Everything To Know About Mini Materials From Shark Tank
There are plenty of companies in the world that make building materials like cinder blocks, red bricks, pieces of plywood, and so on and so forth. But what about really, really tiny versions of those same items? Luckily for anyone in the market for teeny-tiny fire pit stones and credenzas, Mini Materials is out there creating just that.
A company that makes miniature construction materials, Mini Materials has been around for a little while now, and on November 3, they're set to show up on "Shark Tank" and see if any of the Sharks want to put their money behind the concept. Will Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, Kevin O'Leary, Mark Cuban, or Lori Greiner find themselves charmed by Mini Materials? That remains to be seen, but for now, here's everything you need to know about this company that crafts the cutest construction materials you've ever seen in your life.
How did Mini Materials get started, and what kind of stuff do they make?
According to Mini Materials' website, the company took off when the founders took note of a dearth of high-quality construction miniatures on the market. "Our journey began in 2015 when we noticed the world was lacking realistic versions of the most common building materials used today," it reads. "We set out to create the most appealing approach, avoiding plastics and paint, rather working with the same recipes used for the larger versions." The website also notes that Jared Waters purchased the company in 2022 and continues Mini Materials' work from Portland, Oregon.
So what kind of raw materials does the company offer? Well, you can buy miniature versions of things like cinder blocks or red bricks, but they also offer cement and brick mix along with molds if you want to craft your own. Besides mini flooring and room boxes, you can get some seriously unique (and adorable) furniture items as well.
Mini Materials also makes adorable tiny furniture
If you want something besides little building materials, Mini Materials has you covered with an enormous and extremely cute selection of tiny furniture. Some of the items, like mini dressers and dining tables, appear to be simple wooden structures you could paint if you felt so inclined. Beyond that, they've got teeny patio chairs, miniature welcome mats (including one that simply reads "go away"), tiny claw-foot tubs, and even a selection of miniature drinks like soda and beer.
So who is Mini Materials marketing to, specifically? As their website says, "These make for great fidget toys on your desk, gifts for the people in your life that have just about everything, fantastic teaching tools for math and architecture, and for those hobbyists that like to build realistic dioramas, dollhouses, or models." Now, the company will see if the Sharks are interested in their diminutive wares.
What happened to Mini Materials on Shark Tank?
Bringing Mini Materials into the "Shark Tank" is Jared Waters, the current owner of the company who purchased it in 2022 for $200,000. During his first year on board, Mini Materials sold $200,000 worth of product, and Waters has since been able to cut himself a salary of approximately $55,000. Waters' primary hurdle as of appearing on the show is marketing — he's hoping a strategic partnership with one of the sharks would help compensate for this.
Waters' buy-in price for Mini Materials is $100,000 — half of what he paid for the full company a year earlier — in exchange for just 10%. Though the entrepreneur's pitch and product hold the sharks' interest just fine, they all have a hard time imagining the company's growth potential. Daymond John is the first to go out (somewhat haughtily) over the business' vague demographics. Kevin O'Leary, meanwhile, believes the company is too small, and therefore not investible.
Robert Herjavec and Lori Greiner fall back on variations of the classic "it's a great business for you, but not a great business for me," and go out as well. Finally, Mark Cuban passes, describing the business as too new and at the start of a decades-long journey toward success that he isn't prepared to sign up for. Waters exits the tank without a deal — though, if it's any consolation, the Reddit users that put Mini Materials on the map in the first place were immediately adamant on the r/SharkTank subreddit that the company will be a hit once it finds the right audience.