As far back as he could remember, Hugo Maisnik was a dreamer and an inventor. He thought of the idea for his Amazing Tape when a package arrived at his father’s printing store with all its content destroyed, except for one piece of plastic. From that piece of plastic, Hugo envisioned a high strength tape with no adhesive, and the idea for Hugo’s Amazing Tape was born. He toured the country hawking the non-adhesive, transparent tape at trade shows, in living rooms, and anywhere else he happened to find himself.
Hugo’s daughters, Kathryn Saltsburg and Lauri Frasier, have watched their parents put everything into trying to make Hugo’s Amazing Tape a success. Hugo has passed away within the last year, and his daughters look to carry on their father’s vision. The two actresses believe in the product and look to the Sharks for investment capital and some badly needed business support and advice. They’re asking for a $50,000 investment in exchange for half equity (50%) in the business.
Hugo’s Amazing Tape on Shark Tank
Shark Tank Season 9 Episode 23
Kathryn and Lauri dive right into the Shark Tank, showing the panel just how amazing their product is. Hugo’s Amazing Tape uses no adhesive; it sticks to itself. The sisters tug and pull on the tape to show how strong and durable it is. Veins bulging, grunting, and sweating; they try to rip and tear the super-strong tape…to no avail. Hugo’s Amazing Tape is left crumpled, and a little worse for wear, but not broken.
There are, apparently, hundreds of uses for Hugo’s Amazing Tape. The two enthusiast entrepreneurs demonstrate a few of them:
- Wraps up your potluck contributions so your casserole won’t leak in the car.
- Stays securely fastened whether you use it in the freezer or toss it in the microwave.
- Wraps embroidery threads without sticking or leaving a residue.
The sisters explain that this genuinely amazing tape can be used for everything from bundling plants to binding wires and extension cords together. It’s an all-season product with an almost infinite amount of uses and applications.
As Kathryn hands out Hugo’s Amazing Tape samples, Lauri admits that the sisters put on one of the most entertaining presentations she has ever seen. As the Sharks play with/test out the product, the women relate the heartfelt story of their dad’s humble beginnings and how the inspiration for the business never left him.
Lauri reveals that the product’s patent expired when their father died, but they are still selling the amazing tape online, at trade shows, and out of the trunks of their cars.
The Sharks are unimpressed with the packaging of Hugo’s Amazing Tape; the tape comes in rolls with three size options. The sisters explain that they purchase meter rolls for $1.27 and sell them for $12.95. Sales have totaled around $500,000 in the past two years, they report, and they’ve sold $27,500 in the current year-to-date.
Robert wonders aloud why he couldn’t simply call the makers of the tape and buy them himself. The sisters do not have a strong answer for that. Robert goes on to tell them that he could easily buy the tape himself and eliminate them as the middlemen. Mark, meanwhile, is sure they are getting a bad deal from their Taiwan manufacturers.
Barb wants to know what the two did for a living outside of their Hugo’s Amazing Tape business. Lauri is an actor and parent, Kathryn is a hairdresser who also does voiceover work. Charmingly, Kathryn was selling the tape to her hair salon clients and processing the orders during breaks.
While Kevin thinks their performance was the best “good bad theater” he has seen in a long time, he does not see Hugo’s Amazing Tape as a legitimate business that he feels comfortable investing in. He is the first to go out.
The sisters pull at the heartstrings of the Sharks by telling them that Hugo’s Amazing Tape was their father’s legacy. They wanted the business to succeed in his memory, and they believed it indeed was a fantastic product and that there was nothing quite like it on the market today. Their father’s invention was a reusable tape that stuck to itself, sure – but it was more than that. It was a tribute to their father’s lifelong dreams.
Though he admires their efforts for their late father, Robert also does not see it as a real business opportunity. The loss of the patent and the costs of distribution are just too much for him; he, too, is out.
Mark and Lauri, meanwhile, have been holding a secret little billionaire conference in the corner. They like the product and think it works as advertised. Lauri tested it with water, and it worked amazingly well, leaving no residue. The two entrepreneurs believe the business has potential, but do not think the two sisters are up to the task. Especially not in a complex and competitive marketplace. Mark and Lauri want to buy them out entirely. They offer $100,000 for the business in exchange for the promise that they will take good care of Hugo’s legacy.
The two sisters look at each other. They think about their father and what his invention meant to him and their family. If Mark and Lauri could take Hugo’s Amazing Tape and make it a success, wouldn’t that be legacy enough? The sisters decide that it is. They accept the deal and walk away with a tenth of a million dollars in cash.
The Legacy Lives On: Hugo’s Amazing Tape After Shark Tank
Hugo’s Amazing Tape is available in Walmart stores and online, as well as through Amazon. Chances are your local hobby shop also stocks it in a variety of sizes and colors.
Mark and Lauri are no longer involved in the business, having sold it as soon as they made their money back. (They are sharks, after all.)
In short, Hugo’s Amazing Tape is a success, and Hugo’s legacy has lived on. He would be proud that his daughters performed so well on national television and that Hugo’s Amazing Tape is a success. The website still chronicles Hugo’s history, the story of how he invented Hugo’s Amazing Tape, and his travels around the country attempting to sell it – back when Hugo’s Amazing Tape was still just an idea.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is strictly informational; SEO Insights is not affiliated with Hugo’s Amazing Tape, SharkTank, or any of its subsidiaries.
