Whatever Happened To Wad-Free Bed Sheet Laundry Detangler After Shark Tank Season 13?
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.
Washing bed sheets is a nightmare. The bedding loves to cuddle with other clothing in the washer and dryer. Who hasn't experienced the duvet burrito with socks and shirts tangled inside? Your clothes don't get cleaned or dried properly — wasting time, energy, and money. Cyndi Bray experienced this issue one too many times and sought to bring a solution to all launders everywhere with her product Wad-Free.
Wad-Free is the first-of-its-kind laundry detangler. You clip the sheet's four corners to the Wad-Free fastener and throw it in the wash. Your bedding comes out fully clean and dried with fewer wrinkles and without tangles. Bray sought to enlist the help of the "Shark Tank" investors Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Kevin O'Leary to expand her business. The entrepreneur left the tank with a wealthy shareholder on her team, hoping to make loads of cash and every wash load wad-free.
Wad-Free hooked a Shark
Inventor and owner of Wad-Free Cyndi Bray entered the tank seeking $200k for a 5% stake in her company. From June 2020 to the Season 13 Episode 5 taping, her business earned over $500k. Wad-Free was already available on the company's website, Amazon, Walmart, and The Grommet. Bray secured a utility patent and 38% profit margins on the $18.99 detangler. However, while her numbers were great, some investors didn't connect with the product.
Mark Cuban, notorious for being the grungy, low-maintenance one of the Sharks, couldn't relate to washing his sheets and went out. Robert Herjavec followed suit, dropping out since he was unfamiliar with the laundry market. Despite ties in the clothing industry, Daymond John could not relate to the laundering side of things either, leaving Kevin O'Leary and Lori Greiner as the only Sharks interested. Bray's first offer of $200k for 10% with a $1.50 royalty until $1 million is recouped comes from no other than O'Leary, while Greiner offered $200k for 25%.
The entrepreneur countered the investors. The QVC queen revised her offer to $200k for 20%, while Mr. Wonderful kept the $1.50 royalty in play but lowered the equity ask to 5% for $200k. Not wanting to part with a fifth of her company, Bray accepted the deal with O'Leary. She left the tank with a Shark, 95% of her business, and the hope that Wad-Free would make wads of cash.
Wad-Free's post-Shark Tank success
Kevin O'Leary and Cyndi Bray's deal closed after the "Shark Tank" episode. The Chairman of O'Leary Ventures and Beanstox went on Good Day New York to sing the company's praises. He told the host, Rosanna Scotto, "Eight out of ten deals fail within three years, and two make you a thousand times on your money. Like Wad-Free is a winner." Even O'Leary's wife, Linda O'Leary, called the product ingenious. Helping people launder more sustainably with fewer drying hours saves time, money, and the planet.
Wad-Free is based in Denver, Colorado, and is proud to be made in the USA. After "Shark Tank," the company was a finalist in the Colorado Chamber of Commerce's Coolest Thing Made in Colorado contest. The bedding unraveler also received national attention. Wad-Free was featured in noteworthy publications like "Women's Health Magazine," "Apartment Therapy," "House Beautiful," "HGTV," and "The Today Show." We at House Digest tried the product to see if Shark Tank's Wad-Free bed sheet laundry detangler is worth purchasing. Spoiler: it is.
Cyndi Bray is still keeping sheets wad-free
Cyndi Bray is still the owner of Wad-Free. Although Kevin O'Leary has a stake in her business, Bray runs the show single-handedly. The inventor told Medium, "Launching my company has been a one-person operation." Bray did so in the middle of a pandemic, too. She added, "Despite all the obstacles, my venture is going very, very well. The product has been validated as has the market. It is selling like crazy and consumer feedback has been phenomenal!" With a background in advertising and graphic design and previously running her own company for 20 years, Bray's success is no surprise.
Wad-Free already had large sales and marketing before "Shark Tank," but it has grown since. You can follow Wad-Free's journey and join thousands of customers on the enterprise's Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and X (Twitter) pages. You'll be in the know for discount sales and new product drops like their latest upgrade to the standard Wad-Free for Bed Sheets.
Wad-Free's newest product
When Cyndi Bray made her "Shark Tank" debut, she only had one product. Now, the entrepreneur has two — introducing Wad-Free for Blankets & Duvets. This laundry tool was designed to keep thicker fabrics from tangling in the washing machine. It has eight tabs to secure your bedding as opposed to the four on the Wad-Free for Bed Sheets. The bedding detangler works for sheets, blankets, mattress covers, mattress pads, and duvets. You can even prevent other large items like curtains, tablecloths, and sleeping bags from doing the twist.
The original laundry gadget for sheets sells in a pack of two for $19.99, and the new deluxe version costs $35 for one. You can also buy a combo pack with both Wad-Free clips for $45.99; the product is available on Wad-Free's website or Amazon, where it has amassed nearly 6,000 ratings with an average of four stars.