- Shopping
ByMasie O'Toole
Hanging artwork on the walls of your space is one of the easiest ways to personalize it and make it feel like home, but if you're worried about damaging your walls or frequently like to rearrange your setup, typical nails and pins simply won't cut it. To solve this issue, Washington native Leslie Pierson developed GoodHangups, a wall-hanging system that combines both adhesive and magnets to allow you to hang artwork in a new way.
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With this system, reusable stickers with a magnetic backing are stuck to the wall, the poster or piece of art is laid on top, and a small magnet is stuck to the surface to secure everything together. This system might have been revolutionary for all of the dorm-dwellers and renters of the world, but by far, the biggest standout of Pierson's pitch was her bubbly and energetic personality. Unfortunately, however, it takes more than just a good attitude to make it in the business world.
What happened to GoodHangups on Shark Tank?
On Season 8, Episode 2 of "Shark Tank," Leslie Pierson stepped into the tank to pitch her damage-free wall-hanging system, GoodHangups. Before beginning her demonstration, she stated that she was looking for a $100,000 investment in exchange for 10% equity in the business. After showing exactly how the product worked and how many different surfaces the magnetic stickers would adhere to, it's clear that the stars of "Shark Tank" were interested.
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Once she was through her demonstration, Pierson shared that the brand had done $450,000 in sales despite only being about a year old, and that she already had deals to sell through QVC and some paper source stores. Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec dropped out fairly early simply because the idea didn't align with what they're used to selling, but Lori Greiner quickly jumped in to make an offer: $100,000 for 20%. Daymond John undercut Greiner with an offer of 15%, and then Kevin O'Leary went lower than both of his co-stars at 10% simply to give Pierson more bargaining power. Eventually, Pierson countered Greiner's offer and asked if she would be willing to do a $100,000 loan for 10%, which would increase to 20% if she wasn't repaid after a year. Greiner agreed, stating that this was an offer she simply couldn't refuse.
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GoodHangups after Shark Tank
Since appearing on "Shark Tank" in 2016, the founder of GoodHangups, Leslie Pierson, has continued to grow her business. During her time on the show, she shared that the idea for GoodHangups initially grew out of a need to display her young son's artwork without repeatedly damaging the surface or walls with pins and tacks, but the business has expanded to include an even larger target audience than anyone on the team had initially expected. Because it's a fairly inexpensive product with plenty of uses, the business likely experienced a major boost in sales thanks to its appearance on the show.
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"The more I discuss GoodHangups with others, the more I realize that this is an incredibly versatile product with a huge potential market," she said on the GoodHangups website. "Renters won't risk their security deposit since they can hang almost anything without damaging the walls. Office workers can customize their workspace. Artlovers can remix and refresh their walls in a matter of seconds. And yes, moms can set up a gallery for their kiddos in their own house."
Is GoodHangups still in business?
Though GoodHangups appeared to be on a solid path after securing a deal on "Shark Tank," it looks like the company's luck eventually ran out. The last posts on the brand's social media pages are from June 2022, and its patented magnetized hanging systems are completely sold out. While normally, this is a sign of success, it looks like the websitehasn't seen a restock of either the original GoodHangups Magnetic Display System or the GoodHangups for Kid's Art in quite a while. Additionally, locations where the brand previously sold their products, like QVC and Amazon, state that the items are no longer available for purchase.
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With that being said, however, Leslie Pierson's LinkedIn page still includes the fact that she is the CEO of GoodHangups, and the company's website is still active and well-maintained. This could mean that Pierson simply hasn't updated recently and has chosen not to continue with her poster hanging business or that the brand is on a temporary pause while she focuses on another project.
What's next for GoodHangups's founder?
It might look like the success of GoodHangups trailed off online, but that doesn't mean that it stopped founder Leslie Pierson's entrepreneurial spirit. According to her LinkedIn page, she has been acting as president of Hot Taco Inc. since 2020. This company was born out of an idea from her then 7-year-old son to create his own card game, Taco vs Burrito. Most families would likely draw up a few cards on scrap paper and develop some loose rules to enjoy a fun afternoon, but the Piersons decided to go all in with a Kickstarter.
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Now, it looks like creating card games is Pierson's primary focus. It's likely that she used some of the profits from GoodHangups to make her son's idea a reality, but it's unclear whether or not her poster-hanging business is over or simply being put on hold. Either way, it's obvious that Pierson has a passion for entrepreneurship, so it wouldn't be surprising if she continued to develop her ideas in the future.