May 29, 2024 · 33m · the-pitch
$3M in Sales – But Can This Heatless Hair Care Innovation Win the Startup Funding Competition?
Emily Kennison · 13m spoken Josh Muccio · 6m spoken Beck Bamberger · 2m spoken Mac Conwell · 2m spoken Jillian Manus · 1m spoken Lisa Muccio · 28s spoken TikTok Creator · 12s spoken
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Founder Emily Kennison pitches Robe Curls, a patented heatless hair styling brand with $3 million in bootstrapped sales and a nationwide Target rollout, on The Pitch. Although the investors pass due to concerns over long-term venture narrative and category storytelling, Kennison's strong operational execution positions the brand for ongoing retail momentum and institutional fundraising.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Josh holds 23.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Josh as informed peer 4.4 Guest teaching 3.8 Guest disagreement 1.4 Josh pushing back 3.7
speaking balance: gold is Josh, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 9:00 Emily rejects premise that counterfeits are a fatal risk
When Jillian and Beck suggest knockoffs are dangerous and expensive to fight, Emily firmly counters by explaining her systematic contingency legal strategy.
Hardest push from Josh ▶ 10:40 Mac challenges founder on lifestyle vs venture scaleMac directly refuses the notion that existing retail traction proves a billion-dollar trajectory and demands proof of venture ambition.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:05 Emily details the Schedule A litigation revenue modelEmily leverages her legal background to explain batch lawsuits against Amazon counterfeiters, astounding the investors with an unexpected profit stream.
Josh holds their own ▶ 28:15 Josh breaks down the VC signaling playbookJosh demonstrates his deep fundraising expertise by outlining the exact tactical game plan for using lead interest to force other VCs into action.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Josh as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Josh pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer Programming Update and Patreon Announcement | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Introductory monologue and administrative announcements from Josh Muccio setting up the Robe Curls pitch and introducing the investor panel. | |
| Founder Pitch and Initial Product Introduction | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Emily delivers her opening pitch smoothly, educating the room on Gen Z hair damage trends, heatless styling metrics, and her $3M bootstrapped revenue. | |
| Unit Economics, Manufacturing, and Retail Projections | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | Investors drill into manufacturing costs, product margin ($4 unit cost vs $28 retail), and retail agreements with Target and FabFitFun. | |
| Burn Rate, International Expansion, and Organic PR | 6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | Emily schools the room on IP litigation, explaining how she turns Amazon knockoffs into a profit center using contingency Schedule A lawsuits. | |
| Evaluating Scale: Product Roadmap and Salon Opportunities | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | Mac and Beck challenge whether this is a billion-dollar venture or merely a niche accessory, prompting Emily to defend her roadmap into formulations and salon partnerships. | |
| Operational Structure, Operating Expenses, and Retail Strategy | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | The panel examines operational overhead and why she exited Walgreens, where Emily articulates the strategic rationale of avoiding consignment models. | |
| Investor Hesitation, Live Product Demonstration, and Curl Results | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | Beck continues to press on market sizing while Emily demonstrates the curl results live, standing firm on her valuation and market path. | |
| Investor Decisions and Final Feedback in the Room | 6 | 3 | 1 | 5 | Investors exit gracefully while offering candid post-pitch critique about storytelling and establishing the broader brand 'why'. | |
| Host Reflections on Category Creation and Pitching VC | 5 | 3 | 1 | 3 | Josh and Lisa debrief with Emily, offering constructive coaching on syndicating VC interest and leveraging incoming leads. |
Statements from this episode (22)
Kennison: 65M US Women Style Hair Daily With Curling Irons
“So in the US, you got sixty-five million women waking up every morning, styling their hair with a curling iron.”
Kennison: 40% of Gen Z Cut Hot Hair Tool Use Since 2019
“Look at Gen Z. You got 40% of Gen Z reducing the amount of hot tools that they've been using, In the past five years.”
