Founded by husband-wife duo Matt Mundt and Angie Kupper, Hug Sleep is famous for creating the Sleep Pod. It’s a comfortable swaddle for adults and replicates the feeling of being hugged. They pitched the product on Shark Tank and bagged a deal with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner. Hug Sleep is worth an estimated $5 million.
The Founders
Matt Mundt and Angie Kupper hail from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Matt has a degree in Mechanical Engineering, and his wife has a master’s degree in Psychology.
Angie became passionate about help those struggling with mental health as her mother committed suicide. As a therapist, Angie has spent over a decade working in the mental health industry.
After college, Matt worked as a product designer for several renowned companies. Although he and Angie had different professions, they had the same goal: to get better sleep.
Founding Hug Sleep
When weighted blankets became a trend, Matt bought one and immediately took it to bed. At first, he found the pressure comforting, but later realized it also trapped heat.
Matt discovered that weighted blankets are hard to wash and designed his own comfy blanket. Instead of using weight to apply deep-touch pressure technology, he used compression. What he came up with was a swaddle that could wrap an entire adult body.
Matt called it the Sleep Pod and launched it under Hug Sleep in 2019. The couple invested only $2,500 to get the startup running. After 16 months, they made over $490,000 in sales.
Shark Tank Pitch
Before Shark Tank, Matt and Angie bootstrapped their startup and reinvested revenue to expand. They appeared on season 12, seeking $150,000 for a 10% equity stake.
Robert Herjavec demonstrated how it worked and ended up falling off the bed and hitting his head which caused him to bleed. Things heated up once they began talking about sales.
Despite being an early-stage startup, revenue was growing and had healthy margins. A bidding war started with all five sharks making offers! Then Robert, Kevin and Daymond teamed up to offer $300,000 for 20%. Mark and Lori made the same offer, and they were picked.
Sales After Shark Tank
24 hours after the episode aired, Hug Sleep sold over 25,000 units and made $2.5 million in sales! Three months later that figure climbed to $4.1 million! Angie and Matt are in shock over the rise in sales, they were expecting to sell 3,000 to 4,000 units from Shark Tank!
This helped the founders release a new Sleep Pod for kids and one with a hood. You can buy these products on HugSleep.com, Amazon, and Walmart. The product currently sells for $111 (originally $99) but you’ll need to pay extra for foot opening and snuggle hood.
Hug Sleep’s original Sleep Pod has a 5-star average rating from 138 reviews on its website. The company is worth an estimated $5 million and has done $15 million in sales since Shark Tank. One issue Hug Sleep has faced is copycat products flooding the market. They have a patent around body compression sleepwear and have sued other businesses to protect their idea.
