We all know someone (perhaps it’s you—no judgments here) who struggles with wrapping gifts, often presenting them with rogue flaps, excessive tape, and patches of paper covering at least one “oops” spot due to misjudging the paper size. In fact, even those who pride themselves on their excellent wrapping skills can find it challenging to wrap items with odd shapes, soft goods, or anything more complex than a standard box. This common issue is precisely what Jeffery Miller aimed to solve with his invention, CoolWraps. This shrink wrap alternative to traditional gift wrap is designed to make wrapping even the most unconventionally-shaped presents a breeze.
Inspired by a trip to the boatyard where Miller observed ships covered in shrink wrap, the CoolWraps concept is as simple as 1-2-3, according to the company’s marketing: stuff it, seal it, and shrink it. First, place the gift into the shrink wrap gift bag, then seal it with the provided adhesive strip—no tape, scissors, or mess required. Finally, use a hairdryer to shrink the bag to fit the shape of the gift, offering a perfectly wrapped present for those seeking an easier alternative to traditional paper wrapping.
After years of attempting to build his business, Miller brought CoolWraps to Season 4 of the popular show “Shark Tank,” where he presented the concept to investor sharks Mark Cuban, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec. Miller entered the tank seeking $100,000 in exchange for a 40% stake in his company, giving CoolWraps a $250,000 valuation. He hoped to relaunch his beloved invention into the market with the help of an expert partner. While his pitch resulted in multiple offers, the CoolWraps journey that followed was not a success story wrapped up neatly.
The CoolWraps Pitch on Shark Tank Brought Both Product Potential and Market Concerns
During the “Shark Tank” pitch, one of the original founders, Jeffrey Miller, explained that the product had been on the market about ten years before his tank appearance, achieving success on QVC, CVS, and more. However, when it came time to secure financing to fulfill larger purchase orders, the partners were unwilling to use their homes as collateral, leading the bank to turn them down, leaving them out of luck. Miller’s partners then withdrew from the business venture, transitioning him from a 20% shareholder to 100% business owner. Despite a lack of success in promoting and selling the product at trade shows (without a booth or visual demonstration of how the product actually worked) in the decade prior to the show’s air date, Miller hoped to revive and relaunch CoolWraps with expert guidance from a shark.
When pitched to the sharks, Robert Herjavec was the first to exit, citing concerns about the market, Miller’s sales ability, and the fact that the product sat for a decade without much success. However, investor Lori Greiner offered Miller $150,000 to buy him out entirely, stating that the product had potential and she liked that it had an exclusive utility patent but believed it needed significant changes to become marketable. Before Miller could respond, Mark Cuban jumped in with an offer for the full $250,000 valuation to own the entire company, but he would give Miller a 3% royalty on each unit sold. The catch was that he needed an immediate yes, which Miller provided, theoretically leaving the room a quarter million dollars richer.
Failing to Have the Product Available for Purchase by the Episode’s Air Date Left CoolWraps Unable to Capitalize on the ‘Shark Tank Effect’
When a company is featured on the show, the products often experience what’s known as the “Shark Tank effect,” where the airing of the episode generates a spike in website traffic, social media activity, and, ideally, sales. Indeed, there were over a million hits on the CoolWraps website when the episode originally aired on March 8, 2013. However, when fans visited the site, the product was unfortunately not yet available for purchase online, meaning the surge of interest came and went without the ability to capitalize on the boost in popularity generated by the show.
In fact, although the initial deal with shark Mark Cuban was televised on the episode, the reality was that the acquisition failed to make it past the due diligence phase after the cameras stopped rolling. Consequently, Miller did not gain the billionaire’s expertise to get the product back on the market, which unfortunately meant that, aside from a few extra fans, CoolWraps remained in nearly the same financial and business position as before the Shark Tank appearance. The failure to finalize the deal with Cuban proved to be the second-to-last nail in the coffin for CoolWraps, so to speak.
Despite a Brief Resurgence in 2015, CoolWraps Never Really Managed to Get Up and Running
Despite having no shark in his corner, Jeffery Miller was able to get the product back on the market in early 2015, even sharing on social media in May that CoolWraps was nominated as one of the best new products at the New York National Stationery Show. However, its availability was brief, and once the product sold out, it was never restocked again. The website’s domain remained active with the message “we are currently working on a new website to bring you new shrink wrap gift bags” until 2022, when the site and domain came down for good. As of 2025, social media accounts have been silent since the short-lived resurgence a decade ago.
Despite a solid idea and protective utility patent that could have helped Miller boost it to popularity with the help of investor Mark Cuban had the deal gone through, CoolWraps did not turn out to be one of Shark Tank’s success stories. Instead, CoolWraps is out of business, and Miller has sold the company, though the details of the sale are unclear. However, the patent is still active until July 2034, so who knows—perhaps the new owner might attempt another resurgence after a second decade-or-two-long period of dormancy.
What’s Next for CoolWraps Founder, Jeffery Miller?
While CoolWraps is no longer, according to his personal LinkedIn account and website, in 2025, Jeffery Miller continues to create new creative work as a freelance visual designer under his own company, Jeffrey Miller Design. His current contract gig is as a Senior 3D Experiential and Store Designer for a Fortune 500 company in Attleboro, Massachusetts, where he creates large-format retail store designs using digital design software like AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, Twinmotion, and Adobe Suite. His freelance work has also included accomplishments such as designing a new outdoor theatrical and entertainment pavilion for the city of Attleboro, as well as visual merchandising for IKEA.
Prior to going entirely freelance, Miller worked as a 3D Environmental and Experiential Designer for Cramer, a brand experience and content marketing agency, and Freeman Expositions, creating custom-branded live events, for about one year each. However, the majority of his career prior to, during, and after his Shark Tank experience was spent as the Global Design Project Manager and 3D Designer of Displays and Stores for over 11 years for the superstar of sound, Bose Corporation, which he left in 2019.
According to Miller, he is the visionary that helps people see that which does not yet exist, so while CoolWraps might be a wrap, the inventor and designer has no plans to stop creating any time soon.
