Joshua Esnard, a businessman of St. Lucian descent, invented The Cut Buddy, a tool for cutting hair at home, back when he was just 13 years old.
The product’s distinctive form and edges make it suited for all head shapes and hair types. It also works well with different sorts of beards and appeals to people who don’t have hair on their heads.
Esnard’s father was a St. Lucian immigrant who insisted on doing everything by himself, including cutting his own and his siblings’ hair. Esnard recollects feeling annoyed when his dad gave him “buzz” cuts. He claims he detested his father’s buzz cut, which he received for 13 years.
“I grew up, I got to 13, and I was sick of this haircut and I said ‘you know what, ‘I am going to cut my own hair but I didn’t have any money, my dad wasn’t going to send me the barber and I decided to cut my own hair,” he shared with an audience at a TEDx Raleigh event.
When Esnard initially attempted to cut his own hair, he unintentionally screwed up his hairline and developed bald spots, according to Stlucia. He went out to solve the issue after identifying it, which resulted in the creation of the Cut Buddy.
Joshua began proposing his company idea to friends and investors with the support of his fiancée to scale up his innovation. He was either laughed at or rejected, but that did not stop him from pursuing his aspirations.
Later, he used his personal money and the assistance of affiliate marketers and micro-influencers to grow his firm. His invention went viral within three months, and he quickly rose to the top of Amazon’s best-seller list. Additionally, he appeared in a number of media outlets and ultimately won a spot on Shark Tank.
“March 5, 2016. A video of our product went viral with 12 million views and sales skyrocketed,” he told Biz Journal. “Amazon helped me get a place-hold in the market, and we just relied on influencer- and affiliate marketing to get our story going.”
In 2017, he appeared on Shark Tank and secured a deal from Daymond John — who made his fortune with the FUBU brand of clothing. He invested $300,000 for a 20 percent stake in his company.
“Appearing on Shark Tank we got more attention from retailers, like big stores who wanted to carry our product,” Esnard said.
Before appearing on Shark Tank, he made sales of $700,000 in 2016 alone, thanks to a viral skit about his product that went viral.