Whatever Happened To Liddup After Shark Tank?
The "'Shark Tank' bump" is a very real phenomenon. Consider Fat Shack's "Shark Tank" success story — after their appearance, they received over 3,000 applications for franchising and went from only 11 locations to 28 in less than three years. But visibility can't produce miracles. If a business is going to survive, it needs stability, innovation, and investment. The story of Liddup is a powerful demonstration of this truth.
Jayson Sandberg and Taylor Guiazdon appeared on "Shark Tank" Season 4 to pitch Liddup coolers. It's a simple product, being a beverage cooler with an interior LED light that flares when opened, to allow for easier drink retrieval in the dark (it also has an exterior light.) Seems like a foolproof success, right? But the reality proved to be complicated.
The duo wanted $100,000 in exchange for a 10% stake in the company. Ultimately, they struck a deal with Kevin "Mr. Wonderful" O'Leary, who gave $100,000 in exchange for a third of the company's royalties in perpetuity. Not a "Shark Tank" record, but still a substantial amount.
So, is Liddup a "Shark Tank" success story, or no? The answer is no — Liddup is no longer with us.
Liddup coolers are no longer on the market
In September 2014, Liddup entered a strategic partnership with houseware giant Igloo, in which Igloo would be making and selling a line of Liddup-brand light-up coolers. That deal eventually expired. Then, in March 2018, LiddUp announced a new partnership with the Outdoor Recreation Company of America, or ORCA.
Something dire happened between then and now. As a quick online search will reveal, Liddup coolers are no longer available on ORCA's site — or anywhere else, for that matter. What's more, Liddup's social media accounts have been dead since 2019, and the company's official website is down. Perhaps most tellingly, the last product review about them was published in January 2020, on Power & Motor Yacht.
While these deals with Igloo and ORCA no doubt made Jayson Sandberg and Taylor Guiazdon a healthy sum of money, Liddup just couldn't sustain its overall success. We're not quite sure what happened, but we know how it ended.