Julie Goldman was searching for the perfect aisle runner for her wedding, one that would be comfortable to walk on and not slippery. Unfortunately, she couldn’t find anything like that in the market. So, she started her own aisle runner business, Original Runner Company, which offers the world’s first non-slip fabric aisle runner.
To take her business to the next level, she appeared on Shark Tank. Did any of the Sharks show interest in investing in her company? Let’s find out.
| Company Name | Original Runner Company | |
| Founder/Co-Founder | Julie Goldman | |
| Founded | 2003 | |
| Product | non-slip fabric aisle runner | |
| Asked For | $250k for 15% equity | |
| Final Deal | No Deals | |
| Shark | No Sharks | |
| Episode | S2 E7 | |
| Air Date | April 29th, 2011 | |
| Business Status | In Business | |
| Website | Visit Website | |
| Headquarters | Summit, New Jersey, United States | |
| Lifetime Worth (Sales) | $20M *estimated | |
| Buy and Watch | Buy Now | Amazon Prime |
Business Pitch Episode Recap
Julie asked the Sharks for $250,000 in exchange for 15% equity in her company, valuing it at $1.66 million. She demonstrated her aisle runners product to the Sharks and explained how it differed from traditional aisle runners.
She revealed that last year’s sales were $550,000, the year before that were $800,000, and this year, she expected to make $650,000 in sales, which was quite impressive.
Each aisle runner costs $25 to make and is sold in retail stores for $37.50. Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary felt that the margin was too low; according to them, the margin should be more than 60%.
Julie explained that if manufactured in bulk, the cost of making each aisle runner could be reduced, thereby increasing the profit.
Daymond asked Julie if anyone could make a non-slip aisle runner once it became popular. Julie responded, “Yes.”
Barbara Corcoran said she disagreed with Julie’s marketing strategy, so she is out.
Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec believe that the business won’t grow significantly, so they are out.
Daymond also decided not to invest.
Kevin O’Leary offered $250k for 51% equity because he wanted to control and grow the business, but Julie declined the offer outright.
Sharks Offers list!
| Sharks | Offers |
|---|---|
| Mark Cuban | No Offer |
| Kevin O’Leary | $250k for 51% equity |
| Robert Herjavec | No Offer |
| Barbara Corcoran | No Offer |
| Daymond John | No Offer |
| Founder’s (Countered) | No Counter |
| Final Deals | No Deals |
Original Runner Company Shark Tank Update
Julie hoped that the Sharks would invest in her company, but all of them declined. The good news was that after the episode aired, her business experienced a significant growth spike for a while.
Barbara found Julie’s business quite interesting, so she provided Julie with her contact support to help expand the business.
Our Research revealed that the Original Runner Company was acquired in 2020 by Los Angeles-based Inside Weddings, a wedding planning and design company. Currently, the Original Runner Company generates an estimated annual sales of $6 million.
Julie started a new workout training business called Superfly Bungee in July 2023.
Check out Shark Tank Season 2 Business Update.
Here is a list of more businesses from Season 2 with their progress reports:
