Before Dude Wipes came to market, there were no disposable wipes specifically for men. The personal care product was pitched to Shark Tank by three entrepreneur friends, Jeff Klimkowski, Ryan Meegan, and Sean Riley. They struck a deal with tech investor Mark Cuban. Dude Wipes is valued at $300 million by 2024.
About the Founder
Jeff, Ryan and Sean have been friends since childhood in Chicago, Illinois. They call themselves “The Dudes.” Although only three of them appear on TV, they have another friend and partner named Brian Wilkin.
The four of them grew up together, but when it came to choosing their college courses, they took different paths. Ryan attended Benedictine University, studying marketing and communications, while Sean attended Illinois State University, studying industrial technology.
Both of them graduated in 2007. The educational backgrounds of the other two are relatively mysterious, but there are reports that Jeff and Brian studied accounting and finance.
Founder of Dude Wipes
When the Dudes were in college, they realized that there was no brand of men’s hygiene products that met their unique needs, so they developed Dude Wipes in 2012.
The idea behind it is to provide men with a larger, more hygienic cleansing material for cleaning the male area. Aloe vera and vitamin E are added to the wipes to make them soft enough to be used on the most delicate body parts.
Plus, they’re biodegradable, so flushing them down the toilet isn’t a problem. These features helped the startup get a lot of exposure early on. The founders landed a deal with the Kroger retail chain, which helped them achieve $300,000 in gross sales.
Shark Tank Appearance
Jeff Klimkowski, Ryan Meegan, and Sean Riley joined Shark Tank in Season 7 in 2015. The three friends came on board and asked for a $300,000 investment in exchange for a 10% stake in their startup.
After explaining their business, it was no surprise when female investors Barbara Corcoran and Lori Greiner couldn’t immediately see the usefulness of the product.
Mark Cuban also wanted to quit, but after hearing about their sales performance, he changed his mind. He and Kevin O’Leary started a fierce bidding war. In the end, Mark won 25% of the equity for $300,000.
After Shark Tank
Dude Wipes sales hit $3.2 million that year after the Mark Cuban deal, and the billionaire investor helped get the product into more than 12,000 stores, including Target, Ralphs, Bass Pro Shops and Meijers.
In 2018, Walmart selected the company to join its Made in America program, pledging to source $250 billion worth of American-made goods by 2023. Those contracts have helped the thriving company launch more products, such as Chill Wipes and Dude Bomb.
In 2020, Dude Wipes had annual sales of $40 million, and revenue of $67 million in 2021. Today, that number is expected to grow as the company is doing better than ever. The company is currently valued at $300 million, making it one of Cuban’s best investments on Shark Tank. In 2023, total retail sales reach $341 million.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn