On the Project Runway spin-off, Project Runway: Fashion Startup, entrepreneurs get to pitch their products to a panel of four investors — designer Rebecca Minkoff, Birchbox CEO Katia Beauchamp, Hilldun CEO Gary Wassner, and Gwynnie Bee CEO Christine Hunsicker. The show is similar to Shark Tank but the difference is all the products/businesses are fashion industry related. In the series premiere, Zip Tank, a $60 jersey/tank top that turns into a bag with a zipper, is presented.
The young woman pitching Zip Tank is Kaeya Majmundar. If she looks familiar to you, you know your Shark Tank. In 2014, she pitched BZBox, a collapsible storage box. She was memorable not for getting a deal (Lori Greiner agreed to mentor her) but for not listening to the advice being given to her by the Sharks. While Majmundar is donning a different look since Shark Tank, she sounds the same. In the sneak peek, she tells the investors: “We’re on to something huge – something I just cannot ignore.” Project Runway: Fashion Startup airs Thursdays at 10:30pm on Lifetime, right after Project Runway.
Kaeya pitching BZBox on Shark Tank in 2014 (ABC)
