Who thought a homemade made towel by a mom would lead to a grand-scale business? She made a poncho-style towel and brought it to the famous show shark tank. Let’s know her story of becoming an entrepreneur and how she started this.
ShowNo Towels is the innovative beach towel company that’s changing the game. Tired of your beach towel sliding around or blowing away in the wind?
ShowNo Towels are designed with a patent-pending anchoring system that keeps them firmly in place, so you can relax and enjoy the beach without any interruptions. And with their stylish and unique designs, ShowNo Towels are the perfect accessory for any beach day.
Made from high-quality materials, they’re durable and long-lasting, even after multiple washes. So say goodbye to boring, basic beach towels and upgrade to ShowNo Towels – the ultimate beach accessory.
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ShowNo Founder Details:
The founder of ShowNo Towels is very different from any other founder. Shelly Ehler, mother of 2 boys, a wife, life coach, and also a part-time school teacher is the founder of ShowNo Towels. It can be described as a ‘towel with a slit’.
She is an award-winning inspirational speaker, who made other moms question their aspirations in life. Even after a failed startup, she lives by the motto of “Dream it, Believe it, Let it go.”
She came up with the idea after facing an everyday issue most parents face. While spending time at the beach with her family, she finds it difficult to change her boys in and out of swimsuits.
Her towel comes in need in such situations. The child’s head goes in the central slit of the towel and the rest of the towel drapes the body. This makes it really easy to change wet clothes. And hence the name ShowNo Towels.
What is ShowNo towels?
ShowNo Towels is a beach towel company that produces innovative towels designed to stay in place on the sand or other surfaces. Their towels feature a patent-pending anchoring system that prevents them from sliding around or blowing away in the wind.
The company’s mission is to provide high-quality, functional, and stylish beach towels for customers who want to enjoy their time on the beach without any interruptions. ShowNo Towels also offers a range of unique designs and prints, making their towels a popular accessory for beachgoers.
Did ShowNo get a deal on Shark Tank?
Shelly came to Shark tank for $50k for a 25% share of her company at a valuation of around $200,000. But surprisingly she received $75k for 25% equity from Lori with that Show No valuation gets increased to $300,000.
ShowNo Funding and Investor Details:
Shelly’s entrepreneurial journey started after her appearance on the famous American TV show Shark Tank. In the history of the show, Shelly was the only entrepreneur who was handed a check on the spot. Her initial plan was to get $50k for a 25% share of her business. She came fully prepared, making her sons the model and also with customized special “Shark Tank edition” towels.
| Name of Sharks | Daymond John | Mark Cuban | Lori Greiner |
| Initially offered Deals | $50K for 50% shares | $75K for 25% shares | $50K for 25% shares |
| Countered deals | $75K at 25% shares | $75K at 25% shares |
Ultimately Loli’s girl card won the heart of Shelly to accept her deal. She offered $75K for 25 % shares in the company.
ShowNo Competitor Analysis:
The competition Shelly faced was not from big enterprises. Her competition was raising money and proving her product value in front of the sharks. Even after the show, she struggled to bring the product to the market.
Revenue generated from shares was not enough to keep the pace. Moreover, her style of homemade towels was easy to copy for people. Many people tried making it and posted it on Pinterest. People find nothing special about the product to generate their interest.
ShowNo Business Model:
Shelly was an entrepreneur who did it all by herself from making handmade products to its distribution. ShowNo Towels made its debut in the market after the show Shark Tank.
She paved the way to various trade shows like the Water Park Operators Trade Show and the USSA Swimming, for product distribution with the help of her investor. Soon after ShowNo was seen nationwide in dozens of waterparks and swim clubs.
Shelly’s ultimate goal was to sell these towels to Disney water parks. The investor Lori Greiner took the towels to the Todays Show and was able to crack a deal with a gift shop at Walt Disney World’s Water Park. But sources said that she couldn’t earn a penny from such a great deal. She was unable to achieve any mass manufacturing deals to generate profit.
ShowNo Revenue and Net worth:
The major source of her income was the water parks. She supplied almost 50 water parks selling 20 towels a day. Her handmade towel had an input cost of $6 per towel. The bulk selling price was $9 for each towel. The retail price was set at $19.99 having a great profit margin.
She provided service of customized towels to parks with their logo on towels. Such added services helped her get a deal from Lego Land in California and Six Flags Magic Mountain.
Is Show No Towels still in business?
Shelly throws in the towels on Aug 13, 2015, as she couldn’t reach where she wanted to go. On March 20, 2018, as her blog said she again started making towels even though it’s not profitable for people with disabilities.
Why did ShowNo go out of business?
On August 13, 2015, Shelly gave up on making towels due to being unable to achieve her desired goals. However, as per her blog on March 20, 2018, she resumed producing towels, despite it not being financially viable for individuals with disabilities. Here are a few reasons why her business didn’t flourish in the first place:
- Seasonality in business:
Sharks felt that her business would be proved during a particular year and the rest of the year to be lackluster.
- Not enough capital:
From Shark Tank, she was able to raise money in turn for her shares. No further investments were made into her company. But not much profit could be made from that amount. Also, the investor lost interest in her product after some time.
- No market demand for the product:
Only people with children saw the need for poncho-style towels. The product was limited to that section only. Hence her business couldn’t rise to a large scale.
- Disharmony was seen between company and investor:
The end was not good between Shelly and Lori Greiner. After the show ended neither a crash loss nor influx was seen in orders. Though Lori Greiner took Shelly to a few other shows but deals weren’t fruitful. Profit never reached the company. In the first place investments weren’t that much to scale up the company.
- Entrepreneurs can’t do it all:
Shelly did not have any prior knowledge of the business. Launching a new product needs some level of expertise, also marketing a product is a tough job. She never received mass manufacturing orders. Sales were not enough to hire people with expertise to run the company at the national level.
Possible Fixes:
She was a woman with determination. Her determination to succeed enabled her to win the heart of the sharks. Even if things didn’t work out with Lori Greiner, she could have tried approaching other investors. After securing appropriate funding, a further journey would have been much easier.
Hiring professional individuals would have brought a new perspective. More funding could be put into marketing and advertising. To reach out to the market she could have tried making a social media presence. This may have brought her some potential customers.
If her product was not selling, a collaboration with an established brand to reach out to the target audience. She was able to make customized products that could be done with brands. It would have been beneficial to have customer retention.
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What is ShowNo Towel?
ShowNo is a poncho-style homemade towel made by Shelly Elher and brought to the famous show Shark Tank.
Who is the founder of ShowNo?
The founder of ShowNo Towels is very different from any other founder. Shelly Ehler, mother of 2 boys, a wife, life coach, and also a part-time school teacher is the founder of ShowNo Towels. It can be described as a ‘towel with a slit’.
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