Case Studies

The Kickstarter to Shark Tank Pipeline: 10 Ventures That Made the Leap

From plant-based milk to bug catchers, these products found backers on Kickstarter — then looked for continued success with sharks.

A Kickstarter campaign can be a valuable testing ground for entrepreneurs and creators, a place to perfect your pitch and find an audience. But what’s the next step after a successful campaign?

For some creators, it could be an appearance in the dangerous waters of Shark Tank, the reality show that gives entrepreneurs a chance to present their ideas to a panel of investors. The panel is known for giving feedback that could be, well, brutal — but a winning pitch could bring further funding, and the appearance itself means massive exposure.

We’ll take a look at 10 creators who made the leap from Kickstarter campaign to on-camera pitch, making their case to some of the biggest names in business.

All the Right Moves: ChessUp

ChessUp is a smart, connected chess board that allows you to play online games against other players and practice against AI bots on a real, physical board. With a built-in clock and sensors, light indicators showing moves, an integrated chess coach, and game analysis, ChessUp is the very definition of a game-changer.

The project launched on Kickstarter in March 2021 with a funding goal of $30,000 — and ended up raising $1,703,168 from 5,657 backers in 39 days. Its appearance on Shark Tank followed in December 2022, when two of the creators, Jeff Wigh and Adam Roush, pitched the product as a simple way to learn and improve your chess game.

The sharks got to experience ChessUp firsthand, and the creators fielded questions on the speed of play and level of assisted coaching. Wigh and Roush impressed the panel with their experience — between the two of them, they’re listed on over 20 patents — and the huge revenue from the Kickstarter campaign, which the creators used to start the company. Ultimately, shark Lori Greiner was drawn to the tactile nature that the product brings to online chess, and struck a deal with Wigh for a $300,000 investment. Checkmate!

Numilk: Better for You, Better for the Earth

Numilk is an innovative machine that lets you make fresh, plant-based milk in just seconds with less mess — and less waste. The machine uses a pre-made pouch filled only with fresh ingredients — like oats, cashews, dates, almonds, and coconut — to deliver instant plant-based milk, while eliminating the need for single-use bottles.

Numilk launched its Numilk Home product, a machine designed for at-home use, with a $100,000 funding goal, and raised $222,353 from 888 backers. But did Numilk get support from its appearance on Shark Tank? You bet it did.

Creators Ari Tolwin and Joe Savino went on Shark Tank seeking a $1 million investment, pitching Numilk as an alternative to the hyper-processed plant-based milk that currently exists. Numilk, which at the time of its appearance came in a larger vending machine form for grocery stores as well as a smaller stainless steel prototype for cafes, delivers a pure, delicious, and nutritious offering that meets the dairy-free, zero-waste lifestyle of today’s consumers.

Tolwin and Savino invited Mark Cuban, who happens to be dairy-free, to make his own almond milk from the Numilk machine… and the hands-on demo worked. Cuban decided to invest $2 million in the company — more than the creators asked for, and one of the biggest deals ever made on Shark Tank.

Say Goodbye to Back Pain with Chirp Wheel

Chirp Wheel provides back pain relief through a simple, wheel-shaped device that applies pressure to the back to massage out tension and restore your spine’s natural curve. It’s simple to use, perfect for people of all shapes and sizes, and offers an alternative to less effective foam rollers and expensive chiropractors.

Launched on Kickstarter in July 2018 as the Plexus Wheel+, the campaign had a goal of $10,000 — and raised $1,500,975 from 17,963 backers. The creator, Tate Stock, appeared on Shark Tank in October 2022 to make his pitch.

Stock emphasized the simplicity and effectiveness of the product in his pitch, while his intrepid companion wore a bodysuit made of bubble wrap to demonstrate how much more effective the Chirp Wheel can be versus a traditional foam roller. (After a few rolls, the Chirp Wheel popped far more bubbles than the foam roller.) With this appearance, Chirp Wheel’s fundraising is officially on a roll — shark Lori Greiner invested $900,000.

A Bright Future for Grouphug Solar

Grouphug Solar’s marquee product is an easy-to-install solar panel that can hang on any window, perfect for eco-minded apartment dwellers who can’t put solar panels on their roofs. The panel has a built-in battery that fully charges in 8-10 hours and comes with a USB port for charging all your devices.

Grouphug launched a Kickstarter campaign for the solar panel, seeking to raise $10,000. The community took a shine to the project because it ended up raising $70,760 from 466 backers. The creator, Krystal Persaud, appeared on Shark Tank in March 2020.

Persaud made her pitch directly to Mark Cuban, the only shark left to potentially invest at that point in the episode. Cuban was impressed with how little it costs to make a larger-format panel for businesses and the opportunity for corporate sponsorships in public spaces, and the two struck a deal for him to invest $150,000.

Little ELF is a Cut Above the Rest

We’ve all been there — struggling with rolls of wrapping paper, beating back the curls as we try to cut out the right length. The process is time-consuming and wastes paper and the slice ends up either jagged or crooked. Little ELF is a patent pending tool that helps you easily and efficiently cut wrapping paper. Its flexible, cylindrical grip slides over the paper and cuts it with a built-in blade, ensuring an easy and perfect cut every time.

Little ELF (ELF stands for easy, lightweight, and fast) sought a goal of $18,750 with its Kickstarter campaign. The project ultimately raised $130,125 from 4,134 backers. Creator Bryan Perla — who first invented the concept in high school and started selling the product from his college dorm room — found himself facing potential investors on Shark Tank in December 2019.

