Naturally Perfect Dolls Before Shark Tank
Naturally Perfect Dolls started their presentation off with their audition video. The two entrepreneurs, a husband-and-wife team named Jason and Angelica Sweeting, introduced themselves and their two daughters. They told the Sharks and the audience that they lived in Miami Florida, and their daughters were the inspiration behind their company. Angelica said that it was very difficult to raise two girls in this day and age. Children, in general, are constantly bombarded with many images of beauty that are not realistic. She continued, stating that she wanted Naturally Perfect Dolls to set an example for little girls all over the world in addition to their own daughters.
Angelica said that they have really made it their mission to dispel the myth that only certain types of people are beautiful. She claims that they wanted to make it clear to everyone that they were beautiful just the way that they are. She said that they have put all of their finances into the business, and while it might not have been a lot of money in total, it was a lot of money to them. Angelica said that they watch their daughters literally be changed by their company, and it was a fire under them to keep going. The entrepreneurs behind Naturally Perfect Dolls ended the presentation by saying that they want to make sure that all little girls know that they can do or be anything.
Naturally Perfect Dolls on Shark Tank
Jason said that Naturally Perfect Dolls wants to change the beauty standard one doll at a time while focusing on diversity and individualism. Jason gestured to himself in the Sharks and said that everyone here has their differences, but they shouldn’t be ignored. Girls differences should be accepted and celebrated. Angelica said that the toy industry was not sending the same message she stated that multicultural children are now the majority, but less than 10% of dolls represent them. That’s why they ended up creating Naturally Perfect Dolls.
Angelica said that the doll’s features were true to diverse women. They had darker skin tones, wider nose shapes, full her lips, and darker hair. Jason said that their goal was to see a wide range of beauty displayed up and down the toy aisle in major stores. They ended their presentation by saying that they should work together to make sure that every little girl knows that anything is possible because they are naturally perfect.
Jason started to pass out samples of the dolls with his daughter Sophia while his other daughter held hands with their mother. Jason directed Sophia to hand each shark a book and a doll. She hesitated when handing the doll over to Kevin, but Jason told her that he was just a big teddy bear and not to worry. Robert laughed and said that he didn’t know about that. Next Sophia handed a doll to Mr. Daymond and Mr. Mark. When she was done, the two parents walked their daughters off the stage.
Kevin addressed Angelica and said that his full name was Mr. Wonderful King of All Dolls. Lori jabbed at him, stating that he was only the king of voodoo dolls. Kevin ignored her and continued, saying that he was also called a doll-ologist or a doll-ayatollah. He said that the attempt to have multicultural, gender-specific dolls has been attempted by the big doll guys as well as the small doll guys. He wanted to know what made the people behind Naturally Perfect Dolls think that they would be successful.
Angelica told him that they had kick-started their business with a goal of $25,000. They reach that goal within the first 48 hours, and more than tripled it by the end. Lori asked them how they came up with the idea, and Jason explained that it was on book fair day, and his daughter started crying. When they finally got her calm down, she told him that she did not think she was beautiful because she needed white skin and blond hair to achieve that. Angelica said that they were both devastated, and they were looking at each other as parents to see what they did wrong. Their daughter kept looking at all the dolls that she saw in stores, and the models that she sees in magazines. When Angelica and Jason went to find a doll that would help their daughter realize her beauty, they were unable to find anything.
At that point, the two parents decided to take matters into their own hands. They created the Angelica doll with an initial investment of $1500. Their daughter started to exhibit positive changes after they were able to produce the doll and add positive affirmations. After that, they want to see if the doll could help anyone else. They launched their first doll in May 2015, sold out their inventory at the end of that year, and eventually launched other dolls. Robert wants to know what they sold it for her, and Angelica told him that they retailed for $85 each. The Sharks said that that seems like a lot for a doll. Angelica said that they did a tiny production run of 1000 units. Naturally Perfect Dolls cost of goods sold is $35 per doll. Angelica stated that that was why they were in the Shark Tank for an investment since that would help to get the costs down.
Daymond wants to know if they had interest from large retailers, and Angelica said that they did. The retailers want their price to come down to $35 or $45. With their current cost of goods, they were unable to make that deal. Robert noted that they would have to change everything in order to get the price down to that level, and still make money. Jason said that they’ve done a bit of the legwork on that. They were in contact with the new manufacturer who gave them a new price. He said that the price would be $10.30, so their net profit margin would be around 82%. Kevin wants to know if it was the same doll, and Jason insisted that it would be for the same exact doll. Kevin wants to know if there manufacturing for the big guys as well, and they said yes.
Lori said that she loved the product, and was very interested in the business. Recently though, she’d seen that Mattel had come out with a whole new campaign of diversity with their dolls. She said that they had a long road ahead because they had a lot of competition. Lori said it wasn’t the time for her to invest. She went out.
Lori finished by saying that she loves the doll and the idea. She told the two entrepreneurs that were a great quality doll, and a great message. They thanked her but looked disappointed. Daymond wants to know how the business looks in three years in their eyes. Angelica said that she and her husband both loved the idea of going directly to consumer online. That way they could keep their profit margins. But she also said that it was personal to them for a little girl to be able to go down a toy aisle and see themselves. She said that eventually when they can handle mass production, they would want to go that route.
Robert said that that might be the issue with the business. He said that he understands that it might make them feel good and be affirmative, but there’s a challenge. Big companies can create in mass volumes that a smaller business would not be able to. He wanted them to be more honest with themselves about where the starting point was. He saw them as facing an uphill battle. Robert said that he admired them, but he couldn’t see himself being an investor. He went out.
Kevin said that the good news was that people had been concerned about technology replacing a doll for years now. He said that Mattel still does over 2 billion a year of the Barbie brand. Kevin said that he thought that there is a place for them in selling directly to the consumer. It could be up to a $10 million business that would make their family millions per year. Kevin said that he already lived that life, and he didn’t love it in the end. He went out.
Mark Cuban cut in and said that he saw that they were still about the dream. He wanted to see them go into project green. He got their vision of seeing the dolls in the toy store, but he thought that they had something that was unique to them, and was working for them currently. Mark said that they were currently too scattered for him, and he went out. He congratulated them saying that they’ve done that amazing job getting to this point. Jason said that he wanted to speak to Mark’s point about focus. He said that since he was a family man, it was about project money every day.
At this point, Daymond was the only Shark left. Daymond said that he was wrestling with the idea. Angelica appealed to him, stating that they had really tried to replicate features that were true to women of color in their dolls. She said that their original doll was sculpted using both her face and her daughter’s face. Angelica also stated that they were unique because of their messaging, and that’s why people really related to them. Daymond said that he resonated with the idea, and his daughters were mixed. He wanted them all to feel beautiful. But he didn’t like the idea of them going into retail.
Angelica said that she wants to clarify that they loved the direct to consumer model and they want to stick with it. If they grew into a larger company, then they would start trying to go into retail. Jason said that he believed that it was about business health. He was willing to do what was doable. He said that they all might have dreams in the world, but his family grounded him. Daymond said that if they were willing to bend, he would give them an offer. He offered them the $200,000 that they were asking for in exchange for being an equal partner in the business. He wanted 33 1/2%. Jason looked at Angelica before asking Daymond if he would back it down to 25%. Daymond asked if they wanted him to be a full partner or not.
Angelica asked him if there is any what wiggle room on his equity offer. Daymond appeared to consider and asked him what the reason for it was. She said that they believe that they could grow the company to $100 million company. They’ve gotten calls from Dove, and major haircare companies wanting to put their product in the doll boxes. She said that they were selling more than just dolls, and they were selling tools of confidence. She said that with the kick starter, they were getting other cultures asking for dolls that look like their culture as well.
Daymond said that he would be willing to do the wiggle room thing. He said that he wanted 30% equity in naturally perfect dolls, and the two entrepreneurs would get 60%. The other 10% would go towards some type of charity of women empowerment. Jason said that he thought that that was great, and they all went up to shake hands and hug. In the interview after leaving the tank, Jason said that he loves that a portion of their deal would go to charity.Let’s see how they do after that investment.
Naturally Perfect Dolls After Shark Tank – 2018 Update