Robe Curls Hits $3M Bootstrapped Revenue at 86% DTC Margins
“So we launched two years ago, and in those two years, we've been fully bootstrapped. We've done three million in revenue. We are profitable. We have very strong profit margins at 86% direct to consumer.”
Kennison: Robe Curls Rolling Out Across 1,200 Target Stores
“And most excitingly, we are launching in Target, 1200 doors in a matter of a couple weeks. You'll see us across the U.S., Starting February 25th of this year.”
Kennison: Robe Curls Opening $500K Pre-Seed Funding Round
“So today we're opening up our pre-seed round. We're raising 500,000 dollars to add fuel to the fire of our profitable business and to help with this target launch.”
Emily Kennison: Robe Curls sold over 100k units in two years
“Over the course of two years, we have sold over a 100,000 units during that time frame.”
Kennison: Robe Curls costs under $4 per unit and retails for $28
“Our cost per unit is under four dollars, and then we retail it for 28 dollars direct to consumer.”
Kennison: Target Rollout Projected to Yield $1M Net Profit
“We get projections for the entire year, For what they're estimating in terms of volume. So that comes out to about two million dollars in net profit for us for this year. I'm sorry, one million dollars in net profit for us this year, two million in gross. We'r…”
Kennison: International Amazon expansion will double Robe Curls' US revenue
“500,000 dollars would be put towards Amazon international inventory, which we know for a fact that we would be basically doubling our Amazon current U.S. Revenue with a matter of 10 countries.”
Kennison: Robe Curls faced about 3,000 weekly Amazon copycat sellers
“For about six months of last year, we had about 3000 new sellers each week popping up with copycats, knockoffs, counterfeits of our product.”
Kennison: Robe Curls sues Amazon counterfeiters in 400-seller batches via contingency
“It's the contingency law firms that we're using and working with, and so this becomes an alternative revenue source for us as well, and it just, while one lawsuit fills up, We just file another one, and that fills up with sellers. We file another one. We do ba…”
Conwell: Robe Curls can reach $25M revenue but not a billion
“But this gets you to ten million. This gets you to twenty-five million. This doesn't get you to a billion.”
Kennison: Robe Curls projects $15M annual net profit from Aveda
“We are looking at fifteen million dollars a year net profit from Aveda Salons.”
Kennison: Robe Curls increased Walgreens category profits 400% during pilot
“We were in Walgreens store two months after we launched. We were successfully it was a 130 store pilot. We were there for six months. We were the number one category seller. Our average units sold per week were six units per door per week, which is three times…”
Kennison: Robe Curls turned down 5,000-store Walgreens consignment deal
“They gave us the opportunity to continue to expand to 5000 stores, and it was a strategic play to not continue with them at this time. They were doing essentially a consignment model for 5000 stores, which is very typical for Walgreens.”
Mac Conwell: RareBreed checks with portfolio founders before investing in potential competitors
“I have several companies in my portfolio. They're not competitors today, but could be on their roadmap. So like, I have a thing where I always ask my founders if this is competitive. If they say no, it's cool with me.”
Kennison: Robe Curls was built from a $500 initial investment
“What we've achieved is off of an initial investment of 500 dollars. We've reinvested profit into perfecting the product, all of that.”
Bamberger passes on Robe Curls citing lack of long-term narrative
“I am out because it's not my space, and it's not my interest, and then secondly, I would like the bigger what and how and everything, and I didn't get enough of that from you.”
Bamberger: Consumer brands must convey a 'why' or customers buy cheaper alternatives
“The reason I come to it for the why is because ultimately you're selling this to someone, and you ultimately need to get that why conveyed. Otherwise, I'll take the cheaper one.”
Kennison: Heatless Curlers Are Number Two Beauty Product Trend
“I've seen this market go from nothing to being the number two beauty product trend out of all the beauty products out there. More heatless curlers are being bought than any other beauty product out there.”