Toys for making sand and snow castles have been around for a long time, but Create a Castle designs detailed molds that make it easier to create beautiful castles. Founders Kevin and Laurie Lane appeared on Season 14 and have struck a deal with Kendra Scott. As of 2024, Create a Castle is estimated to be worth $2 million.
About the Founder
Kevin and Laurie Lane are a married couple living in New Milford, Connecticut. Kevin’s educational background is unknown, but Laurie holds a degree in retail management from the University of Connecticut.
Laurie began her career as a store manager at The Gap and also worked as a regional manager for the Walt Disney Company. She then worked as an independent vacation planner for MEI-Travel & Mouse Fan Travel.
Kevin has extensive experience in web design, having started his career at Digital Madness. He was later hired by companies such as LifeCare, WebMediaBrands, and Jupitermedia. In 2010, he co-founded his first company, Code Hounds, with his wife as an account manager.
Founding the Castle
Besides creating websites, Kevin loves to build sandcastles, but like many people, he doesn’t like sandcastle buckets because you have to hit them multiple times to get the final product.
The duo designed a series of castle moulds that opened up on the sides after they were filled with sand or snow. They created perfectly shaped little castles and began selling them in 2017.
A year later, the startup received more than 500 orders after appearing on ABC’s Kelly and Ryan Live. In 2020, the product was named Toy of the Year by the Toy Association. This helped the founders secure a distribution deal with TOMY Australia.
Appeared on Shark Tank
Create A Castle has strong sales and is expected to become an industry leader in its niche. Kevin and Laurie Lane were taped for the show and filmed their campaign in July 2022. The couple was well prepared and knew their numbers.
Before the episode aired, Kevin hired sand sculptor Dan Anderson to build a 15-foot sand castle in his hometown of New Milford. Laurie and Kevin finally made a deal with Kendra Scott!
After Shark Tank
Their show aired in October 2022, and business has been booming ever since. Kevin Ryan revealed in an interview that the company has been struggling to keep up with orders. After Sam’s Club and Costco Canada took over the product, the company made nearly $3 million in 2022.
Their products are also available on Amazon, Target, Barnes and Noble, CreateACastle.com, and a few small toy stores in the U.S. Thanks to their agreement with TOMY, their products made their way into retail stores across Australia before Christmas. Given Australia’s beautiful beaches, the Southern Hemisphere should be a key market for the company.
Create a Castle has over 384 reviews on Amazon with an average rating of 4.3. Currently, Create a Castle is valued at $2 million. There is no evidence that the deal with Kendra was made after the show ended.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn