I can hardly believe it's been a year since the surreal night that I watched myself on Shark Tank. That night changed my life.

On the afternoon of March 29, 2013, my mom and I, our 2 part-time employees, and 2 interns were sitting in our one room office jarring scrub. We had 100 cases ready to go to our fulfillment center and we were SO proud of ourselves! Little did we know that those 100 cases would sell out approximately 5 minutes after I started my pitch to The Sharks.

The craziness that followed now seems like a dream as well. In a matter of 3 days we had to move into a bigger space (which we outgrew that same week!), hire and train 20 people, establish a supply chain and figure out how to produce and ship 30 times the number of orders we had filled in the previous 6 years that we'd been in business. When I look back now, it's kind of amazing that we were able to do it. Yes, it took months to fill those 30,000 orders, but in the end every single order was filled without any compromises to the quality of the product. I am very proud of that. 

Thinking about those 18 hour days when it felt like I barely left the office getting home at 2:30 am to eat frozen raviolis for "dinner" with my mom before grabbing 5 hours of sleep so we could start all over again reminds me that nothing is impossible. Those days, though beyond exhausting, are some of the best memories of my life. I will never, ever forget those days.

It's hard to say what the best part of this past year has been. All of the incredible emails/posts/tweets from all over the world especially from those of you that have told me that my product has changed your life mean very much to me. Creating a workplace where visitors tell us they can feel the happiness when they walk in means very much to me. Being able to actually create jobs here in the USA that people love means very much to me. But I have to say, that seeing my vision for Simple Sugars as a product and as a company coming to fruition is the most fulfilling of all. 

I will work as hard as I can to make sure that Simple Sugars continues to provide the best all-natural products and the best customer experience out there. I will continue to strive to make Simple Sugars an awesome place to work. I will keep telling my story in the hopes that people will be inspired and recognize that there are alternative paths to success and they are no less legit. 

I appreciate every one of you that has supported Simple Sugars by being a loyal customer and telling your friends and family about our products. I am honored and humbled by your loyalty and I am committed to earning it over and over again. 

Thank you for being a part of this incredible experience.

As always, 

Stay Smooth~

Lani

(above photo by Robin Rombach/Post-Gazette)

Since obtaining a partnership with investor and fellow Pittsburgh native, Mark Cuban, on ABC’s “Shark Tank”, Simple Sugars’ all-natural body and facial scrubs have been flying off the shelves and raving testimonials are pouring in just as fast! The wild success of Lani Lazzari’s handmade line of scrubs has not gone unnoticed. Her drive as a young entrepreneur first earned her a “Shark Tank” deal, and now a shout out by Mark Cuban on LIVE with Kelly and Michael praising Simple Sugars as the best investment he’s made. As Mark simply states, Lani’s business is “killing it!”

See Mark Cuban’s segment below:

You can read more about Mark Cuban’s Simple Sugars shout out on LIVE with Kelly and Michael on the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (by Sara Bauknecht)

An Update from Lani’s desk: 

Wow what a ride it’s been! We are happy to report that we are making excellent progress in our efforts to catch up after what we affectionately refer to around here as Super Storm Shark Tank! We ended up with an astounding 23,000 orders as a result of the show. (Remember, we were told to prepare for 600-800) 

Phenomenal. And daunting. And very much like getting hit with a Tsunami. 

We have had every imaginable issue from unforeseeable supply chain hang ups to annoyingly unacceptable delivery issues. Our main priority has been to maintain the high quality of our product despite having to rapidly hire and train new people and produce more product in 2 months than we have in the history of Simple Sugars! We have been frustrated by the fact that despite doing all we can we haven’t been able to provide the level of customer service we previously prided ourselves on, but please know that we are completely committed to getting back to providing unsurpassed service to our customers.

For those of you that hung in there with us and were kind and gracious enough to be patient during this exceptional time, we value you and will guarantee you a MUCH better customer experience going forward. For those who are frustrated, we are honestly doing the best we can under the circumstances and were NEVER out to “scam” or ignore anyone. 

Despite all the growing pains, the amazing reviews we’ve received from those of you that are reporting the excellent results you are having make it all worthwhile and very fulfilling for all of us here at Simple Sugars. 

Now for the good news, by the end of next week, we will be caught up and ready to begin shipping orders of in-stock products on our regular schedule (within 48 hours). Custom orders and gift packages will go out within a week. 

We have learned a lot and have MANY changes and improvements already in the works and on the drawing board. There are more big things ahead for us and we are excited and ready for the challenge! 

We hope you will join us for the ride. We look forward to keeping you Smooth for Life 

Stay Smooth~
Lani

Pittsburgh Teen CEO and founder of Simple Sugars to appear on ABC’s “Shark Tank”

March 26, 2013 (Pittsburgh, PA) – Teen Entrepreneur Lani Lazzari will appear on “Shark Tank,” FRIDAY, MARCH 29 (9:01-10:01 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.