The Hummingbird is one of nature’s most magnificent creatures. If you adore them as much as John and Joan Creed do, you should get the Hummviewer as soon as possible. It’s a mask that lets you watch hummingbirds feeding in front of you. The founders appeared on Shark Tank and got a deal with Daniel Lubetzky. As of 2024, Hummviewer is worth $500,000.
About the Founders
John and Joan Creed are a married couple from Colorado. Not much is known about their family or educational background, but they had a similar childhood.
As a child, John’s family visited a cabin in Westcliffe during the summer. This was where he developed his love for hummingbirds, studying their behavior. Joan spent most of her youth touring the highlands and places where she lived had bird feeders.
Founding Hummviewer
The couple’s shared enthusiasm for birds motivated them to find a way to observe them up close. John worked for several weeks designing a product that could attract the birds easily. He combined a welding mask, a rubber tube, and fake flowers to make a hummingbird feeding mask.
It offered a front-row seat to see how these darting birds consume nectar from flowers and released the first prototype in 2017. Four years later, sales hit an all-time high but weren’t enough to quit their jobs.
Getting on Shark Tank
Shortly after discovering their product works, the Creed’s tweeted a picture of their feeding mask to the NBC affiliate 9News/NEXT. Reporters from the station called the next day and filmed a segment about their invention.
The publicity from local news stations helped them realize they needed to do more to promote the business. They applied for Shark Tank and got accepted to appear on season 14.
Shark Tank Appearance
John and Joan delivered an upbeat presentation and the Sharks were in stitches laughing at the demonstration. The founders had sold around 500 units and made $25,000 in lifetime sales. The majority of the Sharks didn’t view it as an investable business and saw it as more of a hobby.
Daniel Lubetzky was the only one interested as his father loved hummingbirds. The guest Shark got emotional but also believed it could be a big seller due to its novelty. He offered $75,000 for 35% and they happily accepted the deal.
Update After Shark Tank
Getting featured on Shark Tank in December 2022 was huge for the company. John revealed in an interview that “We certainly felt the ‘Shark Tank’ effect.” 24 hours after the episode aired, they sold out of 1,500 units. As of January 2024, they’ve done $350,000 in lifetime sales and recently visited a factory in China to help with production improvements.
In February 2023, the company moved into a new office and got a warehouse. Lubetzky’s team has also been in regular contact and rebuilt their website from scratch. You can purchase the unique bird feeder on Hummviewer.com for $69.95. Unfortunately, there is no other way to buy the product as it might not be suitable for retail stores.
The founders are now working full-time on the venture. Previously John was an electrician for over 40 years and Joan ran a grocery delivery service. John’s new goal is to turn Daniel’s $75,000 into $1 million. The feeder has four 5-star reviews on their website and one 5-star review on Google. The company’s valuation has doubled since the show and is now valued at $500,000.
