrap up a deal for Hampton Adams, his athletic tape company, in Shark Tank episode 1322. Seneca’s dad is a football coach and his mother is a nurse, so Seneca had good help when it was time to wrap his ankles in tape for a football game. He remembers that there was always sticky residue when he removed the tape. It was a problem he wanted to fix.
He met with dozens of manufacturers until he found one that had a formula to his liking. He started the business in 2016 with $700 and began selling direct to consumer on Amazon. His products sold out in a week and he made $1500 which he plowed into more inventory. The products sold out again, so he took out a $7000 loan to finance inventory. With ten times the inventory he originally started with, he sold out in a week and a half. After getting another loan for $15,000, he self-financed the business from profits.
Seneca’s goal is to become the “go to” sports medicine brand for athletic tape. He offers rubber free kinesiology tape, self adhesive wraps, athletic tape, ice packs, finger tape and elastic wrap bandages. The products come in a variety of colors and costs vary depending on the type of tape. So far, Seneca has done a good job of slef financing. He hopes to snag a Shark so he can scale big.
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Hampton Adams Tank Recap
Seneca enters the Shark Tank seeking $500,000 for 10% equity in his company. He begins by saying all athletes use athletic tape. He lifts a 45 pound weight with a strip of tape and demonstrates how easy it is to tear. The Sharks examine their samples and Seneca says he has $24,000 in sales – the Sharks gasp, then he says “yesterday.” Lifetime sales are $12.2 million. year to date sales are $5 million. Sales are primarily on Amazon.
Sales for the year are projected to be $6.2 million. Margins are 20% because he spends 20% pre-tax cash on ad spend. His tape is special because of his special adhesive. Seneca says 7 years ago he worked at a company that sold lightbulbs using the same business model. He’s originally from LA with 4 brothers and 4 sisters in a relatively impoverished situation.
He needs the Shark money because he’s consistently ordering. He’s been approached by investors and the Sharks say he should sell it. Robert says his success will ultimately kill the business due to the cash problems. Seneca asks Robert if he’d buy the business. Robert loves the business, but he won’t invest; he’s out. Mark asks if Seneca would come work for him but it’s not investable; he’s out.
Lori says she’ll buy it, but she’s out. Barbara says Seneca needs to get really smart really fast, but she’s out. Kevin thinks it’s an impressive business. He offers $500,000 with a royalty of $1.50 per roll until he gets $1.5 million back for 10% of the business. Robert forbids Seneca from taking the deal, as do the other Sharks. After some back and forth, Seneca declines the deal. In the hallway, he says he’s going to take Robert’s advice and sell the company.
Hampton Adams 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 rerun of this episode in August, 2022, is just three months after the original air date. As of this time, there is no new news about this business. As of January, 2024, he’s expanded his product line to include rubber-free kinesiology tape, elastic wrap bandages, ice packs, finger tapes, and more. Lifetime sales have surpassed $15 million.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Hampton Adams & Seneca Hampton as more details become available.
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