Henry, David and Fletcher Pease seek an investore for Rekkie, their smart ski goggles, in Shark Tank episode 1504. Henry got the idea for the smart goggles one day while skiing. He got separated from his group and had difficulty finding them. He wanted something that could help him (and others) in that situation.
Enter Rekkie. The name is British military slang for “reconnaissance,” and that’s what these goggles do. There’s a heads up display at the top of the goggle glass that shows the wearer where their friends are. Once paired with your smart phone, the goggles also tell you the time, your speed, your altitude, a compass, battery life status, the number of unread text messages, and the proximity of friends. You can even answer your phone with them.
The brothers split responsibilities in the company. Henry designed the REKKIE app and associated technology. Fletcher heads up sales, finance, and accounting. David, is in charge of manufacturing, marketing, and operations. A pair of Rekkie goggles will set you back $349 and swappable lenses cost between $29 and $49. The guys likely want help getting into sporting goods retailers.
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Posts about Rekkie on Shark Tank Blog
Rekkie Shark Tank Recap
Henry, David and Fletcher enter the Tank seeking $300,000 for 10% of their company. Henry begins by saying the brothers grew up skiing together and there’s nothing better than a perfect day on the mountain. The problem is when you get split up. Fletcher says his brothers like to ski and he finds his own way down the mountain on his snowboard. Not knowing where the others are happens all the time. Whipping out your phone in the middle of a ski run is difficult, so they came up with a better way.
They’re smart snow goggles with a built in heads up display that projects on the lens. You can see where your friends are, how fast you’re going, read unread texts, control your music, answer phone calls and more. They aren’t VR goggles, they don’t block your view. The lenses have clear, contrasting, anti fog glass making them the best goggles before you turn them on.
How it Works
Henry walks through how the goggles work with a helmet wearing the goggles that has a camera inside. The Sharks try their goggles on. Daymond thinks they’re cool. Lori asks how the locater works; it’s through their app or a built in radio if there’s no cell service. In the app, you create a ski group then pair your phone with the goggles. Barbara wants to know if the goggles will tell her what chairlift or run her friends are on – they are working on that. You can see where people are in the maps section of the app. Daymond says “you’re at stage one again, pulling out your phone.
They launched in late 2022 and have one ski season under their belts. Sales are $175,000, all direct to consumer. The goggles cost $130 per unit to make and sell for $349. They believe with scale they can get the cost to $100 landed. The price is comparable to high end ski goggles and they believe they have the best ski goggle on the market without the display. They have a patent pending and they have no competitors.
Background Info
Henry is the “tech dweeb” of the group. He got his mechanical and aerospace engineering degree from Princeton. He worked as a research engineer for a car company in silicon valley. David was in private equity and Fletcher was an investment banker. They put in $200,000 of their own money to start the business and they won a $40,000 grant. Henry is full time and David and Fletcher have other businesses that will do $8-$10 million this year. Customer acquisition is $120 with an average order value of $475.
Lori thinks the guys are amazing and the goggles are cool but she’s not a cold weather sports enthusiast, she’s out. Kevin offers $300,000 for 20% contingent on a 20% payout on every dollar the guys pay themselves. Barbara wants to know when the map feature will be on the goggles, when they stumble with the answer, she’s out. Mark offers $300, for 15%. After a brief conference, the guys counter with 12.5% because they think military and law enforcement applications will make it a really big company and Mark agrees.
Rekkie Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. After the original air date, the goggles were on backorder for a few weeks. As of April, 2024 – about 5 months after the original air date – there is no evidence the deal with Mark closed.
The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on Rekkie & Henry, David and Fletcher Pease as more details become available.
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