Glendale Heights company makes pitch on ABC's Shark Tank
Will DigiWrap Inc., a Glendale Heights company that makes custom tissue paper and gift bags, cut a deal with the sharks? We won't know until ABC's Shark Tank airs at 8 p.m. Friday, Dec. 9.
Business partners Charlie Williams, 29, of Downers Grove, and Brad Boskovic, 40, of Elmhurst, can't reveal what happens yet, as per an agreement with the show. But they were thrilled and nervous to make their pitch seeking an investment from the millionaires.
"The truth of the matter is that I don't really remember exactly what we were thinking, other than looking at each other right before the doors opened and saying, 'Well, here goes nothing,'" Williams said. "I guess I might liken the moments right before stepping into the tank to the uphill climb of a roller coaster. You are anxious and full of anticipation of the unknown that awaits you, and honestly, it's that waiting that's the most nerve-racking part."
In 2014, DigiWrap debuted and filled orders from consumers and businesses, but in different ways.
Individual consumers are linked to another website, Zazzle.com, a partner to DigiWrap. Zazzle allows consumers to upload an image and then customize the image on the tissue paper or a gift bag. Consumers often include photos of someone being honored for a birthday, shower or other event, or just a favorite decoration.
Orders of up to 10 sheets of tissue paper cost about $2 per sheet and one gift bag could cost about $8. Zazzle sends the order to DigiWrap to produce and mail to customers.
DigiWrap takes commercial orders directly. Toyota, BMW, Chicago Bears, Disney and PNC Bank. Companies generally have paid about $1 per sheet of customized tissue paper for up to 1,000 sheets. They often use their company logo on the paper.
The idea for the custom designed tissue paper and bags began about five years ago. That's when Williams worked as a web services coordinator at Lingraph Packaging Services in Glendale Heights after graduating college. Boskovic was his boss there.
Working during his free time, Boskovic invented the now patented tissue paper printing process and also created a process for the gift bags.
Within the first nine months, Williams and Boskovic had their tissue prototype. They spent the next two years developing the product.
By late 2013, Lingraph lost its largest customer and Williams was let go.
"Knowing what the potential of what we created, Brad and I decided to create DigiWrap to keep our product alive," Williams said. "I spent the next year unemployed to devote all my time and energy to creating DigiWrap."
Last June, the business partners put aside their nervousness and excitement and did the open casting call for the TV show. They were selected and filmed their part of the episode in September.
The partners didn't find out until a few weeks ago that the episode featuring their company would air Friday.
The entrepreneurs prepared for the show with great detail. "We wrote and rewrote and rewrote several scripts for our pitch," Williams wrote in a blog. "We made sure we knew all of our numbers, concepts, our weaknesses and how we overcome them, analysis, breakdown - then we redid it all and rewrote it again and again. We prepped all this prep, but nothing can actually prepare you to swim with sharks."