Perla pitched Little ELF as a device that makes a holiday chore easier, demonstrating how his gift wrap cutter can smoothly and satisfyingly get the job done in seconds. Both Barabra Corcoran and Lori Greiner tried the product for themselves, but it was Greiner and Kevin O’Leary who battled it out for the chance to invest. In the end, Perla was attracted to Greiner’s QVC creds and chose her to invest $150,000 in his product. (Want to show your own support? You can buy the product at Walmart, Target, CVS, Kroger, and many other stores.)

Turning Up the Music with RokBlok

RokBlok is a portable, wireless device that lets you play records anywhere. It’s shaped like a small block and plays records by lightly riding on top of them, and stops playing when you hold your hand above it. You can listen using its built-in speaker, or by wirelessly connecting to Bluetooth speakers or headphones.

The RokBlok Kickstarter campaign launched in December 2016 with a goal of $50,000, and successfully raised $351,816 from 3,615 backers. RokBlok’s Shark Tank appearance ran a year later in December 2017, with creator Logan Riley making the pitch.

Riley’s pitch appealed to the nostalgic nature of records — and how inconvenient and expensive playing them could be. RokBlok solves these problems. The sharks were impressed with RokBlok’s compact size, simplicity, and wireless connectivity. Two of them — Kevin O’Leary and Robert Herjavec — offered different deals to Riley. In the end, Riley went with Herjavec, who bought the company outright for $500,000 and gave Riley a two-year, six-figure contract plus royalties.

Sierra Madre is Reaching New Heights

Sierra Madre Research is a company that sells high-quality camping gear that keeps outdoor enthusiasts safe, protected, and comfortable in the wild. It sells everything from sleeping bags, camping pillows, and camp heaters to hammocks, solar panels, and snacks. Plus, the company uses a portion of its sales to support clean water initiatives.

Sierra Madre has launched eight projects on Kickstarter, including the Hot Pocket multi-functional camp heater, the Arctic Adventure Blanket, and the Ninox FlatLay Hammock. In total, Sierra Madre has raised $1,809,810 on Kickstarter from 9,999 pledges. No strangers to success, creators Richard and Juli Rhett went on Shark Tank to build on their momentum.

And they found it. Sir Richard Branson, a guest shark, connected with the company’s social mission and offered the Rhetts exactly what they were looking for: $175,000 for a 15% equity. In addition, all of the profits from Branson’s investment will be donated to charity.

Rocketbook Is Going Above and Beyond

Rocketbook offers notebooks and planners that can be erased and reused, with any information you write easily saved to the cloud via the free Rocketbook app. Once saved, these notes can be shared and organized, upping your collaboration and productivity game.

Rocketbook has funded seven projects on Kickstarter, its most recent being the Rocketbook Reusable Sticky Notes. The total raised for all its projects? A whopping $4,387,550 from 74,960 pledges, including $1,823,227 raised for the Everlast Notebook alone.

Creators Jake Epstein and Joe Lema made their pitch on Shark Tank with the Rocketbook Wave, humorously demonstrating how the notebook could be erased by popping it into the microwave. They were looking for a $400,000 investment — but none of the sharks bit.

Epstein and Lema may have left Shark Tank empty-handed, but they found success through Kickstarter campaigns, and eventually hit the jackpot: Pen maker BIC bought the company in December 2020 for a cool $40 million.

Cup-a-Bug Captures More Momentum

The Cup-a-Bug is a no-kill bug catcher — a more advanced method than the traditional paper and cup, attached to a long stick so you don’t need to get any closer to the creepy-crawly. The device has a patent pending tilt mechanism to close any gaps that might help the bug escape, and a sliding lid keeps the bug in the cup until you release it.

Cup-a-Bug’s Kickstarter campaign surpassed its $20,000 goal, raising $28,883 from 573 backers. Creator Justin Huang went on Shark Tank in February 2024 to see if he could capture more funding.

Huang appeared on the show seeking a $50,000 investment. After freaking out the sharks with (fake) insects, both Mark Cuban and Daymond John made offers to invest, which led Cuban to up his investment to $75,000. Huang quickly seized the opportunity to work with Cuban.

Dreamland Baby Counting Sheep & Deals.

Dreamland Baby makes the world’s first weighted sleep sack for babies. The gentle weight calms babies naturally and helps them sleep — and gives parents the chance to catch some more zzzz’s too. The company also offers pajamas and other sleep accessories.

The weighted sleep sack made its Kickstarter debut in May 2019. The project had a goal of $12,500 — and ended up raising more than double that, with $24,541 coming from 262 backers. A year later, in May 2020, creator Tara Williams appeared on Shark Tank to pitch her vision.

While her husband gamely demonstrated how a crying baby meant that nobody — not parent, not child — was sleeping, Williams spoke of the personal experience that led her to create the sleep sack, which is filled with non-toxic poly pellet beads. Lori Greiner made the dream offer that Williams was looking for: a $100,000 investment. At the end of 2021, the company announced that it had reached $10 million in revenue.

Dreams to Reality

The journeys of these 10 ventures from Kickstarter campaigns to Shark Tank success stories are a testament to the power of innovation and community support. Each creator showcased not only their unique products but also their passion and resilience, proving that with the right idea and the right backing, dreams can indeed become reality.

At Kickstarter, we are proud to provide a platform that helps bring groundbreaking ideas to life. Whether you’re an entrepreneur with a novel concept or a backer looking to support the next big thing, Kickstarter is where dreams take their first steps toward becoming reality. And for those brave enough to take the leap from Kickstarter to Shark Tank, the sky’s the limit.