If you ever wished you could keep your reading glasses truly handy, EyeWris is right up your alley. This brand broke onto the national scene thanks to Shark Tank Season 14, but that’s only one part of their journey. Let’s walk through EyeWris’ story – the pitch, the fallout, where their business is now, and what’s actually happened after they left the tank.
The Big Idea and the People Behind EyeWris
EyeWris was started by Mark and Kenzo Singer, a father-son pair with enough product design experience between them to know what works and what frustrates people. Mark is known for creating the Gorilla Glue brand, while Kenzo brought his engineering chops to the table. Their problem was familiar: Most reading glasses are always out of reach. EyeWris flips that annoyance by making reading glasses that fold up and snap onto your wrist like a bracelet. Think slap bracelet, but useful.
You wear the glasses on your wrist until you need them, then just pull them off, unfold, and read. It’s an idea that feels simple in hindsight, which is usually the sign of something pretty clever.
Making a Splash on Shark Tank
When Mark and Kenzo walked onto the Shark Tank set in the Season 14 finale, they brought a memorable pitch. They showed off the glasses, told their story, and asked for $25,000 for a 5% stake. But the Sharks saw possibility—and value—that went beyond the initial ask.
After the usual grilling and some more questions about sales and the product itself, something unusual happened. All five Sharks ended up wanting in. Instead of fighting over who gets to invest, they decided to work together. The final offer? $125,000 for a combined 25% stake in the company.
That’s five percent each from Kevin O’Leary, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, and Daymond John. Getting all five Sharks onboard isn’t something you see every week. They each bring a different angle—some focus on mass retail, others on marketing or strategy. The deal created a feeling that EyeWris was onto something bigger.
What the Sharks Brought to the Table
The enthusiasm was clear, but so was the business sense. Each Shark saw potential in EyeWris for a different reason. Lori Greiner, known for picking hits on QVC, liked the gadget aspect. Kevin O’Leary (aka “Mr. Wonderful”) thought the gifting market could be huge. Mark Cuban saw potential for direct-to-consumer and online sales. Barbara Corcoran liked the story, which is often as important with consumer goods as the product itself. Daymond John could see style options and appeal for people who wear glasses out of necessity, not just fashion.
Putting five Sharks together is rare. Usually, deals split or a single Shark takes over. This time, the group thought they could each plug EyeWris into their specific areas and help it take off.
The Numbers Before and After Shark Tank
Before Shark Tank, EyeWris hadn’t found a big audience yet. In the nine months leading up to the taping, EyeWris sold around $28,000 worth of glasses. That’s not massive by most standards, but they were just getting started and only selling through their website.
After the Shark Tank episode aired, numbers changed quickly. EyeWris started reporting monthly revenues close to $77,000. Over the course of the first full year post-show, the company brought in somewhere over $850,000. That’s a major jump and puts their annual valuation at about $1.6 million, up from where they started.
Of course, Shark Tank exposure is unique. The night an episode airs, companies usually get a surge they can feel immediately. For EyeWris, almost everything about their business changed in a few weeks. Their inbox exploded with orders, questions, and support.
Pricing Adjustments: From Premium to More Affordable
Pricing is always tricky, especially with something so new. When EyeWris launched, the glasses were listed at $110 a pair. After Shark Tank, as volume rose, they dropped the price to $90. By July 2023, the reading glasses were on sale for $65 each—a significant reduction in under a year.
This shift says a lot about their approach. Going premium makes sense for a new, unproven gadget, but as demand and volume grew, they aimed to make EyeWris glasses more of an everyday buy. People might be more willing to try novel products at sixty-five bucks than at one hundred and ten.
You could only buy directly from the EyeWris website, so there wasn’t retailer markup or pressure to set prices artificially high. This lets a company find out what price customers really think is “worth it,” based on feedback and sales.
Did the Shark Tank Deal Actually Go Through?
Now, this happens more often than you might guess: not every deal on Shark Tank actually closes after the cameras turn off. There’s a whole behind-the-scenes process, and sometimes things fall off during due diligence.
For EyeWris, signs started to show later in 2023 that the deal hadn’t made it to the finish line. Their social media pages didn’t promote the Sharks or make noise about closing the deal. Their product wasn’t on Lori Greiner’s website, which is usually a strong indicator of her involvement.
That’s not odd for Shark Tank—that’s business. Deals fall through for hundreds of reasons, from paperwork to business strategy changes. It doesn’t mean something went wrong, just that a handshake deal on TV is still only the first step.
The Power of Being on Shark Tank (Even Without the Deal)
So, was it a disappointment not to have five Sharks owning a chunk of the company? Maybe. But honestly, for EyeWris, just being on the show was life-changing.
Mark, Kenzo, and their tiny crew saw their orders spike hard the night their episode aired. Their website quickly ran low on stock, inventory sold out, and they had to set up pre-orders for the weeks following the Shark Tank debut. Their support inbox overflowed not just with customers, but with encouragement and questions from people who genuinely thought the idea was cool.
That’s the so-called “Shark Tank effect.” The legitimacy and national eyeballs you get in 10 minutes of prime-time network television—or when someone stumbles across the pitch a year later on streaming—can launch a brand in a way few traditional ads ever could.
They even held a Shark Tank watch party and rolled out special deals to celebrate, doubling down on the buzz while it was hot. Sure, the paperwork with Shark Tank may not have wrapped as planned. But the story itself was already working for them.
Business Progress and Where Things Stand Now
By late July, EyeWris was running pre-orders on their website, simply because they couldn’t make and deliver glasses fast enough. For any wearable company, that’s a pretty good “problem” to have. They’ve streamlined things, worked to keep prices approachable, and kept their focus on their direct-to-consumer business.
Product reviews have been generally positive, too. Customers mention that EyeWris glasses are comfortable, surprisingly sturdy for their design, and that having reading glasses right on your wrist is genuinely convenient. There’s still some skepticism about how long the glasses hold up under heavy use, but for many users, just not losing them is a big upgrade.
As of early 2024, EyeWris glasses are only for sale through their own site. The company remains bootstrapped, family-run, and focused mainly on super-serving the customers they’ve won over. No big retail pushes (yet), no sprawling product line—the main goal is to keep up with interest and keep the product moving.
That approach—steady growth, controlled reminders of the brand’s Shark Tank stint, and listening closely to early fans—shows a kind of common sense. You’ll see a lot of similar approaches with brands featured on sites like Aureo Business, where steady growth and customer feedback often matter more than flashy deals or mass retail launches.
Looking Ahead: Beyond the Tank
The biggest insight here might just be that EyeWris found success on its own terms. Shark Tank created buzz, but it was the team’s quick action, product improvements, and responsive service that kept momentum going.
Are they the biggest name in eyewear? No, but they’ve carved out a smart, specific niche—a wearable product for people who constantly need reading glasses and don’t want the hassle. The fact that the Shark Tank deal fizzled instead of closing hasn’t slowed them down much at all.
The takeaway for both aspiring entrepreneurs and curious shoppers: television exposure can push a clever idea way further than even a big check from investors, if you’re ready to meet demand and listen to your customers. For now, EyeWris seems happy to grow at a steady pace, focusing on direct sales and loyal fans instead of chasing every distribution deal they can get.
If you’re someone who always loses your reading glasses, maybe it’s time to try something you can’t help but keep close at hand. EyeWris still has some growing to do, but they’re moving forward, one wrist at a time.
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