Liz Martin, the founder of Tangle Pets, is a mom of three young daughters. When she faced daily struggles with getting her kids to brush their hair, Liz came up with an idea to solve the problem. One day, while trying to untangle her kids’ messy hair, she distracted them with a plushie toy attached to a hairbrush.
This simple trick worked perfectly, and Liz, who has a background in sales, realized she had found a clever way to avoid her daily struggles. She also saw it as something she could sell to many other moms with kids who didn’t like brushing their hair.
Being the daughter of an inventor, Liz knew she needed money to turn her idea into reality. Instead of using Kickstarter or Indiegogo, Liz applied for the TV game show Pyramid. It was an unusual choice, but it paid off. In 2016, Liz won $50,000 on the show, which allowed her to create a prototype for her Tangle Pets kid-friendly brushes.
However, she soon realized that $50,000 wasn’t enough. She turned to Kickstarter, but the crowd-funding community didn’t share her vision for Tangle Pets, and the campaign failed to meet its target.
Despite this setback, Liz didn’t let it stop her. She applied to Shark Tank to see if she could get a Shark to support her mission of making it easier for kids to brush their hair without throwing tantrums. In October 2017, viewers saw Liz pitch her idea with an unforgettable amount of energy.
Tangle Pets On Shark Tank
It was the last pitch of episode 3, season 9 of Shark Tank. The sharks might have been ready to relax or maybe just wanted to enjoy the end of the day after listening to all the pitches. But they were definitely not prepared for Liz Martin when she entered the tank, ready to pitch with more energy than anyone would expect.
Liz said she was looking for a $75,000 investment in exchange for 35% of the Tangle Pets business. She quickly started explaining the struggles she faced when trying to brush her daughter’s hair. She used phrases like “The most exhausting and impossible challenge known to humankind” while the sharks seemed a bit surprised by her amazing energy.
Before the sharks could even respond to Liz using the word “Brushtration,” she revealed her collection of brush-plushie combos with balloons and glitter. She ended her high-energy pitch by asking the sharks if they were ready to get “Fierce with tangles but friendly with kids,” and the sharks started laughing, probably because Liz had spoken at a fast pace for two minutes without seeming to pause for a breath.
Liz handed out samples of her Tangle Pets, which included a Tangle Kitty, a Tangle Ladybug, a Tangle Puppy, and others—things that young kids would probably love. However, Kevin O’Leary, who wasn’t a child anymore, didn’t seem impressed with his Tangle Turtle.
He simply said, “It’s a brush,” sounding uninterested, but Liz wasn’t going to let that slide. She quickly replied, “You’re not feeling it because you haven’t got any hair to brush with it.”
Liz was not someone who would be intimidated by the sharks
Mark Cuban joked that Kevin had the kind of hairy back that could use a good brush. The mood in the tank was light, and the banter between the sharks continued. However, Kevin soon insisted that the Tangle Pets were just a regular brush.
Liz, in response, insisted her brush was special. “But how is it different?” Kevin asked. Liz explained that she had designed the brush herself as an original prototype, it was made by her company in China, and she had a utility patent pending.
While Kevin didn’t seem to appreciate the cute plushie toy, the other sharks were reacting with “Awwws.” Liz wasn’t discouraged. “You’re sassy! I like you,” she said to Mr. Wonderful, who seemed a little surprised that he wasn’t creating the usual atmosphere of fear he typically had with entrepreneurs. Robert then changed the subject to prices before Kevin could respond.
Liz shared that the Tangle Pets cost $2.60, including shipping to the US. They were sold for $5 wholesale and $12 retail, which impressed the sharks for a moment.
Liz also mentioned that she had made $8,000 in sales so far, which led Kevin to sarcastically say that if things kept going like that, she could make hundreds of dollars.
Liz, as expected, had a response ready. With a few leg kicks and dance moves (yes, really), she went on to explain how things were going to improve.
Liz had only received her first shipment in November 2016, but shortly after, her husband was diagnosed with a brain disease. At that point, her main focus became her husband’s health, and the business took a backseat.
But now that he had been given a clean bill of health, Liz was ready to get back on track and confidently stated that she would “easily” sell $100,000 worth of Tangle Pets in the next year.
High-energy pitches from entrepreneurs sometimes don’t work out in Shark Tank, and Mark Cuban usually prefers a more relaxed kind of partner. He asked Liz if she ever “turned off,” and she said she did when she was sleeping.
Mark told her she had done amazing things so far and called her “A Force of Nature.”
However, he followed that up by saying, “You drive me crazy,” and because of that, he decided not to make an offer for Tangle Pets. Mark was out.
Robert Herjavec was more polite and said he didn’t “see it.” With that, he decided to join Mark and drop out.
Next, Kevin O’Leary spoke. He didn’t think Tangle Pets was a good idea, though he called Liz an “interesting” person with a lot of energy. He believed that a year from now, Tangle Pets would still just be a brush with a toy attached. Liz disagreed, saying that in a year, every brush would look like a Tangle Pet. Kevin didn’t share that belief and was out too.
Barbara Corcoran told Liz that if she tried to sell her a Tangle Pet, she would have to buy it because of Liz’s “wild-ass enthusiasm.” While Barbara thought that Liz’s enthusiasm was a good thing, she also believed that working with Liz would be “exhausting.” Barbara decided to drop out, leaving Lori Greiner as the only shark still in.
Liz finally realized that her energetic pitch might have been her biggest mistake in the tank. She told Barbara she could “turn it off,” but her comments weren’t needed, as Lori had already noticed several positive aspects of Tangle Pets that the other sharks had missed.
Lori pointed out that the brush used in Tangle Pets, which Liz had designed and manufactured in China, was the best kind of brush to use. It was a “Wet-Dry” brush that could be used on any type of hair without pulling it.
Lori said that for someone who wasn’t an inventor, coming up with such a brush was “amazing.” Lori also praised the quality of the plushie pets and said she loved the name “Tangle Pets.”
She called Liz and Tangle Pets the “Perfect Pie” for these reasons. Lori then made Liz an offer but warned that it was an aggressive one since the company was so new.
Lori believed that she would need to do a lot of work to help grow the business, but she felt she could get Tangle Pets into stores like Bye Bye Baby and promote them on QVC. In exchange for the $75,000 investment and her help, Lori wanted 50% of the company.
Liz looked both excited and a bit surprised to have been saved from failure in the tank by Lori, who seemed to be the best fit for her business. Liz tried to negotiate for 45%, but Lori explained the hard work involved and told Liz that her offer was “The best shot you’ll ever get.”
Without hesitation, Liz accepted the offer and, almost dancing out of the tank, told Lori she was “Awesome,” while telling the other sharks that they didn’t know what they were missing.
As the sharks were recovering from meeting Liz, the excited entrepreneur was outside making the kind of happy noises that Lori will probably get used to hearing in the future.
Latest Updates on Tangle Pets
Liz Martin’s lively pitch on Shark Tank didn’t just catch Lori Greiner’s eye, but it also grabbed the attention of thousands of Shark Tank viewers.
After the episode aired, the business grew to $12 million in sales in just two years. The brushes are now sold in over 20,000 retail stores and online through sites like Amazon.
In addition, our research on Tangle Pets shows that Liz is now involved with a non-profit group called Mothers without Borders, as seen on her Instagram.
[Updated: 04/03/2025]
