![]() ![]() The majority of the one million convertible bean bag chairs CordaRoy’s has sold in its 20-year lifespan came after the Shark Tank appearance, Young said. With 7.45 million people watching the show in 2013, CordaRoy’s website went from 23 visitors to 25,000 before crashing while Young was hosting a watch party. She could have told me to go take a hike.” “When she asked me if I just did a deal for TV, I told her, ‘No, I just wasn’t going to walk out the door without your phone number,’” Young joked. Young said he and Greiner later renegotiated the deal “to a more realistic deal.” He would not go into specifics about it. He walked away with a verbal agreement with Greiner who said she’d give Young a $200,000 investment for 58 percent of his company - a high price for entrepreneurs who often aren't willing to part with control of their company. Young told The Sun in 2013 his appearance on the TV show was the “most nerve wracking experience of my entire life.” “Shark Tank” is a television show in which entrepreneurs go into the “tank” and pitch their new ideas, inventions or companies to “sharks,” who are seasoned entrepreneurs ready to reach into their deep pockets and invest. The space in Alachua will also serve as a new distribution center - much needed after its sales spike since "Shark Tank." It previously manufactured in Thomasville, Georgia. "(Manufacturing jobs) are kind of the standard when you think of economic development."ĬordaRoy's move is just an expansion in manufacturing, Young said, not a relocation.ĬordaRoy's will continue manufacturing its bean bag chairs in Tupelo, Mississippi. That's something important to our community. "Normally, manufacturing jobs pay better and are a good job that you can get with a high school diploma. "(Manufacturing) jobs are important, but if you see the numbers of those employed in manufacturing, Alachua County tracks below Florida, so it's important to grow manufacturing," Campa-Palafox said. He said, according to the latest workforce statistics, 3.2 percent of the county's workforce is in manufacturing, compared to 4.3 percent at the state level.Ībout 8.5 percent of the U.S. The county currently ranks behind the state in manufacturing workforce percentage, Campa-Palafox said. That would mean a need for additional employees, he said.Īlachua County Economic Development Coordinator Edgar Campa-Palafox said any manufacturing jobs coming into the county is good for the county's economy. The lease has an option for CordaRoy’s to expand its manufacturing space by an additional 30,000 square feet, bringing its Alachua County footprint to 50,000 square feet, if needed. He said he will hire about 5 to 10 people to manufacture CordaRoy's convertible bean bag furniture at the space in Alachua. ![]() The new manufacturing space will help expedite orders that are growing day by day, Young said. ![]() There’s been an insane amount of growth, and the (projected) $10 million in sales is even shocking going from $7 million.” ![]() “We were doing well before (our appearance on Shark Tank), but it’s just catapulted us,” Young said. The year before appearing on Shark Tank, CordaRoy's, founded in 1998, had climbed to just about $1.5 million in sales. The company's projected sales for 2018 would be a $3 million spike from 2017, when the company did $7 million in sales, or about 700 percent growth since Shark Tank, he said. He projects the company will hit $10 million in sales this year. Young told The Sun Friday that he's signed a lease to use 20,000 square feet of space at the Walmart/Dollar General Distribution Center complex, 11600 NW 173rd Ave., Suite 100, in Alachua, to increase his manufacturing space. So much so that Young said he needed to expand its manufacturing space and manpower to keep up. It’s unclear if Young has reached millionaire status, but it’s clear his business is booming. Owner Byron Young pitched his business to entrepreneurs and made a deal with multimillionaire Lori Greiner, who told him she’d make him a millionaire. Gainesville’s bed-in-a-beanbag company CordaRoy's has grown exponentially since appearing on ABC’s “Shark Tank” about six years ago. ![]()
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