N.B. Makers Of The World’s Coolest Onesie Strikes Deal With Dragons
MONCTON– The makers of the world’s coolest onesie have made a deal with the Dragons.
Tuxy, the Moncton-based company that makes onesies you can actually wear outside the house, appeared on an episode of CBC’s Dragons’ Den on Thursday night.
CEO and co-founder Derek Martin and his partners went in asking for $100,000 for eight per cent of the company but ended up striking a deal with Dragons Jim Treliving and Lane Merrifield at $100,000 for 10 per cent of the company. Treliving and Merrifield will each have own five per cent for $50,000.
The filming of the episode took place about eight months ago, and Martin said the experience itself was a valuable yet challenging experience.
“It really pushes you to communicate your product and condense it to a 90-second pitch. It puts added pressure of being able to respond to seasoned investors,” said Martin in an interview with Huddle. “Not only that but also having to defend your product. They’re there and they challenge you and push you and I think I was up to the challenge.”
The founders launched a Kickstarter back in November 2017 to raise money for the first round of Tuxys, with the goal of earning enough to eventually open an online store. The campaign skyrocketed past its $15,000 goal, bringing in $185,000 and receiving preorders from 47 different countries.
Since the filming of the episode, the company since has established an online store and now offers designs for both women and kids. The U.S. is currently their biggest market, followed by Canada and then Europe.
Martin said the investment agreement with the two Dragons was signed on Thursday. He says the investment will help bring stability to their ongoing growth.
“What this allows us to do is execute our plan faster,” said Martin. “Right now, we’re having a problem with keeping up with demand and since Christmas time we’ve run out of inventory twice in the U.S. With the added money from investors, we can have more stability in our growth.”
He says there will also a lot of non-monetary support of working alongside Trelving and Merrifield’s investment teams such, as mentorship and networking.
“We’re just starting to dive into that,” said Martin. “So I’m excited to see where that leads.”