After 4 rejections on ‘Shark Tank,’ her company hit $100M — and she’s not holding back: ‘Mr Wonderful is...’
Kim Vaccarella worked a corporate job by day and poured her energy into a dream project by night. The mother of two created Croc-style beach totes that could hold everything and were easy to clean. Her relentless drive led to the trendy Bogg Bag — made from durable, water-resistant, sandproof rubber. Vaccarella’s $100 million brand was rejected four times on ‘Shark Tank’ before finding success. Now a 2025 Inc. Magazine Top 500 Female Founder, she says she still holds onto Kevin O’Leary’s advice, “if you’re not all in, you’re not really in."
The advice once made her nervous; she thought risking family life wasn’t practical for many women. Calling it "ridiculous," she exclusively told The Sun, “I used to panic when I heard Mr. Wonderful’s advice, but I find that advice ridiculous, actually,” she confessed. “Why would you put your family at risk if you can do both? Entrepreneurship is tiring, but leaving a job and the security of a paycheck can be detrimental.”
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The businesswoman admitted that she kept her aspirations in check and did not leave her day job until Bogg Bag became a phenomenal success. Sales surged during COVID as frontline workers and educators found the bag ideal for emergency use. “We also got creative with wholesalers and always wanted to foster those relationships, so they took a page out of our playbook from Hurricane Sandy using Bogg Bags for gift packages,” she shared. Vaccarella focused on genuine reviews and marketed her product through word-of-mouth via social media. “People would tag us on the beach, and we would repost them, expressing our thank you," she revealed. “We could get 20 pictures a day in the heat of summer, and it was very real; our customers loved it.”
The fashion founder expressed that it was the material- EVA foam that made the product popular. “I liked the material, how it got warm and pliable in the heat, but it didn’t get hot, and if you got sand in it, you could just hose it off or wash it in the shower,” Vaccarella admitted after acknowledging the fact that she had used up her son's $60,000 college savings to fund her dream. "When I looked and saw that there was nothing that existed on the market like it, I drew it out on a piece of paper,” the 54-year-old entrepreneur recalled while discussing her near-zero artistic skills with CNBC. “I just drew out this square bag with holes in it and handles.”
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Vaccarella recently inked a deal with Target, bringing her colorful Croc-style totes nationwide. “My thought was if they could sell Jibbitz for $10 million, I ought to be able to get $50 million for Bogg Bag,” she said. Bogg Bags now retail between $55 and $100 and have taken the commercial market by storm. 'Shark Tank' investors missed out, and Vaccarella proved she didn’t need them to dominate the market.