For years, people have been using bland and not-so-fresh air fresheners in their cars. Ride FRSH provides car owners with new and unique scents through a subscription model. Founders Donovan and Trey Brown entered Tank and struck a deal with Barbara Corcoran. As of 2024, Ride FRSH has a market cap of $2 million.
Founder Background
Donovan and Trey Brown are brothers from Los Angeles, California. Trey holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing from Howard University. He also studied Innovation and Technology Commercialization at the USC Marshall School of Business.
After graduation, Donovan held several internships and worked in social media for companies including Muse Communications, Resolution Media and Blavity Inc. He and Trey also founded the Wemojis mobile app, the first emoji keyboard for people of color.
Founding Cycling FRSH
While hanging out in their apartment with a friend, Donovan and Trey began to wonder if an air freshener business was a good idea. They quickly realized that there was only one company dominating the market, and their designs were boring.
The Brown brothers wanted to create something new. So they sketched trendy designs and tried new scents like woodgrain, jasmine, sea breeze, and leather. They also designed based on NBA teams.
Founded in 2017, Ride FRSH initially sold its products directly to consumers through a subscription service. The model was so successful that within three years the startup had generated $1.1 million in sales.
Shark Tank Appearance
Hoping to scale their business and reduce customer acquisition costs, the brothers appeared on Season 14 of Shark Tank seeking $200,000 in funding in exchange for a 5% equity stake.
The two put on a lively demonstration and handed out samples, with Mark Cuban receiving an air freshener from the Golden State Warriors. The team recently beat the Dallas Mavericks in the playoffs, and the billionaire was not too pleased with the joke. He quickly backed out, and Cuban’s petty response was criticized online.
Despite the setback, the other Sharks were impressed with their sales performance. Barbara Corcoran was very interested and offered $200,000 for a 20% stake, which the founders accepted. Before leaving, they apologized to Cuban for not saying a word during the negotiations.
After Shark Tank
The series aired in November 2022, and so far, Ride FRSH has thrived due to an increase in orders following the show’s release. In addition to NBA teams, Ride FRSH has also partnered with Nickelodeon and is awaiting a distribution deal with AutoZone.
If the deal goes through, AutoZone will purchase $2.1 million worth of air fresheners and sell them in its 2,000 stores. You can buy their products at RideFRSH.com and Target. Subscriptions range from $5 to $7.25 per month. They also sell special “Shark Tank” bundles where you can buy a pack of 10 for $28.99.
Ride FRSH currently has more than 10,000 active users and mostly positive online reviews. The company’s $2 million valuation is expected to grow if the deal with Barbara Corcoran is completed. The company is expected to generate $700,000 in revenue in 2022.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn