Aesthetic things are much better when they have functionality. With this in mind, Destiny Padgett created Lit Handlers. Her company sells stylish custom koozies with a holder. After pitching the product on Shark Tank, the entrepreneur sealed a deal with Daymond John and Lit Handlers is worth $2 million.
Destiny Padgett’s Story
Born and raised in Buna, Texas, Destiny is a beauty school dropout with an information systems degree from Syracuse University. She also took Brigham Young University’s Pathway Worldwide online program for two years.
After graduating from Syracuse University, Destiny owned a bar and worked as a supply chain management consultant. She lived a fairly stable life until her partner committed suicide while she was ten weeks pregnant.
To support herself, the bubbly Texan started a baby boutique in 2010. Three years later, she received a Silhouette machine from her parents for Christmas and it inspired her to start an Etsy store where she could sell unique designs.
The Birth of Lit Handlers
One day, while ordering supplies for her small business, Destiny was $3 short of free shipping. So, she added a couple of can coolers to her shopping cart. After messing around with them, she discovered monogrammed can coolers were in high demand.
Destiny created a website called Blank Can Coolers to sell insulated sleeves for drinks of all sizes. Later, she experimented by adding different patterns to her products. The name didn’t sound very professional and later rebranded her startup to Lit Can Coolers.
The founder applied for a patent in 2016 but it was denied. Then, she added handles and pockets on the sides of the drink sleeves and renamed her company again. In 2017, Lit Handlers was officially launched and had sales of $630,000 year-to-date when she pitched on Shark Tank.
Lit Handlers Pitch
Padgett appeared on season 12 of the show, asking for $200,000 in return for a 10% stake in her company. Mainly she was looking for an investor to grow the business and help her secure a licensing deal.
The Sharks adored the simple but very practical product she came up with. However, the Sharks were more impressed with the startup’s performance and sales projections. Kevin O’Leary thought the product was simple but got excited when he heard about the sales.
After realizing that Destiny was doing very well on her own, Lori Greiner, Mark Cuban, and Robert Herjavec said they were out. Only Daymond and Kevin were interested, but the entrepreneur went with Daymond’s offer of $200,000 for 20%.
Success After Shark Tank
With the publicity gained from Shark Tank, Lit Handlers hit its goal of making $780,000 in revenue by the end of 2020. The deal with Daymond John closed a few months after the show aired.
This helped Destiny design new holders for jugs, coffee tumblers, ice cream containers, and pint glasses. All of these products are available to buy on Amazon and DrinkHandlers.com. They changed their website name from LitHandlers.com to DrinkHandlers.com because the business is rebranding.
The startup is very active on social media, and they have a five-star rating from over 40 customers on Facebook. The business is thriving and made $1.2 million in 2021, a 54% increase in revenue. Sales figures are yet to be released for 2023. Currently, Lit Handlers is worth an estimated $2 million.
