Caroline Matthes, left, and Rose Matthes on the Jan. 19 episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank.” (Courtesy photo)
Ten months ago, Rose and Caroline Matthes weren’t even thinking about ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
“We were building our business and Shark Tank was not on our radar,” Rose Matthes said.
The couple had just launched their renter-friendly lighting company, Poplight, with a Kickstarter campaign in February 2023, meeting their goal of $9,100 in 22 minutes. Within four weeks, the campaign had $178,000 pledged.
After the product went viral on TikTok, a “Shark Tank” producer sent them an email. They ignored it.
“I thought it was a scam,” Rose Matthes said. “They emailed again and I said we might as well get on the phone and see if it was a real person.”
Six months later, they were in Los Angeles on the set of the show, asking for $150,000 for 8 percent equity in the startup.
The Poplight product sticks to walls. (Courtesy Poplight)
Poplight sells rechargeable, battery-powered, dimmable lights. The base has a built-in level and sticks to a wall with a hidden adhesive, and the light swivels and clicks into the base. It’s easy to remove, doesn’t need to be near an outlet and, because of the adhesives, won’t damage walls — which is important for renters.
The lights retail for $95 and cost about $25 to make. They come in black, sage green, rose, red, white and marigold. Eventually, Rose Matthes said, they want to offer more colors and designs.
The Mattheses appeared on the Jan. 19 episode of “Shark Tank,” which features entrepreneurs pitching their products to a panel of five investors, known as “sharks.” The episode was filmed in September.
“Talking to the sharks, under the lights, it happened in a blur,” she said. “It was intense, but also very fun.”
The founders struck a deal with Kevin O’Leary, or “Mr. Wonderful,” of $150,000 for 8 percent equity. The company must also pay a royalty of $2 per unit sold until O’Leary gets $500,000 back, and a $1 royalty in perpetuity after.
Barbara Corcoran offered the duo $150,000 without any equity, but a lifetime royalty of $20 per unit.
“I would take his (O’Leary’s) offer, I have to tell you,” Shark Robert Herjavec said while opting out. “Barbara’s offer is absolutely nuts. I don’t know what she’s doing.”
Sharks Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban also opted out, and the Mattheses sealed the deal with O’Leary.
“The numbers made the most sense to us,” Rose Matthes said. “We also like Kevin, we think he does very interesting work and he saw the vision of what we were doing. And his offer was really fair, especially compared to Barbara’s.”
Rose Matthes said they’re going to use the investment to manufacture and ship the lights. At the time of the show, Poplight had about $5,000 in orders from its website in addition to the Kickstarter orders, but hadn’t shipped any yet.
The idea for the product came when the couple moved in together four years ago and wanted modern wall lighting that was affordable and didn’t require them to tear up their walls.
“We want renters to be able to decorate and make their space feel at home without risking their security deposit,” Rose Matthes said.
She said they spent about three years designing and testing the wall light before launching the current product, which has one design patent and two pending.
“It took a lot of iterations,” Matthes said. “Caroline and I always joke that one day when we have a Poplight headquarters that isn’t our basement we’ll display the wonky samples we’ve got over the years.”
Within two weeks of the episode airing, Rose Matthes said orders increased 500% and website traffic increased over 2,000%. She declined to disclose how many orders the startup received in that time.
“It was such a positive experience,” Caroline Matthes said. “Everyone we worked with was incredibly kind and supportive. You hear reality television and get this idea that there’s ulterior motives or they want a really good clip, but it truly was a really supportive experience.”
While the “Shark Tank effect” has been a plus, and the $150,000 is “huge” for the small business, Rose Matthes noted the support from other Denver startups featured on the show has been another “awesome outcome.”
“Just by being on the show we got to connect with those people,” she said. “Anyone thinking of going on the Shark Tank, the community you get out of it, the people in your shoes … it’s another positive upside.”
Caroline Matthes, left, and Rose Matthes on the Jan. 19 episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank.” (Courtesy photo)
Ten months ago, Rose and Caroline Matthes weren’t even thinking about ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
“We were building our business and Shark Tank was not on our radar,” Rose Matthes said.
The couple had just launched their renter-friendly lighting company, Poplight, with a Kickstarter campaign in February 2023, meeting their goal of $9,100 in 22 minutes. Within four weeks, the campaign had $178,000 pledged.
After the product went viral on TikTok, a “Shark Tank” producer sent them an email. They ignored it.
“I thought it was a scam,” Rose Matthes said. “They emailed again and I said we might as well get on the phone and see if it was a real person.”
Six months later, they were in Los Angeles on the set of the show, asking for $150,000 for 8 percent equity in the startup.
The Poplight product sticks to walls. (Courtesy Poplight)
Poplight sells rechargeable, battery-powered, dimmable lights. The base has a built-in level and sticks to a wall with a hidden adhesive, and the light swivels and clicks into the base. It’s easy to remove, doesn’t need to be near an outlet and, because of the adhesives, won’t damage walls — which is important for renters.
The lights retail for $95 and cost about $25 to make. They come in black, sage green, rose, red, white and marigold. Eventually, Rose Matthes said, they want to offer more colors and designs.
The Mattheses appeared on the Jan. 19 episode of “Shark Tank,” which features entrepreneurs pitching their products to a panel of five investors, known as “sharks.” The episode was filmed in September.
“Talking to the sharks, under the lights, it happened in a blur,” she said. “It was intense, but also very fun.”
The founders struck a deal with Kevin O’Leary, or “Mr. Wonderful,” of $150,000 for 8 percent equity. The company must also pay a royalty of $2 per unit sold until O’Leary gets $500,000 back, and a $1 royalty in perpetuity after.
Barbara Corcoran offered the duo $150,000 without any equity, but a lifetime royalty of $20 per unit.
“I would take his (O’Leary’s) offer, I have to tell you,” Shark Robert Herjavec said while opting out. “Barbara’s offer is absolutely nuts. I don’t know what she’s doing.”
Sharks Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban also opted out, and the Mattheses sealed the deal with O’Leary.
“The numbers made the most sense to us,” Rose Matthes said. “We also like Kevin, we think he does very interesting work and he saw the vision of what we were doing. And his offer was really fair, especially compared to Barbara’s.”
Rose Matthes said they’re going to use the investment to manufacture and ship the lights. At the time of the show, Poplight had about $5,000 in orders from its website in addition to the Kickstarter orders, but hadn’t shipped any yet.
The idea for the product came when the couple moved in together four years ago and wanted modern wall lighting that was affordable and didn’t require them to tear up their walls.
“We want renters to be able to decorate and make their space feel at home without risking their security deposit,” Rose Matthes said.
She said they spent about three years designing and testing the wall light before launching the current product, which has one design patent and two pending.
“It took a lot of iterations,” Matthes said. “Caroline and I always joke that one day when we have a Poplight headquarters that isn’t our basement we’ll display the wonky samples we’ve got over the years.”
Within two weeks of the episode airing, Rose Matthes said orders increased 500% and website traffic increased over 2,000%. She declined to disclose how many orders the startup received in that time.
“It was such a positive experience,” Caroline Matthes said. “Everyone we worked with was incredibly kind and supportive. You hear reality television and get this idea that there’s ulterior motives or they want a really good clip, but it truly was a really supportive experience.”
While the “Shark Tank effect” has been a plus, and the $150,000 is “huge” for the small business, Rose Matthes noted the support from other Denver startups featured on the show has been another “awesome outcome.”
“Just by being on the show we got to connect with those people,” she said. “Anyone thinking of going on the Shark Tank, the community you get out of it, the people in your shoes … it’s another positive upside.”
