A Bruin-Owned Business Story: Lollaland

UCLA Bruins, business owners and former contestants on the ABC show “Shark Tank,” Hanna Lim, M.Ed. ’05, and Mark Lim, MBA ’08, are the founders of the infant and toddler goods company Lollaland. The parents of three designed a product that they couldn’t find anywhere else, founded a small business and grew their brand with help from the popular entrepreneurial game show “Shark Tank.”

The Lims both attended UCLA for graduate school; Hanna earned a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Education & Information Studies, and Mark received his MBA in entrepreneurial and small business operations from the Anderson School of Management. At UCLA, Mark was challenged by Professor George Abe to think about business decisions in a different way. He says, “It’s tempting to read a case study and take it at face-value, but I learned to re-think and re-evaluate everything.” His classmates became a network of like-minded individuals looking to learn from one another. Recently, Mark reconnected with a former classmate to reminisce and share ideas, and he still keeps in touch with Professor Abe, now 13 years after graduation.

The inspiration for Lollacup came to Hanna when she transitioned her daughter from drinking from a bottle to a cup. Sippy cups have one-way valves to control the flow of fluid and make them spill-proof, yet her daughter was unable to drink from one. She needed a straw cup, yet Hanna could not find one that was easy to use and stylish, so she decided to design and build the perfect cup.

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While Mark was attending UCLA Anderson, Hanna interviewed local manufacturing companies, speech therapists, pediatricians, and occupational therapists and wrote a business plan. When Mark graduated, they put everything they had into starting the company. They took their daughter’s pronunciation of the word water — “lolla” — as a name for their first product, the Lollacup. The Lims found a local manufacturer who helped create a BPA-/BPS-, PVC-, phthalate-free cup and a straw with a weighted end, allowing a child to sip from the straw even when the cup is tilted.

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Starting small, the couple assembled the pieces by hand on their living room floor. Hanna went door-to-door to local retailers with product samples, opening 50 accounts that way. Mark’s UCLA Anderson experience gave the Lims an advantage when it came to setting business strategy and making day-to-day decisions, both equally crucial to entrepreneurship. Hanna applied a system that she perfected as a high school chemistry teacher, “backwards planning,” mapping out their business goals and working backwards from there to meet them.

Once the Lims started shipping their product, they began looking for extra capital to grow the business. As long-time fans of the show “Shark Tank,” they applied to be contestants, yet never heard back from the show. Then, they learned of a nearby casting call to be held the following day. They quickly arranged for childcare, filled out the online application and got in line the next morning. Hanna says, “Why not go after funding, national TV exposure and strategic business partners all in one shot? That’s why we decided to enter ‘the Tank.’ ”

Lollaland was chosen to be one of 100 companies, out of 30,000, to be given the opportunity to pitch their product to the Shark Tank team — a cast of self-made multimillionaires and billionaires who invest in contestants’ businesses and products. Before the show, Mark reminded Hanna of advice he received at UCLA Anderson, telling her not to be overwhelmed by the celebrity of the investors saying, “This is an investment. We’re potentially handing over part of our company that we’ve built.”

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Negotiations between the Lims and the “Sharks” lasted 90 minutes, which were edited down into 10 minutes of air time [Shark Tank, Season 3 — April 2012]. The Lims were asking for an investment of $100,000 in exchange for a 15 percent stake. “Sharks” Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec gave them the $100,000 they requested, but in return took a 40 percent stake in the business. In addition to a financial investment, the “Sharks” also mentor the small business owners, sharing their vision, experience, tips and tricks for business success.

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Since then, business has grown exponentially and they are excited to celebrate 10 years of being in business. To stay current, they read and answer customer emails and attend trade shows. They have been back to UCLA to talk about founding a small business, the Shark Tank experience, and the successes and challenges they encountered along the way. When asked what advice they would give to fellow Bruins considering entrepreneurship, Mark shared this advice, “While planning is necessary, execution is the most important. Particularly in entrepreneurship, you have to act on your ideas and go for it. I see too many entrepreneurs mired in ideas without taking any action to gather the experience and information necessary to plan, grow and pivot. In fact, this was my biggest weakness [and regret] for years.” Currently, the Lims are focused on expanding their brand, running their business and raising their children.

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