From my perspective, I see a lot of R&D in the company's future, not to mention a need to invest in growth/marketing - things we wouldn't be able to do quickly, if at all without VC funding. But I'm curious to learn more about your perspective - can you expand on what made you think this was less VC suitable? Would love to hear as it will prepare me for what questions I might get fundraising!
The Sharks do a lot of business with mass consumer retail, so they are well connected. They have existing businesses. E.g. selling on QVC. Not sure if the Silicon Valley investors deal with that kind of stuff? Maybe the YC MO is to let the founder figure that out (so basically the founder is treated less with kid gloves). The sharks do ask for lower valuations than other investors so that kind of goes hand in hand.
I am not an expert in this area, this is more of an armchair comment / question.
Great conversation here. Unless you're going to a Costco, I'd say you'd be pretty hard pressed to find $1 pairs of pantyhose in the US or Canada (which is I'll admit where I have the most market familiarity). And even if you could get a "disposable" pair for $1, the problem generally is that you don't know when during that first where they might rip. Having your tights get a run mid day is a major inconvenience. It is why a lot of women say they no longer wear pantyhose. Not to mention the waste of the single wear product (which takes about 50 years to decompose in a landfill). I don't think everyone is going to immediately start investing in indestructible pantyhose, but I think there are very clear benefits for those that do.
I am so glad you liked the video and that it caught your attention! That is so awesome to hear =)
I have heard of Heist, and actually bought a bunch and tested them out - sadly they too have the same problems as all of the other sheers out on the market today. You can see a video of my tests (including Heist) here > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXt3vNL8ILA
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed the video. I wrote the script with the help of a friend/investor, and we pulled together our friends to make it happen. Elias of SoulFood productions did the camera magic - http://soulfoodproductions.com/.
We've always thought television shopping would be a great channel for this product! And will definitely be cutting more versions of the video :)
Your video is the perfect balance of being professional enough to look good and amateur enough to seem sincere. Everything was clear and to the point yet nobody seemed like an actor. The reaction to the hanging scene at the end was fantastic.
Interesting. I wouldn't expect hemp would have the tenacity as the fibers we're using. But reading more about it now, it looks like people are trying to do some interesting things with hemp in bulletproof. One challenge might be how fine the fiber can be made. But I'm going to look into it!
> Naturally Advanced Technologies is a company that takes hemp fibers and treats them with a patented enzymatic solution that further enhances their already protective qualities by making the final material softer and thinner than silk, but stronger and lighter. This material, called Crailar, can also be converted into plastic materials similar to the kind Henry Ford’s famous Model T Ford was made of.
Thanks Anna!I totally agree. We're definitely going to be going there. We wanted to start with sheers because that is where the problem is most apparent, and where existing products last barely one wear. But I agree, 40d pantyhose still rip - and need to be innovated as well!
What a creative demo suggestion! My house is under renos right now, so I'm sure we have a belt sander somewhere...lol. Our fiber is highly hydrophobic.
