Shark Tank Update
Shark Tank Pitch
U-Lace Shark Tank Update
Published:
3m
Rochester, NY
| Name | U-Lace |
|---|---|
| Main Presenters | Tim Talley |
| Presenter Image | |
| Product Image | |
| Last Known in Business | 2/2/2023 |
| Main Location | Rochester, NY Loading Map |
| Order Shown in Episode | 4 |
| Final Deal | Deal was made on the show with sharks Mark Cuban for $200k for 35% of company. |
U-Lace Shark Tank Pitch
Tim Talley said that the average kid has ten pairs of shoes to express their style and match the rest of his/her wardrobe. Tim created U-Lace, which sells colorful elastic laces with eyelet inserts that can be interchanged into whatever look a person desires.
U-Lace started selling in 2009 and did $300k a year largely through sales in Japan. An earthquake and tsunami hit Japan at that point, devastating U-Lace's sales. Similar traction never took shape in America and other parts of the world, but sales have still recovered. U-Lace has done $193k in sales this year as of August and expects $400k by year-end. Tim believes he can do almost $2 million in sales next year.
Kevin suspects U-Lace is a fad, while Tim believes improved packaging will solve the problem. Tim sold his car and moved from an apartment to rent a room in his friend's house. Tim is all-in and desperate for an investment.
The sharks divert attention to Daymond due to his fashion experience. Still, Daymond brings up a business he invested in that may be a competitor to U-Lace, so Daymond goes out but encourages the other Sharks to invest. Kevin makes a sharky offer, and Mark accepts Tim's counteroffer to Kevin.
Offers
| Made By | Label | Sharks Part of Deal | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Offered | $200k for 25% of company | |
| Sharks | Out | Lori Greiner | Out |
| Sharks | Out | Robert Herjavec | Out |
| Sharks | Out | Daymond John | Out |
| Sharks | Offered | Kevin O'Leary | $200k for 50% of company |
| Company | Deal | Mark Cuban | $200k for 35% of company |
Mark Cuban
Made Deal
Daymond John
Out
Kevin O'Leary
Offered
Lori Greiner
Out
Robert Herjavec
Out
Updates in Shark Tank Episodes
| Update Season | Update Episode |
|---|---|
| No Episode Updates | |
U-Lace After Shark Tank
According to rochester.edu https://www.hajim.rochester.edu/about/spotlights/talley.html, Tim Talley grew up in a blue-collar family in Buffalo, New York. Tim attended a good high school and found himself fully able to achieve high grades without needing to study outside of school. When Tim went to college for electrical engineering while on the track team, he quickly realized the workload was more than he bargained for.Link Preview
rochester.edu
Tim dropped track to fully focus on school and pushed through to graduate and succeed in several engineering and business jobs. Tim Talley's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/timtalley may not be updated as of 2023, but does show several roles he had.Link Preview
LinkedIn
According to a 2013 article by ideamensch.com https://ideamensch.com/tim-talley, Tim started and ran an apparel company in New York City called Ballgirl Athletic, which was successful until he took a venture capital deal with some bad actors who bankrupted the company, which led to Tim being broke and sleeping on friends' couches. The company that bought Tim's bankrupt company hired Tim to relaunch the brand and got Tim back on track.Link Preview
ideamensch.com
Tim was a Global Trend Spotter for New Era, and while on a trip to Japan, he saw in the window display of a shoe store a shoe with different colored laces, only to find it was several standard 45" laces used as a creative marketing trick. Tim returned to the US and put his savings to work on uLace. Tim wore all the hats in the business and had a few part-time employees he hoped would turn full-time at some point.
In 2018, U-Lace supplied products to 3k Payless stores. However, before Tim received payment, Payless filed for bankruptcy.
According to a 2020 article by businessinsider.com https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/u-lace-no-tie-laces-launches-sneaker-tweets-campaign-to-help-lift-spirits-and-foster-calm-during-worldwide-pandemic-1029079809, uLace had a hard time navigating past large retailers going bankrupt, yet with the encouragement of his family Tim got through it. uLace launched a campaign to add letters to uLaces to write friendly messages.Link Preview
businessinsider.com
uLace's website is u-lace.com https://www.u-lace.com https://www.facebook.com/ulace https://x.com/u_lace https://www.instagram.com/ulacesneakerlaces. As of 2023, they periodically post on Facebook Link Preview
u-lace.com their Twitter, @u_lace Link Preview
Facebook , and their Instagram, @ulacesneakerlaces Link Preview
@u_lace .Link Preview
@ulacesneakerlaces
Join the Newsletter
Stay up to date on the latest news and updates occuring in the Shark Tank world.
Join the Newsletter
Stay up to date on the latest news and updates occuring in the Shark Tank world.
