What You Need To Know About Poplight From Shark Tank
When it comes to home decoration, a few statement pieces can do a lot of the heavy lifting. A rug, it's been said, can really tie the room together, and few things pop quite like an accent wall. But perhaps nothing can change the mood and atmosphere of a room quite like lighting.
Lighting installation, however, is a huge headache, often requiring drilling, complex wiring, or the help of an electrician. Even something seemingly simple like a floor lamp leaves homeowners beholden to the location of the room's outlets. For wife and wife team Rose Fierman and Caroline Matthes, a lightbulb went off. Why not design an affordable, hassle-free lighting fixture themselves?
Now, Fierman and Matthes are making their "Shark Tank" debut in support of their company, Poplight. Poplight makes wall sconces that are modern and accessible, mounted only with double-sided adhesive on the base. The lamp — which is powered by a USB-C battery that's removable and rechargeable — then clicks into place, and it shines at three different brightnesses. Installation takes a matter of seconds and won't leave a mark on the wall. Here's what else you need to know about Poplight before it hits "Shark Tank."
Poplight was inspired by the founders' 19th century home
Poplight adds a touch of modernity to any setting, even if the space in question is hundreds of years old. When Rose Fierman and Caroline Matthes moved into their home in Denver's Sante Fe Arts District, they struggled with the house's ancient bones. "Our house was built in 1879," Matthes recalled to 5280 Home. "The wiring was insulated with horse hair!"
Fierman added, "We wanted to install wall lights in our bedroom and given the age of the house and the cost of wiring the lights, we realized that installing traditional wall sconces was not going to work for us."
Poplight was born out of necessity, and the couple was surprised that no one had already come up with the idea. Moreover, it's a money saver. Fierman and Matthes estimate that a pair of wall lights typically cost about $340. With installation costs frequently exceeding $400, plus another $250 to patch and repair the wall, the whole ordeal could cost over $1,000. Poplights retail for $95, and owners are encouraged to reuse the lamps as much as they want needing only new adhesive tape to get the job done.
Poplight reached its Kickstarter goal in a flash
Neither Rose Fierman nor Caroline Matthes thought they would end up with a lighting company. Fierman's background is in tech, and Matthes works as a therapist. As such, launching Poplight has been an uphill climb. "Neither Rose nor I come from a design or manufacturing background, so there's been a learning curve at each step in this process," Matthes said in the same interview with 5280 Home.
In March 2023, the couple launched a Kickstarter campaign, seeking $9,100. They reached the goal in just 22 minutes. The response exceeded their expectations, and Fierman and Matthes raised over $162,000 from 1,481 backers. It helped that the product had already gone viral on TikTok. "It has been SUPER fun to engage on TikTok," Poplight posted on Reddit the day after the Kickstarter went live. "That community is bananas."
The Poplight co-founders have been loyal to their Kickstarter base ever since, even letting the backers vote on which shade of pink would be added to the lineup (as of this writing, Poplight comes in Matte Black, Sage Green, Vermillion Red, Popwhite, Marigold, and voter-approved Dusty Rose).
For their part, Matthes and Fierman have been transparent to backers about the challenges of getting a company off the ground. The Kickstarter includes shipping updates, press announcements, and, most recently, a blog about the founders' visit to their manufacturers in China.
Poplight is a renter's dream
Poplight may have been inspired by an old home, but the viral lights were designed with renters in mind. With Poplight, renters don't have to get landlord approval or risk breaking their leases. As it cheekily says on the Poplight website, "Your landlord will never know." The pro-renter marketing angle — coupled with its 37,000 TikTok followers — has helped Poplight secure press on Apartment Therapy, Design Milk, and The Wall Street Journal.
Furthermore, the product's easy installation is ideal for renters who might not have room for a litany of power tools. Poplight leans into Command strip-inspired technology that's long been a boon for renters and college students. It even has a built-in level for tidy installation.
Poplight aims to be as user-friendly as possible, and Poplight also comes with an app for iOS and Android. The app allows users to name their Poplights, control them remotely, and even group them together. It also keeps an eye on battery levels so you know when to recharge.
Ahead of their "Shark Tank" episode, the Poplight co-founders are showing no signs of slowing down. As Caroline Matthes put it to 5280 Home, "We're constantly looking for inspiration and have multiple more designs in the pipeline."
What happened to Poplight on Shark Tank?
After making a surprise entrance from a bed already on the stage, wife and wife team Rose Fierman and Caroline Matthes introduce the sharks to Poplight. They are seeking $150,000 for 8% equity in their nascent company, and their spirited presentation leaves the panel feeling like a lightbulb just went off.
Although the company is too new to boast impressive sales figures (in the short time since they launched their website they've done $5,000 in sales), the sharks see the potential. One particularly strong selling point is the fact that Fierman and Matthes have secured three patents. In addition to a design patent, they also have two pending technology patents, including one to protect the specific way the adhesive works with Poplight's base. The duo believes this will be what sets them apart from other stick-on lighting solutions.
Kevin O'Leary is the first to jump in with an offer, and as Fierman and Matthes predicted, it includes a royalty. He'll give the couple their original ask, but with a $2 royalty on each unit sold until he recoups $500,000, and then a $1 royalty after that. Barbara Corcoran also jumps in with a royalty offer. She tells Fierman and Matthes that she'll give them the $150,000 without any equity, but she wants a $20 royalty on each unit sold in perpetuity.
Fierman and Matthes don't seem particularly excited about the possibility of a royalty, but the other sharks opt not to bite. Robert Herjavec encourages the women to take O'Leary's offer, while Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner both go out because they are skeptical that the product can compete with other stick-on lights. Although they manage to nudge Corcoran down a bit, they ultimately end up taking O'Leary's original offer and leave the tank lit from within.