IT ALL STARTED WITH ONE EXPENSIVE LESSON
Back when I was coaching softball and newly engaged, I was wearing my engagement ring one day during practice. I caught the ball and felt a sting coming from my ring finger. My heart immediately sank when I saw that I had flattened my engagement ring, causing one of the diamonds to break loose and was no where to be found. I didn’t even think about taking my ring off for practice because this is the last thing I ever thought would happen. I had no idea jewelry could be so fragile, I’d never even owned any expensive jewelry up to this point. It broke my heart to tell my (then) fiancé that I’d damaged my engagement ring. I knew at that moment I never wanted to feel this way again and I had to find a better way to protect my jewelry.
From that point on, I tried all sorts of ways to keep my jewelry safe while I was coaching or being active, but I just couldn’t find the right solution. I tried different pockets in my bag or wallet, on my necklace chain, you name it, but nothing felt safe enough. I finally came up with something myself that was all kept together safely with a carabiner. I finally felt I’d never had to worry about my jewelry again.
THE BIRTH OF THE LION LATCH
I started telling friends about what I’d made to protect my jewelry and people started saying they needed one too. Before I knew it, students, athletes and coaches alike all started asking for me to make one for them. Clearly there was a need for something like this because so many people shared the same frustrations I did.
I started selling my product locally, sharing it with other businesses and gyms and was amazed at the response. I didn’t have enough funding to meet the demands, so I started a Kickstarter campaign and my friends shared it all over their Facebook pages which helped me reach my $14,000 goal.
FROM KICKSTARTER TO NATIONAL TELEVISION
The next thing I knew, I started getting calls about selling wholesale, I didn’t even know what that meant but before I knew it, I was selling the Lion Latch wholesale to other businesses. I started going to markets around the country and featuring the Lion Latch on wholesale websites. This is where things really started to get crazy. I got a call from The View and Good Morning America to be featured on their shows. Not only did I get to appear but I also got to demonstrate my product and how easy it is which I think made all the difference. As soon as I wrapped up those interviews, the orders started pouring in.
Since then I’ve really hit the ground running with Lion Latch. I’ve had opportunities I never could have imagined. I appeared on Shark Tank, I’ve spoken on numerous business and manufacturing panels, and in 2023 I was asked to be one of the first ever TikTok shops, allowing us to ship over 20,000 orders in 3 months alone. This entire process has been anything but easy but I’ve stayed the course, ran with every opportunity and for am deeply grateful for what Lion Latch has become today.
