Investor: Mark Cuban
Shark Tank Appearance: February 5, 2016
Deal: $100,000 for 20% stake
Results: Sales surged from $300,000 to $2.4 million.
While earning her MBA at Brandman University in Southern California, Lisa Bradley studied FedEx's hub-and-spoke system—a 'kind of carpooling for parcels,' as the company describes it. Parcels are gathered at a central hub, sorted, and dispatched to their destinations. 'Even if you're sending packages away from their final destination,' Bradley notes, 'hub-and-spoke models can be more economical and efficient than direct routes.'
Years later, in 2011, this concept inspired R. Riveter, co-founded by Bradley and Cameron Cruse in Dahlonega, Georgia. Living there with their Army Ranger husbands, they built a business empowering military spouses nationwide—affectionately called 'riveters'—to craft handbag components. Using recycled materials like retired uniforms, tents, and wool blankets, these pieces (liners, straps, pockets) are handmade, stamped by the riveters, and shipped to the Southern Pines, North Carolina warehouse for final assembly and distribution to customers or the local retail store.
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On ABC's Emmy-winning Shark Tank in February 2016, Bradley and Cruse pitched to investors: 'It's more than a product—it's about empowering military spouses seeking more than part-time work.' Frequent relocations every two years disrupt resumes, hindering stable jobs or careers.
Mark Cuban hailed them as disruptors: 'You're a social network in action... the future of manufacturing.' His investment and guidance propelled sales up nearly 700%, growing the team to 55. Along the way, they distilled key lessons.
Pick the right partner.
Robert Herjavec, Kevin O'Leary, and Cuban offered their ideal deal. Cuban’s ties to military-family ventures like Bottle Breacher and Combat Flip Flops proved invaluable. 'Mark's relationships have been a huge asset,' Bradley says. Above all, he shared their passion: 'In the Tank, you could tell he truly cared about military families. He's always there for us.'
Don't get comfortable.
'Learning and growing are hard,' Bradley admits, 'but entrepreneurs must keep at it.' Cuban urged them beyond complacency. When they eyed expanding handmade goods online for more riveters, he said go now. They launched Post to Pillar: A Curated Marketplace for Military Spouse Makers—featuring clothing, jewelry, mugs, pillows, and blankets—now 15% of sales.
'Learning and growing are hard, but as an entrepreneur, you have to keep doing both.'
Play to your strengths and your team's.
Bradley once sewed a pocket inside out: 'A customer loved the bag but said items fell out.' Laughing it off, she shifted to business strategy, while Cruse (with her architecture master's) leads design and operations.
Stick to your beliefs.
Early on, a consultant dismissed their model—shipping materials to riveters for return—citing high costs. 'It was a defining moment,' Bradley recalls. 'I was determined to prove it wrong. We've shown American manufacturing can evolve.'
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