Shraman Mitra
Entrepreneurs Kevin and Laurie Lane appeared on season 14 episode 3 of ‘Shark Tank‘ in order to present their product, Create A Castle. While constructing sand or snow castles can be quite frustrating, Create A Castle offers an easy and quick solution for the same. Naturally, the ingenious products managed to turn quite a few heads, and we decided to jump in and learn more about the company, along with its growth since appearing on the show!
Create A Castle: Who Are They And What Do They Do?
Kevin Lane completed a degree in Fine Arts from Green Mountain College and went on to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Western Connecticut State University. From 1997 to 2000, he worked with several organizations as a Website Designer and Director of Design before joining LifeCare as a Manager of Information Architecture & Web Design. In 2010, he founded Code Hounds LLC, his own web production and design studio, which is based out of New Milford in Connecticut. Apart from working there to this very day, he started Create A Castle, LLC alongside Laurie Lane in June of 2017.
On the other hand, Laurie completed her Bachelor of Arts in Retail Management from the University of Connecticut in 1991 before going on to work as a Store Manager at The Gap. In 1993, she joined the Walt Disney Company as a District Manager. In June 2010, she began working as an account manager in her husband, Kevin Lane’s company, Code Hounds LLC. Apart from holding the account manager post at present, Laurie co-owns Create A Castle, LLC, and even works as an Independent Vacation Planner.
Kevin Lane mentioned that he was on vacation in California’s Laguna Beach when he noticed a father and son duo building sandcastles on the beach. Even though the pair seemed to have a lot of fun initially, they soon got frustrated as the castle came down again and again. Kevin has always been enthusiastic about castles, and that, coupled with his web developer instinct to solve problems, made him rack his brains to come up with a solution. Eventually, he and his wife, Laurie, put their brains together and came up with Create A Castle.
Create A Castle provides a complete castle-building kit that makes construction easy, fun, and detailed. Instead of using the traditional bucket or box for construction, the Create A Castle kit includes casts that are extremely durable and can be split apart on its hinge. The user needs to fill the cast in with sand or snow before placing it on the ground and unhinging it gently. Moreover, while each cast is exquisitely detailed with brick walls, battlements, and the like, the kit also comes in several varieties, which adds more buildings according to the price.
Create A Castle Are Expanding Their Reach
Kevin and Laurie Lane were pretty surprised and encouraged by the positive response Create A Castle received after its launch in 2017. As stock flew off the shelves, the product was featured on the TV show ‘Live With Kelly and Ryan’ in 2018, further increasing its popularity. Even Kevin couldn’t stay away from the spotlight, as he was selected to be the Connecticut Entrepreneur of the Year in the category of Community Favorite Venture, both in 2018 and 2019. Moreover, Create A Castle won the Toy Association’s International Toy Of The Year award in 2020.
At present, apart from being sold on Create A Castle’s official website and Amazon, the kits can be found in various stores, including Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart, and Barnes and Noble, among other shops all over the United States. Besides, reports claim that Kevin and Laurie ship their products to Australia through the Japanese entertainment company Tomy.
Interested customers should know that the Create A Castle kits come in different sizes and are priced between $19.99 to $49.99. Additionally, the company sells tool kits, castle flags, castle lights, bags, t-shirts, and more, which all fall between the price bracket of $3.95 to $34.99. It truly is incredible to witness Create A Castle’s rise to success, and we wish Kevin and Laurie the very best in all their future endeavors.
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