From TikTok to TV: Strapsicle founders talk $250,000 Shark Tank deal
In a cross-continental phone conversation, Strapsicle’s founders outlined the its growth, jet-setting developments, and how Shark Tank’s stars are now influencing the venture.
It’s a long way from the Shark Tank Australia soundstage to Shenzhen, China, where Strapsicle co-founder Ben Stainlay watched the show’s Season 9 premiere — and the moment his business secured an investment deal.
“I was hunched over my laptop with my dad, and a little glass of something,” Stainlay told SmartCompany, the day after his episode aired.
Stainlay is visiting manufacturers and trade shows in China to prepare for Strapsicle’s new releases, while partner and co-founder Lou Rice is guiding the endeavour from their new home in Bali.
The pair explain that life has been busy since Strapsicle, which creates accessories for e-readers, booked a provisional investment deal worth $250,000 with investors Davie Fogarty and Robert Herjavec.
In a three-way, cross-continental phone conversation, Stainlay and Rice outlined Strapsicle’s growth, the business’ jet-setting developments, and how Shark Tank’s stars are now influencing the venture.
Turning a new page on BookTok
Strapsicle’s core product is deceptively simple: a soft strap allowing anyone with a Kindle or Kobo to hold their e-reader with the palm of their hand, instead of grasping it between their thumb and fingers.
Rice came up with the idea after dozing off and accidentally dropping her e-reader on her child while breastfeeding, an a-ha moment that thankfully left the bub unharmed.
Yet Strapsicle’s customer base is not just harried parents trying to juggle a novel and a child.
In the two years since launch, the product has acquired cult status among a certain type of customer: e-reader obsessives who devote enormous amounts of time to their favourite series.
BookTok, where readers use TikTok to discuss their favourite new releases, especially racier romance titles, further elevated the brand on social media.
Those fans helped build Strapsicle’s sales to $1.5 million in 2023.
“It’s actually a very large audience, and it’s a very passionate audience,” Rice said.
“So it’s been great for us, because I didn’t even know about BookTok before we launched.
“So that was a happy surprise.”
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International expansion plans
Strapsicle was already building its global operations before setting foot on the Shark Tank set, with the pair jetting off to New York City just days after filming.
The business’ proven sales, and optimism about the conference, helped the founders get their deal over the line.
Once in the States, the duo met with a major book retailer and producers from one of America’s leading breakfast TV shows, which they hope will expose Strapsicle to an even greater audience.
“New York opened up a whole lot of connections and possibilities we just wouldn’t have got on the ground in Australia,” Rice said.
After that trip, they relocated to Bali, where Rice has fostered even deeper connections with Strapsicle’s fan base online.
Outside of TikTok, Strapsicle is now the subject of Facebook fan groups, where users share their latest purchases and e-reader accessory combinations.
“It’s super easy for us to target them and find them, but also, we’re just making products that they absolutely love,” Rice said.
“One of the learnings is, if you can have a product that helps people enjoy something they already enjoy more, they will love you,” Stainlay added.
Swimming with the Sharks
The handshake deal between Strapsicle, Fogarty, and Herjavec is still subject to due diligence, but the pair say its would-be financial backers are already supporting the venture.
“We’ve been in regular contact with Davie, he’s helping us navigate through the immediate priority, Q4, which is such a busy period,” Rice said.
The Oodie mastermind has also helped Strapsicle out with some hiring opportunities.
The team anticipates working with Herjavec, who juggles a litany of investments, more closely in the months ahead.
“Once we get through that, there will be an opportunity to… get his expertise and guidance,” Rice said.
But in the initial stages, “there has been a lot of value-added” by the Sharks.
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