TV - Movies
Whatever
Happened To
Yellow Leaf
Hammocks After
Shark Tank?
By JIM ROWLEY
In May 2020, Joe Demin and Rachel Connors appeared on "Shark Tank" Season 11 to pitch their company, Yellow Leaf Hammocks. The company partners with expert weavers from Thailand's Mlabri community to produce hammocks with a "cocoon-like, no wobble design" and a soft rope that prevents rope burns.
Kind Bar company founder and guest shark Daniel Lubetzky shocked the duo with an offer of $1 million in exchange for 33% equity in their company, and they finally settled for 25% equity, making it one of the richest deals in "Shark Tank" history. Demin and Connors returned to the show in Season 12 for an update confirming that their business was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The hardships encouraged the duo to shift their focus to an e-commerce-based model and sell Yellow Leaf Hammocks directly to consumers or through online retailers. Luckily, their return episode, which aired shortly after COVID-19 hit the US, bumped their sales to $1.5 million in just four months and created 200,000 hours of employment for Mlabri weavers.