Bellybuds Baby Bump Headphones Update | Shark Tank Season 5
Curtis Williams and Matt Von Waaden have come up with a way for expectant mothers to share music with their baby. Â Their product attaches to mother’s belly, so the baby won’t miss a beat. Will they earn a deal on
Shark Tank Bellybuds Update
- Entrepreneurs: Curtis Williams and Matt Von Waaden
- Business:Â Headphone-like speakers for baby bumps
- Ask: $500,000 in exchange for 12.5% equity
- Result: No deal
- Sharks: None
Curtis and Matt brought their headphone-like speakers, Bellybuds to the tank. Their product attaches to expectant mothers’ bumps, allowing the moms-to-be to play music or other audio directly to the baby.Â
PLAY MUSIC AND CREATE MEMORIES – A baby in the womb can hear at about 20 weeks and memories start at 30. BellyBuds baby-bump speakers allow you to safely play music and messages from loved ones directly to the womb from your iOS, Android or any standard audio device.
They valued their company at an eyebrow-raising $4 million, which didn’t help their pitch. The guys said their sales in 2012 were $300,000, and in the first six months of 2013, their sales were $340,000. While they were approaching over $1 million in gross sales, they had been losing money their first two years in business.
Their product retails for $49.99, and costs less than $10 to manufacture. They had a patent pending for three years, which still hadn’t come through. When asked about their high valuation, Curtis said they had $1.3 million in inventory sitting in a warehouse, and those future potential sales were factored into their current valuation.
Lori Greiner said she didn’t like that they made so much inventory upfront, so she went out. Barbara Corcoran said that their $500,000 ask was ridiculous based on the company losing money, so she too went out. Kevin O’Leary went out next due their valuation. Robert Herjavec went out because the product wasn’t a new concept. Â
Mark warned the guys that their product would get knocked off, so he was the last shark to drop out. With no offers from the sharks, Curtis and Matt were forced to leave the tank without a deal. What happened next for their company? Keep reading our Bellybuds update to find out!Â
Research for our Bellybuds update revealed some interesting news. Business is still booming for the company, although it has since undergone a name change to WAVhello, and they have since expanded their product line. Products are sold by major retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Amazon, Buy Buy Baby, and also on the WAVhello website.
Would you like to learn about the other companies featured on Season 5 Episode 8? Follow the links below for our other company updates from the episode.
For even more on companies and products, be sure to stop by our Season 5 Products Page!
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!