In 2012, Amrita Saigal give up her dream job.
After working as an engineer at Procter & Gamble for 2 years, the MIT and Harvard graduate did not perceive why the corporate made sanitary napkins and diapers with harsh chemical compounds.
So she give up her job and moved to India, the place she constructed an organization known as Saathi round sanitary pads comprised of banana peel fibers, which she invented at MIT. Six years later, she returns to the States suspecting she will make higher diapers, too.
In 2021, she launched Los Angeles-based Kudos, which makes disposable diapers from cotton and different sustainable supplies—and on Friday’s episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” she scored a $250,000 funding in Kudos from Mark Cuban and visitor Shark. Gwyneth Paltrow.
Each Cuban and Paltrow mentioned they’re within the product’s sustainability, its chemical-free nature, and maybe particularly, its gross sales. Within the present, Saigal mentioned Majd made $850,000 in income in its first full 12 months.
Buyers additionally favored Segal’s entrepreneurial observe file, and her willingness to take dangers to sacrifice job safety as a way to chase an concept.
“I’ve seen firsthand how a lot plastic we put in sanitary napkins and nappies,” defined Saigal. “I made a decision to give up my steady job and transfer to India to start out my first firm.”
Previous to showing on the present, Kudos had collected $3.3 million at a valuation of $12.5 million. Saigal used this determine to ask the Sharks for $250,000, in trade for five% of the corporate.
Kevin O’Leary wasn’t satisfied Kudos’ product would make it in a troublesome trade. “This can be a very mature market,” O’Leary mentioned. “Do you actually assume after you get, say, 4 or 5% of the market, they are not going to get up and say, ‘We want eco-friendly diapers?'”
Segal replied that Majd represented a niche within the trade. As well as, even 0.01% of the trade exceeds $8 million, she added.
Final 12 months, the diaper market was price $82.59 billion in the US alone. As reported by Grand View Analysis. The report notes that Procter & Gamble is among the most dominant corporations available in the market.
Procter & Gamble didn’t instantly reply to CNBC Make It is request for remark.
Saigal additionally introduced plans to launch new merchandise, together with swim shorts for trainers and well being merchandise for adults.
“We have to work out how you can make this product a family title,” she mentioned. “We have to develop to different on-line retailers. We all know Goop’s viewers may be very appropriate [and] He has widespread values.”
However, Cuban was intrigued. Paltrow requested if she can be occupied with partnering collectively.
Negotiations went rapidly: the couple provided Saigal $250,000 for 12%. Segal requested if they might be keen to separate 8%, and Cuban mentioned they might go right down to 10%, with some fairness within the advisors’ inventory.
Saigal proposed a 7% stake with a 3% stake within the advisors, and Cuban and Paltrow accepted. Saygal mentioned she was ecstatic that Kodos merchandise aligned with Paltrow’s Goop life-style model.
Buyers are additionally optimistic. Cuban informed Paltrow that he believes Seagal is a “star” with a “dynamic pedigree”.
Paltrow replied, “You’d need to wager on a knight like that.” “She clearly has a enterprise thoughts and an engineer’s thoughts. I believe she’s doing one thing actually necessary and actually wanted available in the market.”
Disclosure: CNBC owns the unique off-network cable rights to “Shark Tank.”
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