She built a $5 MILLION Empire from Her Living Room
Ever heard of Bite Toothpaste? Well, here’s how a TV producer started the company from her living room and turned it into a $5 million dollar empire!
Lindsay McCormick - the founder of Bite - loved travelling for work but hated the idea of how much plastic waste she generated by using small, plastic toothpaste tubes on her trips. After years of trying and failing to find an environment friendly alternative, she decided to make her own. Lindsay started off by taking online chemistry classes to learn how to make her own toothpaste tablets. She did her research and consulted dentists to make sure that she made no mistakes.
In her living room Lindsay came up with a formula for natural, plastic-free tablets to replace conventional toothpaste. To use them, you pop the tablet in your mouth, bite down, and then brush with a wet toothbrush.
McCormick started selling her toothpaste pills independently. With the help of her boyfriend, she redesigned her label and website to expand operations and take more orders.
In 2018, Lindsay was approached by Women’s Health to make a video about her product which went viral on YouTube.
Until now, the Bite business was solely running out of Lindsay’s living room. But with the sudden increase in orders, she rushed to find manufacturers to keep up with the demand.
Bite expanded into a five-person company, but it continued to function out of Lindsay’s living room. The company relied on viral marketing campaigns and stayed true to their mission of promoting sustainability. Bite also expanded their product range with bamboo toothbrushes along with their toothpaste tablets to keep up with their idea of eco-consciousness.
Being a bootstrapped company right from the start, in 2020, Lindsay took her company to ABC’s Shark Tank in order to raise external funds for Bite for the first time.
Lindsay along with her boyfriend and business partner Asher Hunt presented their idea to the panel and asked the Sharks for a $325,000 investment in return for a 5% stake in their company.
While the 5% offer didn’t work out, Kevin O’Leary and Mark Cuban agreed to the investment for a 15% stake in Bite. The co-founders countered Cuban with 7% of their company - which was about a $2.3 million valuation - refusing to go higher, and ultimately decided to walk away.
This was because Lindsay and Asher wouldn't let go of more than 7% of their company for that investment - that would be a $5million valuation.
However, just an appearance on Shark Tank was enough for more people to find out about Bite’s innovative toothpaste pills. Because since then, their sales have constantly been helping them gain the momentum they needed.
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