Black Paper Party, the inclusive holiday wrapping company with a Philly-based CEO, won a $250,000 deal on ‘Shark Tank’
The three women who own Black Paper Party, a company that designs and sells gift-wrapping paper, Christmas ornaments, and other party products, landed a deal with Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran.
Black Paper Party, a company that creates and sells Christmas holiday gift-wrapping paper and ornaments featuring Black characters such as “Papa Klaus” and “Nana Klaus,” managed to catch a “shark.”
The company snagged a $250,000 deal with businesswoman and investor Barbara Corcoran on an episode of the ABC television show Shark Tank that aired Friday.
While the show was taped in June, Black Paper Party CEO Madia Willis, who lives in Philadelphia, said that BPP and Corcoran’s team are still working out the details of their partnership before everything is official.
“We were pleasantly surprised, and we feel blessed,” Willis said over the weekend. “We’re looking forward to growing and learning with Barbara.”
She said the company plans to use the investment for staffing and building inventory.
The Shark Tank episode that featured Willis and her two BPP company cofounders, Jasmine Hudson, chief merchandising officer, and J’Aaron Merchant, chief creative officer, was part of an episode that featured other Christmas holiday-focused businesses. Shark Tank is a long-running business reality show that gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to negotiate deals with a panel of established business leaders, the sharks.
Willis spoke with The Inquirer prior to last Friday’s broadcast, but she was not allowed to talk about the deal until after the show aired.
The three company owners started out by asking for a $250,000 investment in exchange for 5% equity in the company.
They wound up with the $250,000 investment, but with 10% equity going to Corcoran. That deal came after some back and forth about whether Corcoran would join with investor shark Mark Cuban to make a deal together.
“Barbara was unexpected,” Willis said Sunday. “We expected three different sharks to make an offer. We were totally surprised she made one first.”
Corcoran, who made her millions in real estate, took the reins on the deal after fellow shark, Daymond John began talking with Willis, Hudson, and Merchant about a possible partnership.
“Barbara interrupted Daymond who began talking [about their company]. I think she [Corcoran] told Daymond, ‘While you’re looking for room, I’d like to make an offer.’ ”
During the show, Corcoran asked Cuban about joining forces with her to invest the same $250,000 for a 20% stake in the company, with each shark getting 10%.
That didn’t go over well with Willis, Hudson, and Merchant.
“That was higher than we were willing to go,” Willis said. “We ended up going with one shark without giving up too much equity.”
» READ MORE: Philly-based CEO of inclusive holiday wrapping company Black Paper Party will pitch on Shark Tank today
Black Paper Party launched in 2020 as its cofounders were coming up with ideas on how to bring joy during a time when the world was unsettled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the killing of George Floyd. Hudson and Merchant live in Arkansas. The two, along with Willis, met while working for Walmart in Arkansas.
Their products feature Christmas holiday wrapping paper with illustrations of Black Santas, elves who are called gnomies or gnaomies, and a list of characters from a single “Aunt Holly” to a group of children who check a box on whether they have been “Naughty,” “Nice,” or “I Tried.”
Their products can be found on their website, BlackPaperParty.com, or at Target or Walmart. Black Paper Party products can also be found at Macy’s and macys.com, Family Dollar, CVS, and Dollar General.
People can enter their ZIP code on the store locator tab on the BPP website to find the products in stores near them.
At first, Willis said, the business founders were a bit uneasy when they hit the Shark Tank stage.
“We practiced a lot. We had to memorize the pitch and memorize our numbers based on anticipated questions,” she said.
“While we were initially nervous, towards the end, it felt like we were in a meeting, and we present our business to buyers all the time. Once you’re comfortable with that, you can kind of direct the conversation.”
While this Christmas season’s products are already available, Willis said Black Paper Party will be branching out with new products next year.
There will be a Black History Month line of products launching at Kohl’s and Dollar General. The company is also launching a series of birthday party kits on the BPP website for late spring or early July 2024. Dollar General will continue to have birthday party wares, also.