Joanna Serra and Barbara Kent used to work in schools and the U.S. Army, respectively. Now, the sisters each make $100,000 per year selling customizable blankets, they said on Wednesday’s episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
Their business, Romeo, Michigan-based Fundraiser Blankets, brought $8 million in sales in 2024, selling plush polyester blankets to more than 4,000 schools and sports teams for $10 to $20 apiece, the co-founders said. The schools and teams then sell the blankets at a markup of their choice to raise money for their organizations.
The sisters, who said their family emigrated from Poland to the U.S. when they were young, started paying themselves $100,000 each from Fundraiser Blanket’s income in 2024. At the time of filming, they projected their business would hit $10 million in sales and $1.5 million in profit by the end of 2025, they said.
They co-founded Fundraiser Blanket’s parent company Birdy Boutique, which sells educational textiles like learning blankets and classroom tapestries on Amazon, in 2014. Serra, COO, is a former elementary teacher and Kent, CEO, served in the U.S. Army for more than a decade, according to their company’s website.
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