NicePipes Apparel: What Happened To The Brand After Shark Tank?
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Growing a business is no easy feat, but for some lucky entrepreneurs, all it takes is a successful pitch on "Shark Tank." The reality show offers inventors and business owners a chance to share their idea with a panel of investors — known as "Sharks" — in the hopes of making a deal that could catapult their product to household-name status (just look to Bombas and the Sleep Styler as a couple of examples).
NicePipes was another business idea that landed on the "Shark Tank" stage in January 2017. Lisa Binderow, a yoga teacher, founded the brand in 2014 when she realized how cold her cropped yoga pants were during her walks to the yoga studio. She designed arm and leg warmers made from the same fabric as stretchy yoga pants to keep comfy in frigid weather.
Before its "Shark Tank" feature, NicePipes earned $80,000 in sales and had already received media attention from outlets including Today and Self. Binderow appeared before the Sharks to try to turn her buzzy fitness apparel concept into a million-dollar company.
NicePipes didn't earn a deal on Shark Tank
Lisa Binderow, modeling her arm and leg warmer designs, pitched NicePipes to the line-up of Sharks and asked for $100,000 in exchange for 10% of her company. She revealed that the products were already popular among her yoga enthusiast friends, who quickly wanted to purchase a set after seeing Binderow sport them herself. This inspired the yoga teacher to mass-produce the items, which were, at the time of the "Shark Tank" episode, also available on the NicePipes website and 40 other store locations.
NicePipes' arm and leg warmers seemed profitable, selling for $42 and only costing $7.50 to make, according to Binderow. With some sales behind her, the founder optimistically predicted the company would eventually be worth $1 million. However, the Sharks weren't convinced. Robert Herjavec was skeptical that the business would take off, harshly telling Binedrow, "You lose all credibility when you stand there and you tell me you think this is worth $1 million. It doesn't make me trust you. It's so incomprehensible." Kevin O'Leary also criticized the designs for being unoriginal and too easy to copy.
However, as Shark Barbara Corcoran pointed out, Binderow stood out from most other "Shark Tank" participants because she remained confident and kept talking, even as the investors were hurling criticisms at her. Corcoran respected the entrepreneur's toughness and offered $100,000 for 40% of the business. Binderow countered with 25%, but Corcoran rejected the offer — and no deal was made.
Shark Tank quickly multiplied NicePipes' revenue
NicePipes founder Lisa Binderow tearfully walked off the "Shark Tank" set just after turning down Barbara Corcoran's offer, explaining to the camera, "Who knows what will happen next? But I know that I just did the best that I could do out there. I know I did, and I'm proud of myself." Two weeks after her pitch aired on the reality show, Binderow penned an article for Entrepreneur elaborating on why she didn't accept the offer. "For the past two years I have been all nicepipes, all the time, and it just didn't feel right to give up 40 percent of everything I have built," she wrote. "I realized in that moment [on "Shark Tank"] how proud I was, and still am, of my slow and steady progress. It got me thinking — what happened to building a small and respectable business?"
Binderow may have been comfortable with keeping NicePipes small, but her appearance on "Shark Tank" still gave the brand a major boost in sales. Just after finding reality TV fame, she told E! News, "I was only on the show less than a month ago so it's really hard for me to know...but it's pretty amazing to see how much our daily sales have grown." The founder added, "I don't even know how to put a number on it because it's so drastic. A month out and I would say it has quadrupled our monthly run rate."
NicePipes is still in business
Some of the Sharks were doubtful that NicePipes would ever be worth $1 million, but according to Shark Tank Blog, the apparel company has proved itself in sales, racking up an estimated $4 million in annual revenue as of June 2023.
Leg and arm warmers are still the brand's main focus, and they currently retail on the NicePipes website for $38 to $46 (the company also has an Amazon storefront, though its stock appears to be limited). Just as they were modeled on "Shark Tank," the yoga wardrobe accessories come in a handful of bright colors, black, white, gray, and a few easy-to-style prints, such as camo and polka dots.
NicePipes leveraged its reality TV success by fundraising and donating proceeds to selected yoga and fitness-related charities. The company also gave a nod to its yogi roots by partnering with yoga teachers and offering instructors a 15% discount on all NicePipes merchandise.
What's next for NicePipes?
Just as Lisa Binderow remarked during her "Shark Tank" exit interview that no one knew what would happen next for NicePipes, the same can still be said of the company today. While the apparel line is still selling arm and leg warmers and Binderow still lists herself as the founder and CEO of the business on her LinkedIn profile, NicePipes seems to have lost some of its earlier steam.
The NicePipes blog, primarily used to feature fitness instructors, hasn't been updated since March 2017 — just a couple of months after the brand's "Shark Tank" episode aired. NicePipes' Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts also haven't had any new posts since 2018.
According to LisaBinderow.com, the NicePipes founder launched a new business offering lactation consultations after giving birth to her daughter. Binderow now appears to devote most of her time to supporting new parents who are learning to breastfeed, chestfeed, and bottle-feed their newborns.