There’s no perfect pillow that will appeal to everyone. What works for you may cause a stiff neck for someone else. This inspired Susana Saeliu and Kevin Li to create Pluto Pillow and sell customized pillows based on your sleeping style. They featured on Shark Tank but didn’t get a deal. Today, Pluto Pillow is worth $13 million.
Susana and Kevin
Susana Saeliu and Kevin Li are from Los Angeles. Kevin is not vocal about his background, but Susana graduated from USC with a BS in Business Administration and a concentration in Entrepreneurship.
During her final year at USC, she launched a bamboo toilet paper brand as a college project. It became the #1-selling bamboo bath tissue on Amazon, and she sold the business after three years. After the sale, she spent time in real estate and the liquidation industry before turning her attention back to consumer products.
Pluto Pillow’s Founding Story
The idea for Pluto Pillow came from Susana’s own neck pain. An avid competitive car racer, she developed chronic pain in 2017 that began hurting her lap times. After rounds of doctors and physical therapists, she realised the culprit was a 10-year-old pillow.
Unable to find a replacement that actually suited her, she teamed up with her friend Kevin Li to build one.
Together they designed a pillow tailored to each sleeper’s body type, sleeping position, and comfort preferences, consulting physical therapists and sleep specialists along the way.
The result is a hybrid pillow with a CertiPUR-US certified foam core encased in a plush outer layer, wrapped in a breathable Tencel cover made from eucalyptus-derived fibre. The business launched in 2018, booking $197,000 in first-year sales and growing to $473,000 in 2019.
Pluto Pillow’s Shark Tank Moment
Susana and Kevin appeared on season 12 seeking $400,000 for 5% equity. With an $8 million valuation, it appeared the entrepreneurs were more interested in the publicity than making a deal.
The Sharks were intrigued by the product initially but their interest faded once the founders revealed the product cost $95 with an $18 shipping fee. Daniel Lubetzky had concerns about the gross margin and if the business could scale.
Four Sharks backed out one by one. Robert Herjavec took everyone by surprise when he proposed $400,000 for 20%. However, the founders believed the equity was too much and went home without a deal.
Update After Shark Tank Episode
Before Shark Tank, Pluto Pillow mostly relied on social media and creative PR campaigns to promote their business. After the episode aired, it drove a surge of traffic and new orders to PlutoPillow.com.
The startup later launched several funding rounds, which were led by four venture capital investors: K2VC, 500 Global, Collide Capital and Lombardstreet Ventures. This helped them expand to 35 pillow variations available on their website, along with new products like the PUFF body pillow and the POD travel pillow.
Despite selling an expensive product, it is highly rated on Amazon with nearly 1,500 five-star reviews, indicating that the customizable design works. Pluto Pillow currently makes around $5 million in annual revenue and is worth an estimated $13 million.
Pricing has since increased from the Shark Tank pitch figures, with the standard pillow now retailing at around $135 and the king at $165. Pluto also extended its sleep trial from 100 to 125 nights and added a one-year warranty.
The company published a blog post in May 2021, explaining what happened on the show and why they couldn’t accept Robert’s offer. It turned out Pluto Pillow already had existing investors on its cap table at the time of filming. Accepting Robert’s 20% equity offer would have diluted those backers significantly and complicated future funding rounds. It was a dealbreaker the Sharks didn’t know about during the pitch.
