‘I Felt I Was Dreaming’: Maltese Entrepreneur’s Maduma Creations Make Global Shark Tank History
A young Maltese designer turned entrepreneur wrote her name in the Shark Tank record books last night after all five sharks invested in her product, an extremely rare occurrence for the global business reality TV show.
Kimberly Micallef pitched the sharks with Maduma, a fashion brand whose patterns are inspired by traditional Maltese floor tiles, and which first came to her mind while she was working on a school project.
She pursued it after her graduation, initially focusing on creating organic cotton T-shirts as a part-time gig, but decided to go full-time after the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March 2020.
As the world panicked and quickly tried to adapt to a “new normal”, Kimberley spotted an opportunity to expand Maduma into stationery sets, catering for the sudden rise in remote working.
“I wanted to motivate people and cheer them up,” she explained.
Over the next year, Maduma kept on going from strength to strength, expanding into face masks, Valentine’s cards, wedding invitations, school diaries, beach towels, Christmas cards and even figolli, all as a one-person job.
The sharks – Mark Bajada, Michael Bonello, Christabelle Camilleri, Mark Weingard and Alexander Fenech – were so impressed by her pitch that they decided to team up and pool in a combined €100,000 for 40% of her business.
Although the producers said it was only the second time in global Shark Tank history that all five sharks teamed up in such a manner, it was actually at least the third time – following a breathalyser device that appeared on the original Shark Tank in 2013 and a frozen popsicle brand that featured on Shark Tank India last year.
Either way, it was a seriously impressive achievement for Kimberley, who has not only managed to gain €100,000 in capital but also five experienced business partners who seem interested in forming a board of directors to push her brand forward, both locally and internationally.
“It left me speechless,” Kimberley said afterwards. “When I heard all the sharks expressing interest, I couldn’t believe what was happening and it felt like I was in a dream.”
“I asked myself how this could be possible and I believe I took the best opportunity I could. I can learn something different from all of them [the five sharks].”
As for her future plans, Kimberley intends to sell Maduma products at more local shops, and perhaps even set up her own shops, all while coming up with new ideas of products where Maltese tile designs could feature.
Well done Kimberly!
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