What Happened To Grace And Lace After Shark Tank?
Some of the most successful "Shark Tank" companies haven't been able to bag the deal they envisioned. However, in Grace and Lace's case, multiple Sharks offered owners Rick and Melissa Hinnant the exact equity-to-money split the couple requested. This tough feat is made even more impressive by the fact that theirs was a sock company. During Grace and Lace's 2014 appearance on the show, the intrepid couple's hot-ticket item was their comfy socks that came with a pretty little border that was visible on top of boots. In their pitch, Melissa explained that she came up with the concept after she went out looking for socks with a similar design but came up short.
The entrepreneur recalled that after she wrapped up her futile internet search, she got behind a sewing machine to take matters into her own hands. After about nine hours of work, the first Grace and Lace sock was born. Melissa admitted that she didn't create the socks with the intention of starting a business but realized she had something special when several strangers stopped her in the street to ask where she got them.
Soon, the Hinnants' business was born and just a few years later, the couple made their way onto "Shark Tank." When the husband and wife duo looked back on their time on the show in a 2022 YouTube video, they acknowledged being terrified going into the pitch because they had witnessed several entrepreneurs succumbing to the Sharks' attacks on the day of the shoot. However, you wouldn't know it by watching their confident display.
The Sharks raved about Grace and Lace
Grace and Lace owners Rick and Melissa Hinnant offered up $175,000 for 10% equity to the "Shark Tank" judges. Their pitch got off to a roaring start as the couple proudly confirmed that they had already garnered $800,000 worth of sales in their first year in business alone, in 2012. In the year prior to the pitch, they earned $1.125 million in sales and pocketed a handsome profit of over $300,000. The entrepreneurs managed to reel in the Sharks even further by mentioning that they only spent $5 in manufacturing their socks and sold them for about $34.
Grace and Lace's impressive growth further intrigued the judges because they hadn't spent anything on advertising. As the Hinnants handed out samples, Barbara Corcoran exclaimed that she couldn't believe they were offering such high-quality material at such affordable rates. It seemed to be a highly investable company on all fronts, so all the richest Sharks naturally started circling for a deal. Robert Herjavec and Mark Cuban offered the exact deal they were looking for, but Rick and Melissa took too long to make their decision, so they both backed out.
Corcoran seemingly believed the husband and wife duo had everything she looked for in a person before investing and initially offered up $87,500 for 5% equity, even encouraging another Shark to join the deal. However, Corcoran later changed her offer to $175,000 for 10% equity with half the money coming from a line of credit. The Hinnants wasted no time in sealing the deal.
Grace and Lace is still in business
In 2017, we got an official update, on YouTube, about everything Grace and Lace had been up to since closing their "Shark Tank" deal with Barbara Corcoran three years prior. Rick Hinnant was overjoyed to share that their sales had increased to a whopping $19 million since the couple's appearance on the show. Furthermore, they had grown from a company of six employees to nearly 50. Rick and Melissa Hinnant also revealed that they were using their profits for good by building several orphanages in India.
Grace and Lace may have started as a socks company, but it has since grown into a fully-fledged fashion brand. Now, they sell everything from tops and bottoms to accessories and home décor products. However, it appears that their hero product from the "Shark Tank" days has been put on the back burner as they only offer a few pairs of socks. Grace and Lace also remains active on social media. They do weekly YouTube livestreams and frequently share Instagram photos to promote their products.
It's worth noting that their "Shark Tank" episode left out some of the couple's personal struggles, which ultimately led to the creation of their thriving business. Speaking to 700 Club Interactive in 2017, Melissa divulged that she had to give birth to their first baby girl halfway through her pregnancy before the little one had developed lungs. While Melissa recovered and grieved the loss, she picked up sewing as a hobby and used that skill to build the first pair of Grace and Lace socks.