Pearachute is a monthly subscription that makes finding and signing-up for kid activities and classes easy for parents — and at a discount rate. Often parents have to sign up for a package of classes (music lessons, ballet, swimming, etc.), many of which are missed or there’s an unexpected conflict of schedules and the money is non-refundable.
The founder of Pearachute, Desiree Vargas Wrigley of Chicago, Illinois, pitched her membership club on Shark Tank in October 2017. She went into the Tank seeking a $500,000 investment in exchange for 6 percent equity. On the show, Vargas Wrigley accepted a $500,000 investment for 15 percent equity from billionaire investor Mark Cuban but the deal fell through one month before the episode aired.
Vargas Wrigley said: “The combination of the back and forth of the negotiations, and the fact that we were still a very young company kind of gave them (Cuban’s team) some hesitation.”
She also reports that after Shark Tank, Pearachute is now in five markets (Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City, San Francisco and Washington) and has about $2 million in funding. In retrospect, Vargas Wrigley doesn’t regret the Shark Tank deal falling through: “I’m really glad we didn’t end up taking the deal because we’re worth a lot more as a company now.” New episodes of Shark Tank air Sundays at 9pm on ABC.
