Whatever Happened To Beardaments After Shark Tank?
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Jason McOmber never dreamed that an ugly sweater Christmas party in 2014 would result in him presenting a business venture on "Shark Tank." After quite a few drinks, party guests began clipping items in McOmber's beard to give it some holiday cheer.
"Everyone loved it and thought it was funny," he told Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban and the other sharks.
Thus, Beardaments was born in 2015, allowing others with beards to add some flair to their facial hair. Customers could purchase a variety of colored baubles to clip on. For an extra-festive look, they could also choose a light-up option or sparkly beard glitter.
The entrepreneur made $80,000 in sales his first year, $155,000 the second year and $462,000 the following year. When McOmber appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2019, he expected to bring in upwards of $700,000, much to the shock of the panel. Barbara Corcoran exclaimed, "You've got to be kidding!" Cuban said, "This is a UFB ... un-frickin'-believable." According to McOmber, a viral video in 2017 that garnered 130 million views helped his venture, but that was just a stroke of luck.
"I'm not a commerce guy. I'm not a website SEO guy," he said. "I mean, a lot of this is just me bootstrapping, shipping from my basement."
McOmber asked for $150,000 for 10 percent, and in the end accepted an offer from O'Leary for $150,000 for 25 percent. However, it's been almost three years since the deal was made on "Shark Tank" Season 11. As fans of the show will know, some ideas flop post-show, such as Josh Brooks' Postcard on the Run. Others, like Chris Healy and Lindsay Barto's The Longhairs, thrive. Which category has Beardaments fallen into?
Beardaments is still in operation and getting rave reviews
According to the official Beardaments website, the company is still going strong. Bearded customers can continue to buy a 12-piece pack of the original ornaments, which come in red, green, gold and silver, for $11.99. Also still available is the light-up pack of 16 for $17.99 and colorful beard glitter. Additionally, Beardaments is now marketing toward women with earrings and ornaments for hair.
The products are available on the site, as well as Amazon. On the latter, Beardaments' original ornaments boast a 4.4-star rating. One customer praised, "My husband says they are very comfortable and easy to use ... He wears them at work during the holiday season and the customers absolutely love them!" Another wrote, "I've had so many people laugh, compliment or smile. I've even had people get my attention at red lights to say how awesome they are."
On GroomReviews, host Paul D'Onofrio also gave Beardaments his stamp of approval. He said they're easy to handle and can be a fun activity for kids to decorate dad or grandpop's beard.
Since the products of Beardaments can only really be used one season per year (unless you count Christmas in July), some hope that Jason McOmber grows the business to include other celebrations. On Reddit, u/BeautifulRelief said, "He mentioned expanding this to Pride. There's a huge Pride parade in my city every year and I actually really think these would go over really well."