Hood Hat Custom Hats Update | Shark Tank Season 15
Max Nelson pitched his hat company during
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to Hood Hat after
Entrepreneur Max Nelson appeared on
| Shark: | Result: |
| Mark Cuban | No offer |
| Kevin O’Leary | No offer |
| Lori Greiner | No offer |
| Barbara Corcoran | No offer |
| Michael Rubin | No offer |
Shark Tank Hood Hat Pitch
- Entrepreneur: Max Nelson
- Business: Custom hats
- Ask: $500,000 for 5% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
According to Max, his company, Hood Hat, customizes and manufactures the world’s finest luxury ball caps. He believes that where people are from actually says a lot about them.
That’s why he based a company around customization that honors your hometown.
Just to model his designs and a broad range of possibilities, he presents each of the sharks with a custom hat that says each of their hometowns where they grew up. The hats also feature a wide range of luxury fabrics, from corduroy to cashmere to gabardine.
With a $10 million valuation, Lori Greiner suggests that Max must have some pretty good sales. Indeed he does, with lifetime sales of $1.9 million since 2018.
In fact, he started his business out of the trunk of his car. While sales were initially slow, by 2020, he added some customization features, and sales skyrocketed to over $300,000.
Additionally, by 2021, sales were up to $508,000 and continued to grow to $693,000 in 2022. Further, in the year of filming, 2023, Max is on track to do a little over a million in sales.
While sales are phenomenal, he eventually admits that he’s not yet net profitable as a business.
Mark Cuban asks what his hat would cost. Because it’s made with Marino Wool, it would cost just under $15 to make and then retail for $90.
At this point, guest shark Michael Rubin, owner of Lids, the largest licensed and branded hat company in the world, speaks up. He asks how Hood Hat’s concept is different from other luxury hat brands.
Further, Michael suggests that his company could just buy some luxury blanks and put him out of business. He prods Max to answer whether Hood Hat can become a $50-$100 million company.
Mark insists that Max’s ask is too big, given the current numbers. Because of this, he quickly goes out.
Kevin O’Leary adds that the valuation doesn’t make sense. He jokes that the ‘old Mr. Wonderful’ would have ripped Max to pieces over it, but thanks to anger management classes, he’s resisting.
Kevin eventually goes out, following Mark.
Michael returns to his previous point that there isn’t enough differentiation between what Max is doing and what someone else can do. This, plus disagreeing with Max’s valuation, causes him to go out.
Lori Greiner ultimately thinks there is too much competition for her to invest. She goes out next.
Barbara Corcoran doesn’t like that Max has been in this for five years yet hasn’t made any money. She is the last shark to go out.
With all the sharks out, Hood Hat was forced to leave without a deal.
Do you think Max will eventually manage to succeed despite not getting a deal? Keep reading our Hood Hat update to find out!
Shark Tank Hood Hat Update
We have good news to share in our Hood Hat update! Despite not getting a deal on the show, it seems that Max will be just fine without the help of a shark.
Believe it or not, his customized luxury hat line has some celebrity customers. Some very famous mentions include Ben Affleck, Zach Braff, Ryan Reynolds, and Jay Z, just to name a few!
Perhaps you’re ready to sport some celebrity-approved style. If so, you can order your own hat on the Hood Hat website.
There’s even a rewards program where you can get a free hat and $40 off for a friend! Which, if you ask us, is actually pretty cool!
Once the dust settles, we will circle back for a more in-depth Hood Hat update.
In the meantime, you can check out our other company updates from Season 15, Episode 21, by following the links below!
For even more on companies and products, be sure to stop by our Season 15 Products Page before you go!
Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!
