Black Sands Entertainment Raises 500kUSD @ 1.6Million USD Valuation on The Shark Tank USA show

Black Sands Entertainment is a comic book business that focuses on publishing different historical comic books, particularly those that feature African mythology. The company’s main target audience is black consumers. It has produced many graphic novels and comics with Afrofuturist themes, and its comic books range in genre from non–fictional and fictional stories, such as those found in DC and Marvel.

In 2016, Teunis De Raat, Manuel Godoy and Geiszel Godoy followed their passion and founded Black Sands Entertainment Company. Geiszel came from a fashion design background, Manuel was an army administrator, and Teunis had been in the animation industry for 25 years, having worked with companies like Disney and Pixar. After the company was started, they sold around 60,000 comic books. Since then, they have released many comic books.

Black Sands Entertainment Funding Prior to The Shark Tank USA

In March 2017, they started a Kickstarter campaign called “Kids 2 Kings: 4 Kids, 7 Kingdoms, 1 Legend“ and it was successful in raising $17,804 from 311 backers in 29 days – exceeding their goal of $4,000.

After that, they launched four more campaigns on Kickstarter and managed to raise a total of $1,12,854 from 1,505 backers.

Later on, in WeFunder, they increased their total earnings to $1,014,999 from 2,560 investors. In December 2019, the company earned $100,048 in revenue and had a net profit of $22,098.

On Shark Tank Season 13 Episode 10, Teunis De Raat, Manuel Godoy, and Geiszel asked the Sharks for $500,000 in exchange for 5% of their company, which was valued at $10 million.

More About Black Sands Entertainment

Black Sands Entertainment is a private company that focuses on entertainment. They publish a variety of comics, graphic novels, chapter books, DVDs and picture books. Every title and comic book is based on African mythology and black superheroes. Their content is primarily targeted at black consumers.

As of January 4th, 2023, Black Sands has published 14 titles, and has been featured in multiple national outlets. Recently, they‘ve released some new titles such as the Mask of the Orisha Series, Muntu Warriors, and Granada‘s Shadow.

How many books are sold by Black Sands Entertainment?

At Keystone Comic Con and New York Comic Con 2018, they were listed as Exhibitors. During the first year, their books were sold across the country and 15,000 copies were sold. You can purchase these titles from either Amazon or Black Sands website, and the prices range from $25 to $60. By January 3, 2023, these books have been purchased a total of 200,000 times.

Who are the founders of Black Sands Entertainment?

Manuel Godoy and Geiszel Godoy

Manuel Godoy is the Co–Founder and CEO of Black Sands Entertainment, while Geiszel Godoy is the company‘s CEO.

Before April 2022, Teunis de Raat was the partner and head of studio of the company. Manuel served as an army administrator for 5 years and also completed his BBA studies from Queens College.

Geiszel is a fashion designer who studied Fashion Business Management from the Fashion Institute of Technology. She has worked as a designer for various companies such as Disguise, Junior Sports Wear Company, and Calvin Klein, and for a year she was a Freelance Assistant Technical Designer at Calvin Klein.

In 2016, after getting married, Manuel and Geiszel launched Black Sands Company.

Black Sands Entertainment’s Shark Tank USA Pitch Review: What happened on that day?

Teunis, Manuel and Geiszel went on Shark Tank and asked the Sharks for a $500,000 investment in exchange for 5% in their company. They explained their product to the Sharks and shared their sales report.

They had sold 100,000 copies of their Animated Property 8–minute pilot for a total of $250,000, most of which had come from their physical book sales.

In the past year, they had sold 120,000 units at a retail price of $20, with a landed cost of $2 and a wholesale cost of $8. In 2017, their business had made $40,000 in sales, and in 2018, they had made $220,000 and had raised capital for a DVD.

In 2020, their business had made $600,000 in sales and, so far in 2021, they had made $800,000 in sales with $300,000 in cash in the bank.

Kevin Hart asked them why they needed the money and Manuel explained that they needed to hire artists, writers, and other professionals, with each artist costing between $30,000 and $40,000 per year.

In the end, Mark Cuban and Kevin Hart offered $500,000 for a 30% equity. Mark would help with the technology side of the business and Kevin with the marketing and branding.

Black Sands Entertainment’s Annual Sales & Further Fundraising

In 2021, the company made $1.2 million in annual sales.

By January 4, 2022, they had reached over $2 million in lifetime sales. They have also raised $2 million in capital and released 14 titles by January 4, 2023.

Their titles and comics have been featured in many renowned publications.

On January 2023, they started a Kickstarter campaign and 946 backers contributed $1,47,274. The company has launched 6 campaigns on Kickstarter altogether and managed to raise $2,60,128 from 2,451 backers by January 2023.

Black Sands Entertainment’s Current Valuation and Networth

Black Sands had asked for $10 million in Shark Tank, but that agreement couldn‘t be reached. After a lot of back–and–forth, they settled on a worth of $1.6 million. According to some news outlets, the comic book industry was worth $14.69 billion globally in 2021, with Marvel and DC Comics dominating the market. 

FAQ:

What is Black Sands current worth?

Black Sands Entertainments’ current worth is 1.6M USD.

Is Black Sands Entertainment a Profitable venture?

So far, yes. Black Sands Entertainment is a profitable venture.

Author: Sanjib SahaSanjib is a finance based writer who has a deep knowledge in stock market, cryptocurrency and mutual funds. He is also a co-founder of Financesrule.com

Twitter