Parents are willing to spend money to protect their children from potential dangers, but it can be costly. Luckily, Ginelle Mills has launched the Cool Wazoo, a five-in-one kid tool. It works as a car sunshade, a changing mat, and a cover for high chairs, swings, and shopping carts. Ginelle struck a deal with Lori Greiner on Shark Tank, but the deal didn’t go through. As of 2024, Cool Wazoo is valued at $1 million.
Ginelle Mills’ Background
Ginelle Mills is a resident of Walnut Creek, Calif. After graduating from Athens High School, she earned a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration and a master’s degree in sports administration from Ohio University.
In 1998, she became a Program Director at Frost & Sullivan and later Global Program Director at Red Sheriff. In 2008, she founded the product development company Cheerful Child.
The inspiration behind Cool Wazoo
Ginelle, a mother of three, took her daughter to the park one day to play on the swings. However, the heat from the metal swings burned her child. So Ginelle tried to find a product that could solve this problem, but failed.
The California mom who founded Cheerful Child took this issue into her own hands when she noticed she was packing too many children’s items in her own bag while developing the product.
So she created a multifunctional changing mat and baby play mat. In 2009, her husband generously invested $100,000 to get the company off the ground, and Cool Wazoo made $20,000 the following year.
A touching speech won Lori’s favor
The startup gained exposure on television shows such as The Doctors and The Today Show in 2012. However, it didn’t bring in enough revenue to improve manufacturing. With that, she appeared on Shark Tank Season 4 for $65,000 in exchange for 25% equity.
The sharks were curious and asked a lot of questions. They criticized the entrepreneur because the profit margins were too low and the inventory problems were serious.
Genelle was thrilled by the shark’s comments. When the shark backed out, she continued to market her business. This moved Lori Greiner, who kindly agreed to invest $65,000 for a 25% stake. This was exactly what she wanted!
Cool Wazoo is still going strong after Shark Tank
Unfortunately, according to Sharktankblog.com, the deal with Lori was never completed. Thankfully, Ginelle reached licensing agreements with Babies R Us and Kids 2, Inc. Cool Wazoo is not active on social media, but the product is still available at TheCoolWazoo.com and in several Toys R Us stores. Currently, the product is out of stock on Amazon.
Under Cheerful Child, LLC, she released new products such as Blew Bubble and Ginovate. In March 2020, she launched a virtual baby shower service, but it did not gain traction. It appears that Ginelle has licensed the product and is now a stay-at-home mom. According to her LinkedIn profile, she stopped working at Cheerful Child in 2016.
On Amazon, the Cool Wazoo has a 3.4-star rating from 23 customers. Positive reviews mention the design, while negative reviews emphasize that the product is too expensive. The company has not released any recent sales figures, and performance has not been as good as expected.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: dut.edu.vn
