If you’re a fan of the outdoors, insect repellent, sunscreen, and anti-itch balms are products you should be using. However, they usually contain ingredients that are harmful to the user and the environment. Powell pitched her business on Shark Tank and got a deal with Barbara Corcoran and Tony Xu. Currently, Kinfield is worth an estimated $4 million.
Nichole Powell’s Background
Nichole Powell is from San Francisco and graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. She also studied abroad for a semester at LSE in London.
After graduation, Powell began working as a marketing associate for Intuit in 2014. Two years later, she founded Who Goes Wear, a lifestyle brand. Although the company built a following online it wasn’t a financial success. Nichole returned to work for Modern Citizen as the Head of Business Development.
Founding Kinfield
Growing up, Powell loved doing outdoor activities but noticed that normal skincare products haven’t changed in years.
Her mosquito repellent had a chemical compound called DEET, which no one wanted to use because of its negative effects on the planet. She traveled around the world to develop a bug repellent that works without DEET.
After making her first product, Kinfield launched in 2018 and they raised a seed round of $2.1 million from six investors. Her DEET-free repellent was a massive hit as it was sold out three times.
Getting on Shark Tank
Nichole’s product has featured in publications such as Bon Appétit and The New York Times. With her early success, she dived deeper into the skincare space. The startup released a lip balm, a moisturizing mask, and sunscreen, among others.
As the company expanded, it needed more capital to keep up with customer demands. Nichole Powell got picked out of thousands of applicants to appear on season 14 and was seeking to raise $250,000 for a 5% equity stake.
The product had great margins and a bidding war broke out. Of course, Mr Wonderful wanted a royalty deal but Barbara and Tony won with a straight equity deal. Luckily, Tony Xu was on the show instead of Daymond John. Sometimes he gets angry when companies have raised money beforehand.
After Shark Tank
Many skin care companies have featured on Shark Tank but only a handful of them have gone on to become a success. The publicity from four million live viewers should have helped sell at least $100,000 worth of product for Kinfield.
If you like their products, you can purchase them through Kinfield.com. To entice fans to open their wallets, they are offering a $22 discount on their Shark Tank bundle which normally retails for $100.
You can also find them in stores such as Goop, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Madewell, Credo, Grove Collaborative, and Free People. Gwyneth Paltrow wasn’t able to be on the episode as a guest because it would have been a conflict of interest.
On CredoBeauty.com, their original mosquito repellent has an average star rating of 4.6 from 176 reviews. As of 2024, Kinfield is worth an estimated $4 million and appears to have a bright future! It looks like the deal with Barbara Corcoran and Tony Xu closed within six months after the show.
