Some time in 2015, Brian Lim walked off the stage of the Shark Tank tv set with a deal from two of the Sharks. Lim is the founder/owner of Emazing Lights, a company from Anaheim, California that sells EDM/Rave gloves with LED color changing lights on the fingertips. The company was originally started in 2009.
Gloving, a form of dance, has been around for over a decade now and grown into a mainstream pop culture activity around the globe. It’s even grown into a competitive sport similar to breakdancing back in the 80s/90s.
One of the shark investors Robert Herjavec told Lim, “You might be the best entrepreneur we’ve ever had in the tank.”
From a one-person startup in 2009, Lim has evolved Emazing Lights into a 52-person team with projected sales of over $13 million in 2015. And Lim believes he’s only breaking into a small portion of the potential market.
“EDM is estimated to be a $6.9 billion industry. It’s huge outside of the U.S. and it’s becoming more popular in countries worldwide,” said Lim.
In the end, Mark Cuban and Daymond John ended up giving Lim a joint offer where Mark advertises the lighted gloves prior to the Dallas Mavericks basketball games. The combined offer is $650,000 in exchange for 5% equity in the company, with the added 20% commission on any licensing that Daymond brings to the company.
Cuban lived up to his words. In this video, you can see the Dallas Mavericks cheerleaders dancing with the gloves. Who knows if this will end up being just a trend, but the young entrepreneur is definitely capitalizing on the business opportunities.
Life After the Show (2017):
Emazing Lights has grown more and more, cultivating a whole culture around its merchandise. The company also expanded its products to other raving gear including the masks worn on the set of Shark Tank.
Their sales amounts aren’t exact, but the Shark Tank investors have definitely made a positive impact on the brand and products.
Looking at Emazing’s site, they currently offer 20% off your order, along with free shipping on all orders over $50 USD. The products have also been featured on the BBC, Rolling Stone Magazine, as well as sites like Vice and Buzzfeed since appearing on Shark Tank.
