FORT Magnetic Pillows Update | Shark Tank Season 13
Pillow forts are fun, but they can wreak havoc on your household furniture. Conor Lewis dreamed up the perfect solution to parents’ pillow fort woes with FORT, magnetic cushions that create a pillow fort with no velcro and no cushions from your couch. Will the sharks appreciate his efforts during his
If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to FORT after
Conor Lewis appeared on
| Shark: | Result: |
| Mark Cuban | No Offer |
| Lori Greiner | No Offer |
| Kevin O’Leary | No Offer |
| Robert Herjavec | No Offer |
| Emma Grede | No Offer |
Shark Tank FORT Update
- Entrepreneur: Conor Lewis
- Business: Magnetic pillow fort cushions
- Ask: $500,000 for 10% equity
- Result: No deal
- Shark: None
Conor Lewis thought of the idea for FORT, a magnetic foam block system, after helping his daughter make a pillow fort in their living room. The idea was to avoid clean-up and save on expensive couch cushions.
At first glance, FORT is off to an impressive start. After a Kickstarter round, Conor sold $2 million in ten hours.
However, his high product costs and shipping issues have nearly sold him out of business. Because of this, he’s looking for financial help from a shark.
Immediately, the sharks see major problems with how the business functions. Additionally, the $500 price point for a single set is too much for most sharks.
Since customers haven’t received their orders from the Kickstarter campaign yet, it’s difficult to gauge the products’ success. Due to this, the sharks are wary.
First to go out is Kevin O’Leary, citing numerous business problems.
Mark Cuban follows. Conor will survive this, he says, but he’s also a great example of what not to do as an entrepreneur.
Next, guest shark Emma Grede doesn’t think the business is proven yet. Because of this, she goes out.
Lori Greiner also goes out because she doesn’t think she has anything to add to the business.
With all the other sharks out, this leaves only Robert Herjavec, who says that he is trying to talk himself into investing. Ultimately, though, he goes out.
So, FORT leaves the tank without a deal. But, was Conor able to build up the support he needed even without a shark? Let’s find out in a FORT update.
From the research for our FORT update, it looks like FORT continued running into supply and shipping issues after the episode aired. Orders on its now-shuttered website were backed up for at least three weeks.
Even with the production and shipping delays, the company was still accepting orders. The FORT system had options in purple, green, light blue, brown, beige, and yellow, in addition to teal and black.
In an unfortunate turn of events, our most recent FORT update doesn’t have very good news. In a May 2023 update on the company’s Kickstarter, they announced the closure of FORT.
Additionally, all products in all colors are subject to a recall by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission due to issues with the magnet system. Customers with existing products are urged to dispose of them rather than try to donate or resell them.
So, it looks like this is the end for the company and our FORT updates.
Don’t forget to check out more of our company updates from Season 13 Episode 18.
Curious about the other company updates from Season 13? Check out our Season 13 products page before you go.
Kimberly is a writer for Shark Tank Recap. She has written episode summaries and updates across multiple seasons of Shark Tank, with a focus on complete and accurate information since 2021. She believes that getting the business aspects of each deal correct is extremely important for viewers and fans. Her favorite Shark Tank products are The Wobbles and Rocketbook!