The sharks were eager to swim with MSOE alumnus Matt Mundt '14 after he and his wife Angie Kupper pitched their highly reviewed Sleep Pod by Hug Sleep startup on the nationally televised Shark Tank program Oct. 30 (ABC, CNBC).  

The husband and wife duo chose a $300,000 investment from sharks Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner in exchange for 20% equity in Hug Sleep. They received offers from all five of the sharks during the show.

See what CNBC had to say about it all: ‘Shark Tank’: Mark Cuban invested 6 figures in a company that turned just $2,500 into $490,000 in sales in 16 months

Mundt, a former Harley Davidson and Apple product designer, founded the start up as a side hustle in spring 2019 while working at Foxconn. He was a life-long troubled sleeper who tried just about everything to get a good night’s rest. He used his MSOE mechanical engineering degree and vast product design career experience to solve his sleep problems.  

His result was the Sleep Pod blanket (think adult baby swaddle) that uses the same science behind weighted blankets, but without any of the downsides of heat, size and weight, to help get a better night’s sleep. Like millions of others, Mundt was laid off at the start of the pandemic and since then has focused full time on Sleep Pod, which is manufactured right here in Milwaukee and has sold thousands of units.  

The Sleep Pod uses four-way stretch material to provide compression, applying gentle pressure that hugs that body. After dozens of positive reviews by media outlets including Fast Company, BuzzFeed, Yahoo! and more, producers from ABC’s Shark Tank approached Mundt and Kupper, a mental health therapist, to pitch the start up. 

Mundt says, “The biggest thing MSOE taught me was how to problem solve. Without my MSOE education, I highly doubt I’d be where I am right now. It’s just been this incredible journey that I really have MSOE to thank for.”