College student Kaeya Majmundar developed a collapsible storage box, BZBOX. She pitched her product on Shark Tank. On the show, she was criticized for not listening to the advice of the wise sharks but she did get a handshake deal with Lori Greiner. Greiner said she’d give Kaeya $50k for 40 percent of the business if Kaeya could get the product manufactured. Greiner didn’t take equity because she didn’t give Kaeya the cash. “I didn’t need it,” said Kaeya. Kaeya says Greiner has been working with her as a mentor.
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Kaeya’s experience with BZBOX and Shark Tank has encouraged her to invent more products including ZipTank, a tank top that zips into a bag. She started a Kickstarter campaign to get a product line rolling but wasn’t able to raise the funds. That hasn’t quashed Kaeya’s entrepreneurial spirit. She says she’s writing a book called “The Launch Life,” a memoir about what it’s like becoming an entrepreneur.
