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A group of Santa Cruz surfers scored on the ABC show Shark Tank, landing a $50,000 deal for 20 percent of their company. Their product, Surf Skull, disguises a helmet inside a bucket hat.
“People want head protection, but not at the cost of looking ridiculous,” said Paul Huang, Surf Skull’s head of finance and operations.
The company began after founder Davon Larson suffered a head injury while surfing in Baja California and realized how far he was from proper medical care. Larson, a product designer at Google, recruited fellow surfers from the company to help launch the startup.
After receiving multiple offers from the sharks, they accepted a deal from Daniel Lubetzky, founder of KIND Snacks. Huang said they chose Lubetzky because of his prior water sports investments, including TANDM Surf. Lubetzky added that he plans to be heavily involved with the company, not just a financial backer.
“We are so pumped to be working with an amazing entrepreneur,” said Huang.
Larson and Huang told the sharks they’ve generated $100,000 in sales since launching two years ago. They’re now preparing to release a second version of the helmet. It currently costs $10-12 to make the product and sells for $75. The upcoming model will cost $12-15 to produce and retail for $100.
The team explained that their helmet uses foam technology that remains flexible until impact, when it hardens to absorb force.
