What happened after Shark Tank?

It's hard to believe it's been 11 years since Shark Tank aired my pitch. I can say without a doubt that A LOT has happened since my time in the tank.

I wrote about the initial "after the tank" back in 2011 and then again in 2014. And I speak about it as I travel the country talking about my entrepreneurial journey and lessons I've learned about trusting my own intuition and never giving up. I'm forever grateful for my time in the Tank so I thought I'd give you the nutshell version of "where are they now—Mod Mom Furniture.”

If you're an entrepreneur, I have a sneaking suspicion you'll relate to my timeline below.... (Read more below by clicking READ MORE.)

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So, here goes....

• 2007-2010 - Start Mod Mom. Grow Mod Mom. Live my life covered in saw dust.
• October 2010 - I filmed my pitch and won a deal with Robert.
• November 2010 - Waited to hear from Robert.
• December 2010 - Waited to hear from Robert.
• January 2011 - I finally heard from Robert and he says he thinks I'm "still a little bit too small" and encourages me to come back to him in a year. I'm devastated but I pick myself back up off the ground and continue...after I cry for a bit and drink a few Coronas. I knew in my soul I would not go back to him.
• January 2011-April 2011 - Friends and family invest roughly 30K so I continue growing Mod Mom. I'd gotten this far, I wasn't letting anything stop me.
• April 1, 2011 - SHARK TANK AIRS! It's epic! My website crashes!
• April 4, 2011 - I'm gave a speech to the American Society of Furniture Designers in the furniture capital of the US, High Point, NC , and I met Ty Pennington. It was surreal, to say the least.
• May 2011 - I was a guest on the Nate Berkus TV Show in NYC and I talked about Mod Mom. Sales increase steadily. I continued working with my Amish manufacturing partner who was a dream come true. I inked a deal with them in September 2010.
• April 2012 - Out of the blue, I received a message from a true angel investor out of San Francisco. I end up getting a better deal for more money than what Robert was offering in the Tank. Grateful doesn't even begin to describe how it felt (and how I still feel!). My new investor saw my Shark Tank segment on Hulu and reached out to me.
• June 2012 - Scott and I moved the family to Flagstaff, AZ. I started talking about the strange spiritual stuff I'd been experiencing since 2009. I founded a nonprofit to help highly sensitive kids and grieving parents. I write about it here: kierstenparsons.com.
• 2012-2013 - We tried growing Mod Mom in other ways but we had difficulty -- manufacturing issues and shipping nightmares became more prevalent. I realized that licensing was the way to go.
• 2013-2014 - I worked on a licensing deal with Stanley Furniture and LANDED the deal! I was hired as a spokesperson (salary) for Stanley's youth division called Young America. We were working out the details of the licensing deal that was projected to deliver $5 million in sales in the first year. We were in negotiations for eight months. Also, at the same time, I discovered I had repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse which helped to explain the strange spiritual stuff that happened to me during the awakening I didn't seek. 
• April 2014 -- I flew down to High Point, NC for High Point Market (largest furniture tradeshow in the US) to perform spokesperson duties for Stanley/Young America and stepped off the plane to the news that Stanley shut down Young America. I had to read it in the trade magazines. I had lost my spokesperson job and my licensing deal that I was set to sign at Market in April. While apologetic for what happened, Stanley decides to only pay out 2 months of my 12-month contract. There was nothing I could do to fight it. It meant financial crisis for our family.
• April 2014 - My 18-year marriage imploded and I joined forces personally and professionally with an international furniture designer. I went against my intuition to continue to look for licensing deals by putting all of my eggs in an offshoot basket —essentially, my partner's (and others upholstery) designs that he'd been trying to get made (as his own line) on his own for a long time.
• 2014-2017 - I put my all into the other line and tried to keep Mod Mom going as well. I ignored my gut and put all my faith in the plan to build the other line and then build Mod Mom. It was not wise of me. Little did I know, I'd ended up in an abusive relationship (professionally and personally) and lost a lot of time, stability, dignity, momentum, and money. Soul crushing experiences were the norm for 3 years. What I did gain were valuable lessons and healing I didn't even know I needed. I was finally able to pull myself out of the darkness and cut ties in June 2017. I ended up going to work full time as a writer/project manager at the local university to help make ends meet in 2015 through September 2018. I am a wiser, more discerning person now, and am thrilled to say that Scott and I reunited in August 2017 after being separated for three years. We are grateful for the healing 2014-2017 brought on many fronts!
• January 2018 - I knew I needed to go back to looking for a licensing partner and found a fantastic one in Colorado! Little Colorado reached out asking if I was interested in having them license current and existing designs and we inked the deal officially in January 2018. 
• 2019 - In 2019, I was asked to design the first-ever kids' table and chair set inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. It was an honor and a joy. 
  
• Now (2022) - I'm doing a few things, nowadays. A few I saw coming and a few I didn't! :) I'm consulting with entrepreneurs, and working as VP of Marketing for Moonshot at NACET, a non-profit business incubator program based in Arizona. I'm also still running Mod Mom. Now for the part I didn't see coming years ago...my memoir, Little Voices, will be released by Post Hill Press/ Simon & Schuster on September 20, 2022. Also, I'm co-chair for The National Institute for Law and Justice—a nonprofit organization that helps crime victims and their families. 

​"Kiersten’s story teaches us that narcissistic abuse and coercive and controlling relationships scramble even the deepest metaphysical intuition. Little Voices teaches us how insidious these dynamics are, the trauma and generational issues that are activated, and how easy it is to get stuck in the cycle of confusion and self-blame. By telling her first person story in a vulnerable and raw way, Kiersten reminds us that narcissistic and abusive relationships have a unique architecture, and represent a gradual process of grooming, gaslighting, and indoctrination. Even when the voices around her and in her are trying to guide her out, her story shines a light on how shame can be weaponized to keep anyone stuck and isolated in a toxic relationship. This book is in essence a compendium of red flags and can serve as a valuable teaching tool on how to listen to our inner voices and our guides; and to clearly heed these warning signs and act on them swiftly. One person’s story can be a powerful lesson and motivator for change for others who find themselves in these kinds of relationships, and reminds survivors that you are not alone."

​I couldn't be happier or more grateful for where I am today. It's definitely not been a straight and narrow road but I wouldn't have it any other way. When I think back to who I was pre-Shark Tank, I feel like I was just beginning to understand that I really did have all I needed inside of me to succeed. There were numerous obstacles and lessons along the way. Lessons that tested who I thought I was and lessons that reinforced that no matter what, I always needed to trust my own intuition. The advice I give now is to enlist help and advice from people who are smarter than you, but always trust your gut in the end.

​It truly is your compass.

-- Kiersten