Have you ever wondered what it’s like to lie down in one of those cozy-looking beds that your dog sleeps on? If so, you might want to try Plufl, which is a dog bed for humans. Founders Noah Silverman and Yuki Kinoshita appeared on Shark Tank and have a deal with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner. As of 2024, Plufl has a market cap of $2 million.
Founder
Noah Silverman and Yuki Kinoshita are good friends from Seattle, Washington. They graduated from different high schools but became classmates while studying international economics at the University of British Columbia.
Before graduation, the two aspired to be entrepreneurs. Noah served on the board of directors of Bike Works and interned at companies such as the Adventure Travel Trade Association and The Wilson Center.
Yuki, on the other hand, is a business development intern at St. Albans School. He has worked as a marketing representative at Wize and as a summer analyst at Charles River Associates.
Founding of Plufl
Silverman worked part-time at a cafe during his last year of college. One of the owners had a Great Dane and a giant dog bed, which made him wonder, why couldn’t there be a comfortable bed for humans?
He wanted to make one and told his best friend about the idea. Kinoshita went all in because as a student he was often sleep deprived. He thought maybe it could help him and others get better rest.
The company was founded in 2021, a year after they graduated. They spent a few months using their weekends to prototype, source materials, and find a manufacturer. Once the product was ready, they launched a Kickstarter campaign hoping to raise $25,000 to start production, and raised $290,657 from 799 backers!
Since they had no money to spend on advertising, TikTok was their main strategy for attracting attention. They released their first TikTok in March 2022, and soon they were averaging 10,000 to 20,000 views per short video! The company had no trouble attracting attention, and the product was even featured on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon!
Appeared on Shark Tank
A producer from Shark Tank saw the product on Kickstarter and reached out to see if they’d like to apply for Season 14. The timing was perfect because Plufl had just started mass production.
They competed against thousands of other companies and were lucky enough to get the chance to be featured in the fifth episode of Season 14. The two entrepreneurs took full advantage of the opportunity and struck a deal with Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban.
After Shark Tank
After the episode aired in October 2022, Plufl saw a surge in orders in the next 48 hours. Five months after Shark Tank aired, they delivered over 3,000 orders! Their TikTok followers nearly tripled from 100,000 to over 290,000 with 9.2 million likes. It looks like the deal with Lori and Mark isn’t done yet, as neither of them lists the company on their personal websites.
You can buy the Plufl bed exclusively on its website, WarePlufl.com. The product has passed the pre-order phase and usually costs $299 to $499. Due to high demand, the company also faced inventory issues but has moved into a suitable warehouse. In July 2023, the founders launched a second Kickstarter campaign, which raised a total of $213,203.
Reviews are mostly positive, with customers giving it a 4.9 out of 496 reviews. Negative reviews highlight long wait times and some people are unhappy with price drops after purchase. Currently, Plufl is valued at $2 million.
When the Shark Tank hype dies down, it will be a challenge to drive sales. They also need to launch more products, and Shark Tank doesn’t like investing in a single product business. In addition, Plufl faces the problem of other companies copying its products. This is a common problem with products that don’t have patents.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn