Pair Eyewear cofounder shares her tips for getting on 'Shark Tank' and raising millions from investo

Publish date: 2024-08-04
2022-05-04T15:54:05Z

Nathan Kondamuri grew up wearing glasses. But no matter how many years went by or how many life transformations he went through, his glasses style remained the same.

As a freshman studying mechanical engineering at Stanford, he met Sophia Edelstein, a fellow freshman and biology major who sympathized with his frustration. Edelstein said the high price of glasses — often costing hundreds of dollars — hindered their self-expression.

"The average American won't be able to afford to have three or four different pairs," she said. "The two of us became so obsessed with solving this problem."

The duo launched Pair Eyewear as a children's-glasses company in 2018. Two years later they appeared on "Shark Tank," where they agreed to give 10% equity in exchange for $400,000 from Lori Greiner and the guest judge Katrina Lake, the CEO of Stitch Fix. The cofounders also settled on a royalty structure of $1.50 per pair of glasses until the investors recoup their investment.

Pair Eyewear says that since then it's experienced 10x year-over-year growth in revenue and raised a total of $72 million from investors like the NBA player D'Angelo Russell, the actor Sterling Brown, and the TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D'Amelio.

Edelstein shared her best tips for founders looking to raise funding and leverage partnerships to accelerate growth.

Preparing for 'Shark Tank' was a long process

The cofounders on "Shark Tank." courtesy of Pair

As founders of a children's-eyewear company at the time, Edelstein and Kondamuri hoped the show would connect them with family audiences.

"We did a lot of preparing," Edelstein said. "We watched every episode of 'Shark Tank' that exists and wrote a list of every question we heard a judge ask contestants."

Her biggest piece of advice for entrepreneurs interested in going on the show is to have a bulletproof business model. Additionally, they should be able to defend and understand the business fundamentals, unit economics, marketing strategy, and plans to build a profitable or rapidly growing company.

"We knew we were ready because we had seen the product-market fit in real life and were very confident in our business model," Edelstein said.

The show attracted investors, generated customers, and started discussions

Pair also makes frames for adults. courtesy of Pair

While their episode ended in a deal from two sharks, the show also increased brand awareness among families, just as they had hoped, Edelstein said.

Edelstein said her strategy when introducing the brand on-air began with telling a story, followed by explaining the company's current and predicted market size. She added that those strategies are key for any entrepreneur trying to raise funding.

"Start off by creating a story that allows investors or 'Shark Tank' judges to understand what need you're serving," she said. "Once people understand the need, they can start understanding the solution."

She said that after the episode aired, the cofounders saw an increase in customers purchasing products, engaging with the brand, and reaching out with requests. The discussions encouraged Edelstein and Kondamuri to expand their product offering to a new consumer base: adults.

Finding the right investors and partnerships

A post shared by Pair Eyewear (@paireyewear)

Since the show, Pair has partnered with several investors and collaborators to grow the company and with brands like "Harry Potter" and the NBA to license designs and collections.

But Edelstein said that choosing the right investors is something founders don't focus on enough.

"You need to find people who are going to be good mentors for you," she said, adding that the best investors know how to help when something goes wrong and can connect you with advantageous networks and resources. "From there you can really start building those relationships and engage with people who are passionate about what you're doing."

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