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Fort Magic is a fort-building toy kit designed for children to inspire creativity, imagination, and problem-solving skills.
The Fort Magic kit was created by Erika Pope-Gusev, who wanted to develop a versatile, engaging toy that encourages imaginative play and spatial thinking.
The kit consists of various sturdy, flexible plastic rods and connectors that can be easily assembled into numerous structures, such as forts, playhouses, castles, airplanes, and more.
It also includes fabric clips, allowing children to attach sheets or other materials to create walls and roofs for their structures.
The design of the Fort Magic kit encourages children to use their creativity and come up with unique designs, providing endless possibilities for play and learning.
Erika Pope-Gusev appeared on the TV show Shark Tank to pitch her product and seek investment to help grow and expand the Fort Magic brand.
Company Name | Fort Magic |
Entrepreneur | Erika Pope |
Product | Kids’ Fort Building Kits |
Investment Asking For | $75,000 For 15% equity in Fort Magic |
Final Deal | No Deal |
Shark | No Shark |
Episode | Season 5, Episode 25 |
Business Status | In Business |
Website | Fort Magic Website |
What Is Fort Magic?
Fort Magic is certainly a product that will stimulate your child’s imagination and inventiveness. Fort Magic is a construction toy designed for children to build various structures using flexible plastic rods and connectors.
With Fort Magic, kids can use their imagination to create forts, castles, tunnels, and more, giving them endless hours of fun and creative play. The toy comes with instructions and ideas for building different structures, but children are encouraged to experiment and develop their own designs.
Fort Magic promotes problem-solving skills, spatial awareness, and creativity, making it a great educational toy for kids of all ages.
Fort Magic kits come complete with a wide variety of sticks and connections. Your youngster can make an unlimited number of forts from one kit. They may construct a fortified castle, a pirate ship, or a race car.
The Fort Magic brand has won many awards, including the Academics’ Choice Brain Toy Award, the PAL Award, the Tillywig Brain Child Award, the Parents’ Choice Recommended Award, and Dr. Toy’s Best Classic Award.
These awards were given based on the designers’ creative concepts, construction, educational value, and activity play for children.
Who Is The Founder Of Fort Magic?
Erika Pope is the founder of Fort Magic. Fort Magic consists of both straight and curved sticks and many connections.
There are 17 fort designs in each kit (including rockets, spaceships, pirate ships, and castles), and 100 snap-on fabric clips are included to attach sheets or blankets to the fort.
Fort Magic founder Erika Pope from Sarasota, Florida, introduced her business on Shark Tank in April 2014. She entered the Tank in exchange for 15% equity with a $75,000 investment request.
Fort Magic founder Erica Poe has approached the Shark Tank with a $75,000 investment offer for a 15% stake in her company.
Erica begins her story with a tale, like many Shark Tank applicants. Do you and the Sharks recall when we were all young and wished to bring our dreams to life?
It was frustrating that the only available items were couch cushions, pillows, card tables, and cardboard boxes. These items were incompatible with the integrity of a perfect pillow fort.
I only know that I just made one two weeks ago. Considering that I might serve in my country’s armed forces and drive a vehicle is frightening.
The objective of Fort Magic, on the other hand, is to rectify those non-structural forts. Fort Magic kits provide children with the building blocks to assemble a fort as big as their imagination.
The magic lies in the large quantity and variety of sticks and connections in each kit.
Fort Magic allows children to design any number of forts, including castles, pirate ships, and racecars, using only one kit. “It’s the best money I’ve ever spent on a toy.” and “It’s the best money I’ve ever spent on anything.”
How Was The Shark Tank Pitch Of Fort Magic?
Erika appeared on Shark Tank seeking an investment of $75,000 in exchange for 15% equity in Fort Magic.
Erika Pope-Gusev, the creator of Fort Magic, appeared on Shark Tank in Season 5, Episode 21, which aired on March 21, 2014.
She entered the Tank seeking a $240,000 investment in exchange for a 10% equity stake in her company.
During her pitch, Erika showcased the versatility and imaginative potential of the Fort Magic kit, demonstrating how the various components could be easily assembled into a wide range of structures.
She emphasized the educational value of the toy, highlighting how it encourages children’s creativity, problem-solving skills, and spatial thinking.
The Sharks were intrigued by the product and appreciated its potential for engaging and entertaining children. However, they had concerns about the relatively high retail price point, competition from other building toys, and the potential challenges in scaling the business.
Robert believes that she will sell a lot of forts during the show and offers her $75,000 for a 50% stake. Erika counters with 25%, but Robert remains steadfast, and she declines his offer.
Despite the Sharks’ interest and positive feedback, Erika could not secure a deal for Fort Magic. The concerns about the price point, competition, and scalability ultimately led the Sharks to opt out of investing in the company.
Final Deal: No deal between Fort Magic and Sharks.
What Happened To Fort Magic After Shark Tank?
The fate of Fort Magic remains uncertain – either it is performing well, or it has been discontinued and will never reappear. The Fort Magic online store and Amazon are both out of stock of the original Fort Magic Building Kit shown on Shark Tank.
Still, further “expansions” for the product have been made, including more connectors, sticks, and even covers for your creations.
Although there is no indication of the price, the most interesting part is the suggestion for additional items on the Amazon shop similar to Fort Magic.
Erika’s asking price of $199 for Fort Magic is significantly less expensive than all of these products, and the cost would be even less if Erica could lower the price to $100.
Fort Magic Shark Tank Update
Fort Magic did quite well despite not getting any deal from the Sharks. The Shark Tank effect caused them to sell out within a week of the Shark Tank’s broadcast.
Fort Magic’s business went on smoothly for a while; however, it could not cause any craze among the public. Fort Magic is still in business, but they no longer sell on Amazon. Fort Magic has an annual revenue of up to $500,000.
What Is the Net Worth Of Fort Magic?
The valuation of Fort Magic was $500,000 when it appeared on Shark Tank. The net worth of Fort Magic is $500,000.