Grouphug Solar Panels Update | Shark Tank Season 11
Do you ever find yourself wishing that solar power was a bit more accessible? What if you could have a small panel in your home just to charge devices? Thankfully, Grouphug has thought of that. Entrepreneur Krystal Persaud created a hanging solar panel that works to power your devices. Will the sharks see the sunshine in this Season 11 deal? Read our
Shark Tank Grouphug Update
- Entrepreneur: Krystal Persaud
- Business: Window-hanging solar panels
- Ask: $150,000 for 10% equity
- Result: $150,000 for 25% equity
- Shark: Mark Cuban
Krystal Persaud entered the tank with a great idea, but very little to back it up, which is always a risk. She explains that she wanted a way to charge her devices in a way that helped the environment, but large solar panel arrays were hardly practical (and impossible in an apartment). She developed smaller panels inside a sleek bamboo frame. These panels will charge any device that works with a USB port.
It seems like a great idea, but she doesn’t have much by the way of actual sales. On a 2018 Kickstarter, the company raised $80,000. As of filming, these products haven’t shipped due to some production issues. Krystal has worked on creative arrays before, including the ‘Solar Cat,’ a group of panels arranged to look like a cat’s face. It’s currently installed in a museum.
Unfortunately, the sharks seem a little less than impressed with the product or the numbers. Kevin O’Leary says that solar panels are a commodity, and he doesn’t want to invest. Lori Greiner doesn’t know whether people want it, so she’s out as well. Barbara Corcoran also jumps ship, saying that the panel is ‘ugly.’
This leaves guest shark Rohan Oza and Mark Cuban. Rohan doesn’t think there’s anything unique about the product, and he prefers to back products that can be patented. He drops out too, leaving Mark Cuban.
Mark admits that the panels still need work, but he offers $150,000 for a 25% stake. Krystal tries to haggle, but quickly changes her tune and accepts Mark’s offer. Keep reading our
When we started research for our Grouphug update, things seemed bleak for the company. Kickstarter rewards weren’t shipped, supply lines were disrupted by the pandemic, and it seemed to not be going anywhere. However, now we can say that our fears were premature.
In September of 2020, Grouphug finally shipped delayed Kickstarter rewards. The issues were out of their hands, but they are fixed now. The Grouphug hangable solar panel was discussed in publications like Today, CNBC, and People magazine. You can find the panels on its website. We don’t have any updated sales numbers, but we are hoping Krystal and Mark are doing well!
You can find the other company updates from Season 11 Episode 16 here:
Don’t forget to take a look at our Season 11 products page! We’ve got more company updates from
