MorningHead on Shark Tank
Max Valverde has traveled from Boston, Massachusetts, and is the creator of MorningHead. He is seeking $25,000 in exchange for 20% equity in his company. Mark starts by explaining that he has a problem with his lifestyle; he likes mountain biking, mountain climbing and distance running, so he’ll typically go out for recreational activities after work and then hit the hay right after – showering before going to sleep, of course.The next morning, he’s still clean, but his bedhead is insane and the last thing he wants to do is take another shower. For years, Max tried to wet his hair in the sink but found this wouldn’t work (completely guilty, I used to do that a lot when I was lazy, too).
To resolve this problem once and for all, Max came up with an absorb-able, washable cap. Simply add water to the hat, allow the water to absorb, put it on your head and simply rub it around for a minute. No water drips down your neck and you can even do it fully clothed. Within seconds, your hair is completely wet and you can style your hair as you normally would, as if you had just taken a shower. All the Sharks crack a smile, and the writing is on the wall – all the Sharks find the product somewhat appalling and that it is aimed towards a sleazy, lazy demographic. Kevin speaks up first, asking Max “what the chances are he would invest in that (the MorningHead)”. Max insists that Kevin and Daymond are the lucky ones since they have no hair – there is a real use and demand for this product. The internet popularity with MorningHead coupled with the viral power of the Shark Tank should trigger a paradigm shift in morning grooming, and in 12 months time, the MorningHead should become the Sharks’ best mover this year (almost exactly his words – ridiculous, no? “Paradigm Shift.”)
Max passes out the first run sample of each MorningHead sample, and Kevin points out the obvious – the MorningHead looks like a diaper for your head. However, Max says that they have sold 7,000 in over 42 countries. Robert asks about cost, and Max explains that they are selling for $7.99 and their costs are about $1.19 but they are closing in on a margin of $1.00 due to the margin being absolutely set in production – costs are being lowered over time due to the purchase of more raw materials. Total sales, to date, have been $36,000, and MorningHead has been in business for 18 months. Daymond asks what Max is going to do with $25,000, and Max says that with a slightly larger production bracket, they will get the cost of production nearly down to that $1.00 he had mentioned earlier.
Barb asks about customer acquisition, to which Max says he makes his own videos. In just seven months, his
video has generated 165,000 views from just being on the website – it is otherwise private and un-viewable, unless the link is shared around. To him, this says that the marketing message is powerful and they are selling an increasing amount of MorningHead caps per day. Kevin asks what Max does on the side, to which Max replies that he is a mechanical engineer and he has a list of inventions (Kevin asks what else Max has invented, since he thinks the MorningHead sucks.) Max asks if Kevin has never wet his hair in the sink in the days following college graduation, to which Kevin admits that he has, but ultimately the MorningHead cap is just a shower cap with a bumper sticker. Mark agrees and even peels the sticker off, but Max defends that he has sold his product in over 42 countries. However, Kevin says that Max is a great sales guy and he should take some of his other inventions and try to move them forward.
Mark asks what is next for Max – what is the next step should MorningHead fail? Max says that he has a book with inventions and is working on 4 or 5 inventions per week, but he really needs to devote time to one thing at a time. Mark says that Max has done a great job with the one product – this is a great launching pad since it can make Max a lot of money really quickly since he seems to have the marketing aspect down, but ultimately it won’t carry enough velocity forward to keep itself relevant. Max explains that he is not coming in with a million dollar valuation, and says that with the sales so far, he is looking to expand the sales to other markets. However, Mark says that he thinks it is just a niche, funny product, but if Max would have come in with 3 or 4 additional follow-up products to close in on the MorningHead market, he would have invested in a heartbeat. Max has only created the MorningHead, and for that reason, Mark is the first Shark to exit the deal.
Max says that he has customers writing in daily asking for bulk orders; Kevin asks what for, and Max explains that the shower caps are disposable and only last about 6 months. Barbara laughs at the idea of someone ordering 6 months worth of MorningHead shower caps, and all the Sharks seem a bit taken aghast – Max says that people are even asking for a subscription-based program. The Sharks continually find disbelief, finding the product humorous – Mark looks like he is about to laugh himself into a coughing fit. However, Barb says that she has good news and asks to speak up; she says that she is the perfect customer since she washes her hair every other day and the truth behind MorningHead is out there – people do wet their hair to avoid showering. However, Barb says that she has found another solution out there – a damp face cloth. She rubs it around on her hair and has perfect hair; Barb continues on to say that the MorningHead is totally unnecessary, and is out of the deal. Max pleads with Barb that a funny gimmick and name can go a long way and begs for her to reconsider, but Barb reinforces that the gimmick will not go that far. Immediately after, Robert folds out of the deal as well.
Daymond says that he doesn’t think MorningHead is worthy of investment, and gives Max the advice that he has already made some money off the idea but ultimately the product won’t go that far. He wishes Max the best and congratulates him on hitting one of those funny gimmick products, but then also folds out of the deal.
Kevin is the last Shark remaining, and has already expressed his disinterest – he says that the MorningHead qualifies as “poopoo on a stick,” and is immediately out of the deal, despite Max’s pleading for Mr. Wonderful to reconsider.
MorningHead Now In 2024 – Shark Tank Updates
They might not have landed a deal on the show but that hasn’t stopped them from continuing to work on the product. Interestingly enough, however, it’s Max’s wife that has been running the company since 2014 (the same year they were on Shark Tank). If anything, it looked like Max took Kevin’s advice to heart and got himself involved in other endeavors instead.
Despite his wife’s efforts, the social media pages for Morninghead eventually went dark in 2015. However, the product itself is still available for purchase on Amazon as of 2024 (they still have an official website but it simply redirects to their Amazon store). On Amazon, it’s currently being sold for $10.99 and has a 3.5-star rating out of a few hundred reviews.
Looking at some of the reviews, most people seem to agree that it can work well if you put the perfect amount of water to put inside. However, it has big margins for error; put too much water and it’ll run down your neck; put too little inside and your hair won’t get wet enough for it to work. Still, some people have found it useful. Others find it to be a great gag gift.
Is the product still being produced actively or are they selling leftover stock from before? It’s hard to tell. One thing’s for sure though, it didn’t take off like Max thought it would. Still, it isn’t a complete failure as they do have some sales. Probably not enough for it to be considered a long-term success, though. If anything, it’s more of a side business. The last time we checked, they made less than $100,000 from the product, which isn’t too surprising, considering everything.
What’s Max up to nowadays? According to LinkedIn, he’s currently the strategic advisor of his friend’s company, Fareharbor, which functions as a travel booking site (he began working there after ‘leaving’ Morning head in 2014).
Interestingly enough, he was the CEO previously from 2019 to 2021 but it looks like he has stepped down from the position (and prior to that, he was a Chief Operating Officer). Aside from that, he’s also a mentor at the capital market company SOSV MOX – Mobile Only Accelerator.
As for his wife, our best guess is that she’s the one who is currently running their Amazon store.
Will he be returning to Shark Tank in the future? Probably not. Not unless he comes up with another novel idea to pitch to the sharks.
