The Woobles sells kits instructing individuals how to create cute crochet animals. An organization that was began with $200 as a aspect interest is now a million-dollar enterprise. Founders Justine Tiu and Adrian Zhang, appeared in season 14 and acquired a take care of Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner. As of 2024, The Woobles is valued at $7.5 million.
About the Founders
Justine Tiu and Adrian Zhang are a married couple from Apex, North Carolina. They first met as college students at Duke University, the place Justine studied electrical and pc engineering, and Adrian pursued biomedical engineering and economics.
After graduating, Tiu was employed by Google as a UX designer and product high quality affiliate. A 12 months later, she was promoted to senior UX designer. In 2018, she grew to become a senior UX teacher at Kenzie Academy.
On the opposite hand, Zhang began his profession as an affiliate at JP Morgan the place he specialised in inventory buying and selling algorithms. After 4 years, the dealer was employed as a director at Deutsche Bank.
Founding the Company
Despite having high-paying company jobs, Justine and Adrian weren’t glad with their profession paths. Tiu stop her job at Google, whereas Zhang labored on Wall Street for seven fruitless years.
When the pandemic began, one thing moved them to find out about crocheting. They had enjoyable weaving tiny yarn animals, which impressed them to begin a enterprise collectively.
The husband and spouse duo began The Woobles in July 2020, promoting six cute crochet pets with newbie kits and video tutorials. Their merchandise took the nation by storm! They reached $1 million in gross sales in beneath a 12 months. As of September 2024, the enterprise has generated $5.3 million in lifetime gross sales!
Getting on Shark Tank
In early 2024, an ABC producer contacted Justine Tiu and Adrian Zhang about showing on Shark Tank. The producer learn {a magazine} article concerning their on-line crochet retailer and felt it might be an excellent match for the present.
The couple was hesitant at first believing they weren’t actuality tv materials. But in the long run, Tiu and Zhang accepted the provide as a result of they knew it may very well be a recreation changer for his or her enterprise. The quantity of publicity Shark Tank will drive, is difficult to flip down.
Shark Tank Appearance
The couple was wanting to elevate $250,000 for five% fairness. Based on their gross sales, they valued the enterprise pretty and had been keen to deliver a Shark on board. The Sharks cherished the product because it was producing robust money flows and the margins had been superb.
A bidding struggle quickly began because the Sharks all wished a bit of the motion! In the top, Cuban threw Barbara Corcoran beneath the bus and teamed up with Lori to shut the deal. Tiu and Zhang fortunately accepted $450,000 for six%.
After Shark Tank
After Shark Tank, Tiu and Zhang anticipate an enormous enhance in orders, and the couple are ready. Previously, they made their merchandise manually however lately made a producing take care of a Chinese firm. This will assist them scale manufacturing and enhance their margins in the long run.
You should purchase their kits on TheWoobles.com, Amazon, and Etsy. The firm is working onerous to get into massive retail shops similar to Target and Joanne. The Woobles are additionally wanting to develop internationally as they’re solely accessible in USA and Canada.
They have a median ranking of 5 stars from over 1,500 Etsy customers. People love their crochet creations, and the corporate is flourishing. The Woobles made $3.1 million in 2021 and are forecasting $7 million in annual income for 2024. Currently, the corporate is price $7.5 million!
For now, they’re nonetheless promoting crochets however will ultimately transfer into different merchandise. As talked about in the course of the pitch, licensing and wholesale are two large avenues to develop. Given the corporate’s robust progress, it received’t be lengthy till they high $10 million in gross sales.
