Using your phone during outdoor activities can be a hassle, especially those that require wearing gloves. Chubby Buttons is a Bluetooth remote that lets you control your phone while wearing gloves. Founders Justin Barad and Mike Cherkezian pitched it on Shark Tank but were unable to close a deal. Apparently their pitch didn’t impress! Today, Chubby Buttons is worth an estimated $2.5 million.
Founder
Justin Ballard is from New York City and studied chemistry at New York University. Ballard has worked in business development at companies such as Rover Diagnostics, Fooda, and Boomerang, Inc. As you can tell from his presentation, he has a sales background!
Michael Cherkezian graduated from Boston College with a BA in Communications and Mathematics. He started his career as a Trading Analyst at Sandler O’Neill & Partners and currently works in Investment Research Sales at Envestnet | Yodlee.
Chubby Buttons
While skiing, one of Justin and Mike’s friends had trouble skipping a song on his phone using his small earbuds, so he had to take off his gloves and dig through his jacket to find his phone.
At this time, Justin suddenly had an idea, he thought of a Bluetooth device with a large button that can control the phone’s music and answer calls. It can also be attached to your arm and different surfaces, which is perfect for most outdoor sports.
Chubby Buttons was founded in 2017 and sold 5,000 units in its first year. Although Mike only runs the company part-time, sales were strong and the founders were able to recoup their initial investment. These 5,000 units generated $275,000 in revenue.
Appeared on Shark Tank
The company’s healthy growth continued when it launched Chubby Buttons 2. The new version became a favorite among thrill-seekers due to its weatherproof and nano-suction properties.
Chubby Buttons has been featured in publications such as Motorcycle Mojo, X Games, and Mashable. However, its founders wanted to expand the business and saw Shark Tank as the perfect platform to reach an audience of 10 million.
After Shark Tank
The episode aired in March 2023, and thousands of viewers went straight to their website to place their orders. For companies that appear on Shark Tank, the first 48 hours are the craziest.
Chubby Buttons is a niche product that is an effective solution for outdoor enthusiasts. The device is priced at around $75, which is affordable. You can buy the buttons in three different colors through ChubbyButtons.io and Amazon.com.
On their website, the latest version of the product has 215 customer reviews and a rating of 4.74 stars. Most of the online reviews are positive, but some Amazon customers highlight that the product does not last very long. The company has sold over 16,000 units, with cumulative sales of over $1.2 million.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn