Sometimes, a product walks into the Shark Tank room, and it’s so much more than a product. It’s an entire business line. With the M3 Girl Designs, this was the case. M3 Girl Designs was a small company started by Maddie Bradshaw, which involved a whole line of different products that were mainly targeted at a tween audience.
Maddie Bradshaw was only 10 when she first started to design products. She began with bottle cap magnets that she could use to decorate her school locker. When they became popular, she designed them for her friends and classmates for a fee. However, Bradshaw had quite the business acumen even at the young age of 10, and the business soon transformed.
The product line included many different later when the young entrepreneur brought the whole line to get financing for her products. These were the early days for Shark Tank, too and such foresight by a young individual was a rarity. The product M3 Girl designs was an entire product line at that point, and it was wonderful to see.
The thing that sets M3 Girl designs apart is that the product was designed by a tween girl for tween girls. The product line came with all sorts of hair ribbons, bottle cap necklaces, bags, and more. It seemed like it truly was something right out of a tween girl’s dream.
Sadly, the company isn’t active as of now. However, it was quite a successful company when it was still running. Maddie’s mother and her little sister Margot were also a part of the company and would frequently help Maddie with her designs.
Knowing how well her company was doing, Maddie Bradshaw entered Shark Tank seeking $300K for 15% of her company. The story that she presented thoroughly impressed the judges, and they seemed transfixed with the sheer variety of products that the company had. The products were in over 1,000 stores, and the company had $5 million in sales over the last five years, with $1.1 million of that in 2011 alone.
The Sharks were all jumping to get in with this company. The product line showed promise and some very impressive sales. The pitch seemed like the Sharks could become part of something successful if only they were feeling brave enough to toss their hat into the ring. Mr. Wonderful was the first person to start the offers. He offered the company $300K for 30%.
Lori, who’s generally quiet, also spoke up, saying that she would partner with Mr. Wonderful for 40% if only she could also mentor Maddie to become one of the greatest entrepreneurs to come out of Shark Tank. Daymond wasn’t too interested in the dealings because the other sharks already seemed much too invested, and so she stepped out. Mark said that he would partner with Lori for 30%. Mr. Wonderful was no longer in the partnership with Lori, so he partnered up with Robert for $300K on 30%.
The conclusion came down to a partnership between Robert, Lori, and Mark, who teamed up on a $300K investment for 30% of M3 Girl Designs s. Young Margot also through a wrench into the works and asked for Dallas Mavericks season tickets which made an interesting episode even more interesting. She said that she’d only agree to the deal if all her conditions were met. Mark responded by saying she could get total access to his luxury suite whenever she wanted, and it sealed the deal!
Our Review of M3 Girl Designs
Like all the other products that were showcased on Shark Tank, this one, too, has its ups and downs. We have mentioned both of them below.
Pros of M3 Girl Designs
There are many things that make the product line stand out.
- It is a product line. If one product isn’t doing that well in terms of sales, the other can quickly cover it up.
- The product lie offers the company economies of scale. This fact means that they won’t have to spend that much money on products, and their costs could go down given the right use of suppliers, customers, and distribution channels.
- The products are unique and cater to young tweens. These are products that are made by tween girls for tween girls, which is quite the unique selling point. It helps in marketing the product more effectively in a burgeoning market.
Cons of M3 Girl Designs
Just as there are many pros of this product, there are also some notable cons.
- The product line won’t stand the test of time. Sure, these products are popular now, but tween girl products go in and out of trend all the time. The M3 girl designs may not have enough relevance long term.
- There are too many products. While it’s true that having a product line makes this brand more popular, it also increases the costs of production, which means that the company must ensure that its sales are constantly on the rise.
Who Is M3 Girl Designs For?
M3 Girl Designs is for all the tween girls out there who want to have some consistency in their accessories. Tween and teen girls generally assign themselves to a brand as they grow up, and M3 girl designs creators have capitalized on this. Thus, the brand is for all those tween girls who don’t fully identify with Barbie, Bratz, or any of those other characters. The brand allows tween girls to have matching bling without having to assign to any TV character or cartoon.
Are There Alternatives to M3 Girl Designs?
Yes, there are many alternatives to M3 Girl Designs. One of the most common ones is Barbie or Bratz. These are big corporations that essentially create the same types of products that are aimed at tween girls. The difference is that they also have sustained relevance as they have been in the market for a very long time.
Other alternatives to M3 Girl designs are products from any of the TV shows that were popular at the time, such as Hannah Montana or Wizards of the Waverly Place.
Our Final Thoughts
M3 Girl Designs had one of the best and youngest entrepreneurs in Shark Tank History. Maddie Bradshaw went on to author a book, and she even attended Stanford University in 2015. She was quite the trailblazer and was always destined for great things. She closed the company down in 2015, but at that point, she had garnered $5.2 million in lifetime sales, which is not an easy feat for an 18-year-old.
