Blankets have been around forever, but Rumpl helped make them feel new again. Founded by Wylie Robinson and Nick Polinko, the company built its brand around technical blankets inspired by sleeping bags and outdoor gear. Despite not getting a deal on Shark Tank, Rumpl is currently worth $15 million.
Wylie Robinson’s Background
Wylie Robinson is an entrepreneur from Portland, Oregon and has a degree in environmental design from the University of Colorado. He also did an online course in graphic design at UC Berkeley Extension.
When still in college, he was a construction worker at Bergen Homes and then interned as a designer at the architectural firm Gensler. After graduating, Wylie was a certified designer at Stantec for a year. In 2009, he worked as a senior designer at MKTG until he moved to Landor.
Founding Rumpl Blankets
The idea for Rumpl came after Robinson and his co-founder were stranded in freezing conditions during a ski trip near Mammoth, California. While waiting for help, they stayed warm in their sleeping bags and started wondering why home blankets were not made with similar materials.
When they got back to San Francisco, they made early prototypes using fabric store materials and quickly realized the concept had broader potential. In 2013, they began selling the product to the public.
They launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $15,000 and managed to raise over $216,000. The funding helped them create different versions of the product and use recycled materials. In 2019, lifetime sales reached over $24 million.
How Shark Tank Supported Rumpls’ Sales
After the episode aired, Rumpl got negative comments on social media for being on the show for the wrong reasons. Nevertheless, the company made $1 million in sales from the exposure they craved.
Rumpl is still in business and has grown beyond its original puffy blanket concept.Its’ current product lineup includes blankets, sleeping bags, pillows, towels, ground mats, ponchos and accessories
The innovative blankets are available to buy on Amazon, Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Rumpl.com. The original version of the product has a 4.8-star rating from 677 user reviews on Amazon. They sell NFL blankets on their website so they clearly figured out how to get licensing deals.
According to an interview with BizJournals.com in October 2020, the business was on track to make between $8 to $10 million annually. Despite strong growth in 2021 and 2022, they’ve had to learn some hard lessons. In June 2023, Wylie was predicting revenue would fall 15% vs 2022 as the licensing deal with the NFL wasn’t as lucrative as expected. The problem was the brand struggled to sell inventory for certain teams.
Leadership Changes and Latest Update
One of the biggest recent developments came in 2025, when Robinson moved from the CEO role to chairman of the board. Rumpl brought in Josh Simpson as general manager, with Robinson shifting his focus toward product innovation and creative brand direction.
The company is also still expanding. In February 2026, Rumpl announced a new distribution partnership to grow in Australia and New Zealand, calling it part of a broader international push.
Missed Out on a Shark Tank Deal
In 2020, Rumpl was already a successful business that was expanding through wholesale. Wylie appeared on season 12 of Shark Tank, seeking $600,000 for a 4% equity stake. A $15 million valuation for an industry with low barriers to entry was ambitious.
Robinson gave a polished pitch, but the atmosphere changed when he revealed they had $3.5 million in the bank. Cuban became suspicious and didn’t believe his excuse of needing a Shark to get sports licensing. Wylie didn’t do a good enough job to convince him he wasn’t on the show just for exposure.
The founder offered Kevin a royalty deal for a percentage of sales on sports licensing but he wasn’t interested. Blake Mycoskie and Daymond John also made a joint-offer but Wylie declined. Sadly a deal couldn’t be reached.
