Patent Attorney and Founder
Milli: Hi Sharks! I’m Milli.
Taylor: And I’m Taylor. We’re best friends living in New York City, and we’re here asking for $100,000 for 10% equity in our company.
Taylor: Sharks, over the past few years, our lives have changed in so many ways—from the way we work
Milli: To the way we work out.
Taylor: Our living rooms have become our local gyms,
Milli: our bedrooms have turned into boot camps.
Taylor: Our mat-based workouts are no longer just a yoga class to wind down.
Milli: We’re doing sculpt, Pilates, and strength training, but our yoga mats are just not supportive enough and add no extra value.
Taylor: Our exercising has evolved, but our yoga mats haven’t.
Taylor: Well, roll over, yoga mats. It’s time for an upgrade.
Taylor & Milli: Introducing Stack,
Milli: a mat with a unique foldable design that unlocks a new level of versatility for any exercise.
Taylor: When the Stack mat is fully unfolded, it acts just like a standard yoga mat—except it’s better because it always lays flat and it’s twice as thick.
Milli: If you need some extra support, we’ve got you. Fold your Stack mat once or twice to get that much-needed extra cushion for your joints.
Taylor: Or fold it up entirely, and it transforms into a block that can be used for tricep dips, incline exercises like planks or push-ups, lunges, and so much more.
Milli: Sharks, Stack was born out of a love for sweating and the need for adaptation. So, which of you wants to give us stacks of money and help us take over the fitness industry with Stack?
Lori: Good job!
Milli: So, you each have a Stack mat in front of you. It also comes with a carrying strap so you can easily take it with you on the go.
Demon: Now, I’m in the gym all the time, practically every day. I’ve seen lots of foldable mats. What’s unique about this?
Taylor: When we think about the foldable mat space, there are essentially two kinds of mats out there. There are the big gymnastic mats, which are essentially pieces of cushion held together by vinyl. Those mats are heavy, expensive, and not the right material for yoga or sculpt—they’re not grippy or nimble, and you can’t take them on the go.
Milli: And then there are the classic rolled mats, which you see many people carrying around. That’s why we created Stack. To give you some background, Taylor and I met about 10 years ago in college. We’ve been best friends, roommates, and we’ve always been into fitness. But it wasn’t really until the pandemic when we started working out a lot more for our mental health and well-being. We realized we were using a yoga mat, but neither of us was necessarily doing yoga. Half the time, we were rolling up our mats for extra support or using a block to enhance our workouts. We found there was room in the market for not only a more supportive mat but also a mat that adds versatility. What’s great about this mat is it folds, acting as a second piece of equipment to enhance and modify the workout.
Lori: I’m curious to know the price—what it costs you and what you sell it for.
Taylor: The mat itself, in a box with the strap, costs us $14.90.
JD: Matt, you want to open up on that Stack?
Matt: I mean, it’s fine, you know? I don’t get the appeal of that at all. It seems like something that’s been around forever, right? It’s a mat that doesn’t roll out but stacks. I remember having these in kindergarten.
Donna: Yeah, it’s just a smaller version.
Donna: They’re hard to transport, to be honest. You can’t put that in a backpack or take it on a plane unless you have a big piece of luggage. There are limitations with that. The same year, I applied to Shark Tank but didn’t have as much traction as they did. I saw this segment, and I thought, “Oh, that’s why I didn’t get chosen.”
Matt: Your product is much better done.
Donna: Thank you. I don’t think they have a patent for it, though.
JD: They filed for one, but they’re likely going to be rejected. There’s a lot of prior art, so their claims will probably have to get narrower. It’s a utility patent filed in November 2022. It’s assigned to Good Sport, which is a good practice. The company owns it, and there’s a simple drawing. It’s a five-element part with a top and bottom surface and certain grooves. The mat has to be foldable and at least six millimeters thick, which is probably around the prior art. It’s not issued yet. Good for them for trying, but they will have to go pretty narrow in their scope.
Donna: Yeah, I wish them luck too.
JD: Having a patent pending can help calm those who might rip it off, but in the end, it’s about marketing.
Donna: People are really interested in things made in the US right now. I’m sure that mat is not made here, which is why it’s so inexpensive to make.
Matt: Agreed.
JD: What’s your take on the yoga mat trademark?
Matt: They have two trademarks—one application and one registration for Stack as a word mark, protecting the name “STACKT.” The one for yoga mats is registered and has been for quite a while. They have another one for gym bags, yoga towels, yoga socks, and yoga accessories that’s pending. The trademark is conceptually registerable. They’re playing on the word “stacked” like stacking these things up. It’s not descriptive; it’s suggestive, so it’s registerable. I’m not a huge fan of the name, but they registered it, and it’s working for them. So, good for them.
JD: Very good. One registered, one pending. At least they’re thinking about trademarks. Not all companies think about that right away. Before launching, you want to make sure you’re not stepping on toes.