A mission-driven brand met with sharp negotiation on Season 15 of Shark Tank. Alexandra Ulmer, founder of AU Baby, secured an $80,000 investment for 35% equity from Kevin O’Leary on Shark Tank Season 15, Episode 13. This was a shift from her initial ask of $80,000 for 25% equity, lowering her company’s valuation from $320,000 to about $228,571. The deal brought not just capital, but also the strategic guidance of “Mr. Wonderful”, the well-known nickname of Kevin O’Leary, to the young, sustainability-focused brand.
The Founding Story: From Nike to Nursery
Alexandra Ulmer’s journey to founding AU Baby began with a deep expertise in textile design and innovation. A graduate of Central Saint Martins in London, Ulmer spent over 20 years in the industry, including high-end knitwear design for brands like Prabal Gurung and Opening Ceremony, and seven years at Nike as a hybrid engineer/designer for performance running products. At Nike,…
she was the first in-house Flyknit materials designer, working on sustainable footwear technology and contributing to products for athletes like LeBron James. Ulmer’s inspiration for AU Baby was personal.
As she explained during her Shark Tank pitch, babies are especially vulnerable to environmental toxins, and most baby textiles are made from synthetic polyester and acrylic, essentially plastic.
This realization, combined with her experience in high-performance, sustainable textiles, led her to create AU Baby, the first clean, sustainable baby blanket collection made with a performance fiber built just for babies.
Product Innovation AU Baby blankets are crafted from 100% extra-fine Merino wool and dyed with plants, sourced from Italy. They address three key parental concerns: sleep quality, stain management, and skincare…
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