Magic Moments from Shark Tank

Magic Moments shark tank

Having an app to click pictures and transform them into mobile covers, mugs, and t-shirts sounds super fun. It’s common to see such services, especially in fairs and amusement parks, but to have the ease of accessing it anytime, anywhere, using your smartphone is terrific. You can capture any aesthetic view, a memorable time with your loved ones, or even a picture of your pet sleeping and get it printed on your mug. That’s a creative idea for customized gifts and souvenirs. Fortunately, the heavy incorporation of digitalization enables us to easily avail of several similar facilities.

That was the vision behind creating Magic Moments, a smartphone-based application. It was developed by Black George, Sanford Nelson, and Trevor George to enable users to take photos from their smartphones, uploading on CafePress, and turn them into various products like canvas bags, mouse pads, coasters, etc. The Georges are cousins, with Trevor being a digital marketer and printing professional and Black being an MBA and a former entrepreneur in the digital development business. Sanford is a former investment banker and was Trevor’s roommate during their higher education at the University of Michigan.

The three joined their finances and expertise with additional guidance from CafePress, a digital mogul. The guys also aimed to help people use Magic Moments as a platform to develop and design merchandise for commercial purposes and generate commissions on every sale.

They appeared on Shark Tank’s fifth season, looking for $500,000 in exchange for 15% of their company’s equity ownership. The guys demonstrated the user’s experience and how to use Magic Moments easily. Although a great initiative, it worried the Sharks, mainly because of the issue of rights. What would happen if the users took other people’s photographs? The founders answered that every user would have to offer evidence of having attained model releases before selling pictures to the public.

Mark thinks the application isn’t valuable enough for professional photographers who can upload pictures on PCs and spend more time providing higher-quality images to buyers. Kevin is wary about the company’s valuation, and Daymond even says that regardless of the creative idea, the guys don’t have compelling sales forecasts and figures to support their venture.

In short, the sharks can’t see the authentic and strong foundations they require to be persuaded. Due to the piling problems related to valuation, intellectual property rights, and the app’s usefulness, all Sharks backed away from the deal. Therefore, Sanford, Black, and Trevor had no choice but to leave Shark Tank without any successful investment deal.

We still don’t know enough about the company’s performance following the Shark Tank. The official website remains inactive while the application doesn’t look like it’s available in the iTunes store. Additionally, Magic Moments’ social media accounts have not been updated since 2013. Therefore, we think the business has either closed its operations or is going through a hiatus – though the reasons remain unknown.

Our Review Of Magic Moments

Overall, we think that Magic Moments was an outstanding product. According to the demonstration in Shark Tank, the application looked user-friendly and would offer the desired results without any hassle. After all, who wouldn’t like having a platform to create their preferred smartphone cases, mugs, or t-shirts?

We simply had to upload the image, add whatever product we wanted the picture on, personalize the item, and wait till the output was delivered to our doorsteps. Amazing! But just like everything else, Magic Moments has its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. Below we’ll list some of the notable pros and cons we observed of the iPhone-based app.

Pros Of Magic Moments

  • User-friendly interface
  • Convenient and efficient personalization
  • Access to a range of products that you can print the image to
  • Ease of uploading whatever picture you want
  • A remarkable source of preserving or celebrating memories
  • Ideal for creative gift designs
  • A great source to earn a commission at zero cost: an impressive source of income
  • It prevents the reliance on professional digital cameras and uploading pictures on PC for editing
  • Less time consuming
  • Intriguing invention for today’s digitalized world with the rising importance of e-commerce

Cons Of Magic Moments

  • Commercial selling may still result in copy infringement issues regardless of the exclusive relationship with CafePress
  • Not suitable for professional photographers
  • Limited target audience because the app is only for iPhone owners

Who Is Magic Moments For?

Magic Moments is for all iPhone owners because they’re the only ones able to download and avail of the app. It’s an intriguing service for people who love the concept of personalized gifts and customized items. Additionally, creative people who like having accessories like bags, phone covers, clothes, or mugs with their images or photos taken by others can benefit from Magic Moments.

Moreover, the platform is an outstanding tool for individuals searching to make extra cash. You can take the pictures from CafePress, design and develop your merchandise, and sell it to earn commissions. The best part is that you don’t need to invest much time doing this either. It takes a few steps and maneuvering through the app without any hassle, picking your preferred items, and sending them for printing. So, regardless of being a stay-at-home individual, businessperson, or full-time employee, you can use Magic Moments in your spare time and generate additional money- sort of like freelance or a hobby that pays.

Are There Any Alternatives?

Several technological advancements and incorporation in today’s fast-paced world ensure high modernism. Gone are the traditional practices, only to be replaced with time and cost-effective, innovative ones. So, there are numerous alternatives to Magic Moments in the present times, Customized being the best platform. The app is available on Shopify’s App Store and allows you to add images from your mobile or social media. You can choose your desired layouts and proceed to print them over a collection of items, from blankets and phone cases to towels, t-shirts, and tumblers.

Our Final Thoughts

When Magic Moments was initially released, the competition was relatively low, with Zazzle and Shutterfly being the prominent competitors. With sufficient investment of finances and efforts, the app would have taken off, attracting an extensive active user base. We’re still unsure what happened and if the business is officially over or not, but it’s unfortunate that the brand couldn’t accomplish higher milestones. But at least there are numerous apps like Magic Moments, available for Android and iOS, to help people customize accessories in just a few clicks. So, that’s reassuring!