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Little Burros is a family-owned business that appeared in Season 11 Episode 20 of “Shark Tank,” selling a wheelbarrow tray to help make gardening easier. Rather than schlepping your tools through your yard over multiple trips, the Little Burrow allows you to fasten short and long-handled tools to the tray. The product also has a water-resistant place to store your phone and a cup holder for drinks, so you have everything you need in one spot. The tray only weighs a few pounds and can be easily placed on top of a standard wheelbarrow or removed so your tools are within reach.
Appearing on the show with his daughter Mollie, Bob Thorsen explained that he was inspired to invent the Little Burrow while helping his wife. “Sharks, my wife loves to work in the garden, but she keeps losing her tools… so I decided to do something about it,” Thorsen said. Before “Shark Tank,” Mollie’s sister, Becca acted as CFO for the company, but unfortunately passed away in 2016. Now, Bob and Mollie’s mission is to honor Becca. “We kind of have been making sure that we do our part to continue her legacy because she helped us with every part of this,” Mollie told the sharks.
What happened to Little Burros on Shark Tank?
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When the father and daughter team appeared on the show, Little Burros was already being sold in several large retail stores across the country, including True Value, Ace Hardware, Target, Menards, and Amazon. In the few months before the show, Little Burros had sold $400,000 of their trays.
The Thorsens went on the show seeking $250,000 in exchange for 10% of their company. Rather than using this money to get started, the Thorsens were hoping to fund the development of more products and create a brand of gardening tools. “We have more innovative ideas we’d like to do, and I would not like to keep using Thorsen money to do it,” Bob told the Sharks after being asked why the company needed an investor. He revealed that the family had already put $1 million of their own money into the business. Though Kevin O’Leary and Lori Greiner both offered deals, they included royalties on the products and the Little Burros team turned them down, walking away without an investor.
Little Burros after Shark Tank
Even though the Thorsens declined the deals from the Sharks, their company saw an increase in sales after the episode aired in May 2020, in part due to COVID lockdowns. Two years later, Bob and Mollie Thorsen made a partnership with Lowe’s to sell Little Burros in 1,200 locations. They also created a deal with Walmart, putting their product on the shelves of another 1,100 stores. Despite the show airing in the midst of the pandemic, the company continued gaining traction.
With the increasing success of the product, Mollie didn’t regret refusing to take a deal on the show. “It was really nerve-wracking,” Thorsen told Technical.ly. “But we knew we had buyers meetings with these stores lined up and we said: You know, we’ve done the legwork here, and if we take a royalty deal, it would just totally take away from our cash flow.”
Is Little Burros still in business?
The Thorsen family continues to thrive with their business, and Little Burros products are sold in Ace Hardware, Exchange, Home Depot, Lowe’s, Walmart, True Value, Sam’s Club, and Menards. They are also currently being sold online on Houzz, Amazon, and The Grommet. Though the company turned down the Sharks’ deals, they were still able to create another product for their business to sell. The Burro Buddy is a smaller version of the original Little Burro. Though it’s more compact, it still has a cup holder, a safe place for a cell phone, and holders for tools with long or short handles.
Little Burros continues to make its products in the United States, and the company donates part of its proceeds in honor of the family’s lost loved one, Becca. Since Becca was passionate about helping victims of human trafficking, the Thorsens support A21, an organization that fights to end trafficking.
What’s next for the Little Burros family?
Mollie Thorsen and her father, Bob, are still running the Little Burros company with the help and support of their family. They value the quality of their products and strive to make Burros that will last for years to come. It is unclear if the Thorsens will look for another investor at some point, but it seems the company is looking to add additional employees.
Mollie Thorsen credits some of their success to the fact that they are able to walk away from opportunities that might cost them in the future. “Using that model throughout our entire business has really helped us get to where we are,” Thorsen told Technical.ly. “Just saying no to things and not feeling pressure to say yes to things, because that’s the normal way to do it, but really saying no to things that could potentially be bad.” Before their time on “Shark Tank” and after, Little Burros has been dedicated to growing their company.
