Ladies, did you know that the average man only changes his sheets every three months? This can lead to a host of health issues, but Jax Sheets requires fewer washes to stay clean. Founder Wen Muenyi made an interesting pitch on Shark Tank, but no deal was struck. Jax Sheets has a market cap of $800,000 by 2024.
Background of Wen Muenyi
Wenceslaus “Win” Mueni was born in Cameroon, Africa, into a polygamous family. When he was nine years old, his family moved to St. Paul, Minnesota. Win had a stuttering problem, but he managed to get into the University of Florida to study marketing.
He started his career as an editor at XDA-Developers and WMPoweruser.com. He then became a marketing partner at MobileMerit and GBM Software. The Cameroonian returned to work as an editor at IntoMobile, Droidforums and Android.net.
Wen also worked at Best Buy selling cell phones. In 2009, he founded his first startup, Zyrho Software Marketing Consulting. Two years later, he was hired as the director of product marketing at MaxMP.
Founding Jax Sheets
While traveling in Iceland, he noticed that cotton and polyester shirts stunk at different rates, which made him curious about what clothing material would prevent odor for as long as possible.
He discovered bamboo, silver and copper. The entrepreneur used these materials in his clothing line and launched HercLéon in 2017. He then had the idea to use the same materials and techniques for bed sheets.
Thus, Jax Sheets was born. In 2020, Muenyi launched a Kickstarter campaign asking for $10,000 and ultimately raised more than $350,000. During that time, his clothing line has generated $270,000 in sales.
Shark Tank
Wen Muenyi suffered from inventory problems because he was the only one running the business in his garage. In 2021, he appeared on Shark Tank Season 12 and asked for $212,000 for 10%.
He first introduced Jax Sheets, then later added Herc Léon as a two-for-one deal. When he revealed his sales, the Sharks began to show interest, but also caution, because all sales were made through crowdfunding.
When the investor asked Mueni why he specifically wanted $212,000, the host said it was to avoid stuttering. The sharks liked his honesty and sense of humor, but none of them wanted to invest.
What happened after Shark Tank?
Even though Wen didn’t make a deal, business was still brisk. His appearance on the show earned him a lot of new clients, but he had a hard time handling the big increase in sales. Since Jax Sheets was a one-man band, it was difficult to scale the business without hiring employees.
The show hasn’t had any major updates since the series aired in February 2021. Wen decided to merge the line of sheets and clothing into one website, HercLeon.com. The sheets alone have a 4.6-star rating out of 11 reviews on Thisiswhyimbroke.com.
After appearing on the show, Jax Sheets found business difficult. Although sales figures are not released, it is estimated that the company has annual revenue of $200,000. Wen is a serial entrepreneur and co-founder of sleep technology company Rheabelle.
In hindsight, the Shark Tank pitch should have focused more on the types of issues their products address. For example, the sheets are great for people with facial acne, while the shirts are great for people with chest/back acne.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: dut.edu.vn
