Tipsy Elves featured in Shark Tank Season 5, which premiered on ABC on September 20, 2013. Evan Mendelsohn and Nicklaus Morton, the founders of Tipsy Elves, a holiday-themed apparel company, pitched their 'ugly Christmas sweaters' to the Sharks, and their ask was $100,000 in exchange for 5% equity. The founders were confident about their product as Evan had a background in SEO and did his thorough research in Christmas apparel according to the search volume of such apparel.
His co-founder, Nick, showed conviction in the project and quit his profession as a lawyer to join him in this apparel venture. They marketed and sold their products primarily online and revealed their sales for 2012 were $800K, of which Amazon accounted for 50%. Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner were the first to opt out of investing in Tipsy Elves, citing that they did not find the idea interesting enough. Kevin O'Leary offered a deal, $100K for a $2 royalty until he recovers his amount, and asked for an added $1 per sweater perpetuity.
Evan and Nick waited for the other two sharks, Daymon and Robert. Daymond showed interest but was hesitant to invest, questioning the future of the product. Robert felt confident in Tipsy Elves' future growth and offered $100K for 10%. Evan and Nick accepted the deal, saying, ' Their Christmas wish came true.'
After getting the investment from Robert in Shark Tank, Tipsy Elves have expanded their business and range of designs. Let us have a look at their journey after season 5.
An update on Shark Tank Season 5's holiday apparel venture, Tipsy Elves
Tipsy Elves promoted its product as an 'ugly Christmas themes apparel brand.' The founders, Evan and Nick, pitched the product in Shark Tank Season 5 and cracked a deal with Robert Herjavec. Since then, the brand has ventured into broadening its design horizons and created more sweaters based on other holidays. Tipsy Elves got the chance to reappear on an update segment in season 6.
In the update segment, the founders revealed that coming to Shark Tank was their best decision, and they have done a whopping business of $6 million since. They also told the sharks that they were projecting $8 million in the coming future and have expanded their workforce and design catalog as well.
In season 7, the Tipsy Elves founder again appeared on the update segment, and sharks were impressed by their growth. They stipulated a sale of $20 million that year and launched a finer line of sweaters for their customers. They also venture further into the category of Hawaiian shorts, shirts, ski suits, and Halloween-themed sweaters. The Shark Tank blog reported that the brand made $120 million in lifetime sales in August 2022, with an annual revenue of $6 million.
With $317 million in lifetime sales, Tipsy Elves became the 8th most successful venture in October 2023 to come of Shark Tank. The holiday apparel duo made a cameo in season 15, episode 10, holiday special. They came with duck-themed sweaters that had wings.
Evan Mendelsohn posted about their cameo on his Instagram in December 2023, and the caption reads:
"Catch us back on Shark Tank tonight for a special update! It’s been exactly 10 years since we first appeared on the show. Crazy how time flies, and it was so fun to be back on set with the sharks."
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ABC, the official network of the show has announced the release date of season 16 of Shark Tank, and it is scheduled to premiere on October 18, 2024.
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