Love is Project Before Shark Tank
Love is Project is a business that makes bracelets from beads that are high in quality. The bracelets are available in a range of lively colors, and each bracelet has the word Love stitched into it. The Love is Project was created with the goal of promoting and spreading love. For every bracelet that is sold, the company helps aid females across the world in getting fair wages, good education, and the healthcare they need. All in all, the Love is Project is a company whose ideal beliefs are to work towards further spreading love and support throughout the future. In addition to their bracelets, the company also makes and sells necklaces and other jewelry made from their beads. They even make collars for pets!
The Love is Project was founded in January of 2017 by Chrissie La. Her mother, Gladys Lam, is the co-founder. Chrissie is a graduate from the Parsons School of Design, where she studied fashion design and gained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. After she graduated from college, she started working at American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch in New York City. Here, she remained for 12 years, working as a Concept Designer-Trend Forecaster. After leaving American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch in 2012, Chrissie decided to travel across the world to start a project of spreading love. This quickly became her passion and led her to travel to Ecuador, Kenya, and Indonesia. Though this started out as a hobby project, it quickly became a huge goal of hers. While traveling, the founder met, and worked with, many artisan women within the Maasai tribe who showed her their handmade beaded jewelry. 
Loving the concept of said bracelets, Chrissie came up with the idea of making similar bracelets that can be sold in support of love and life. The company began with just a small group, including Chrissie and her mother Gladys. The founder used her own personal savings and a discussion on Instagram about what love means to others to get the business up and running. She even quit her job in order to focus her attention to the business. From there, Chrissie started reaching out to the artisan women she had met, asking them if they’d like to have a job in making these bracelets. Of course, they accepted the offer with open arms, and the Love is Project gained 2,000 artisan bracelet crafters.
As many new businesses do, the Love is Project did come across a few financial setbacks. As the company expanded, they also began getting into debt. Fortunately, this didn’t drag the business down. In 2018, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School experienced a tragic in-school shooting. In response to this tragic time, the Love is Project graciously donated 1,600 of their Love bracelets to the school. By 2019, the company was featured in the Lewa, Kenya 20th Anniversary Marathon. This marathon is held in support to the community and their wildlife. Furthermore, when the Covid-19 pandemic swept the nation, the Love is Project launched a new program called the Love Grows Program, which aided donations to Uttar Pradesh, India in support of helping the artisans.
Already, after such a short few years, Chrissie and Gladys have turned the Love is Project into a beautiful inspiring business that helps many. From their donations to their offers of providing jobs to the artisan women, the Love is Project will certainly continue to grow for the better. But donations aren’t the only good deed Chrissie does. She’s also written a book called The Greatest Love Story Ever Told. The book shines light over the lives she’s helped and provides readers with a lovely excerpt of their lives. She gets said stories from the individuals themselves. Nonetheless, Chrissie isn’t through with expanding her business. She has plans to launch a subscription service as well as adding new products to her market soon. That sounds like something a shark could help her with. Can Chrissie and Gladys inspire the sharks to invest in love? 
Love is Project on Shark Tank
Chrissie Lam and her mother, Gladys Lam, appear on Shark Tank season 12 episode 10 to make their debut with their Love is Project bracelets. The Lams are hoping for an investment of $250,000 in exchange for a 5% equity in their business. The Love is Project has a valuation of $5 million thus far. The Lams begin pitching the sharks their company as they give each shark a sample bracelet to examine. For the most part, the sharks seem to like the concept of the bracelets. Chrissie shares her story, along with mentioning that the Love is Project has already helped many artisan women gain jobs as well as other support. Before the pitch concludes, the sharks are curious to know what the founders are going to do with their investment. They tell the sharks that they require an investment for them to expand their business further. They’re also hoping the help of a shark will increase their online presence.
Now, it is time for the Chrissie and Gladys to reveal their lifetime sales. Unfortunately, this is where the pitch takes a turn. The founders speak up and state that they’ve done $4 million thus far in lifetime sales. Her customer acquisition costs are at $25. While that amount doesn’t seem too bad, the sharks grow concerned once Chrissie mentions her $500,000 in debt and the fact that she had lost $80,000 within just a year. Due to this, the Love is Project pitch ends quickly. The sharks praise Chrissie’s intent behind her business, but they’re not willing to invest where there is so much debt as that could affect them being re-paid. Due to that, all the sharks drop out and Chrissie and Gladys leave without a shark’s deal. 
Love is Project Now in 2024 – The After Shark Tank Update
Despite Chrissie and Gladys Lam not receiving a deal with a shark, the Love is Project is still in operation. They have also reached an annual revenue of $3 million in 2021. From the sounds of it, Chrissie has been able to handle her debt, and put thousands of dollars back into her business. She claims that this money has gone towards her digital marketing. Considering the Love is Project now has celebrity endorsements, this claim seems justified. Celebrities such as Anne Hathaway have been seen wearing the company’s Love bracelet. Chrissie and Gladys have also introduced an affiliate program where people can sign up to become an ambassador for the company. In addition to being noticed by celebrities, the Love is Project has successfully expanded their shop to offer other accessories such as bags and more. Not to mention, Chrissie has been working on getting her book sequel, The Greatest Love Story Ever Told, ready for sale as well. Given how well the Love is Project appears to be doing in 2024, it can be said that the business will surely remain up and running for some time.
