The Profit - Hangout Lighting Update

Tonight on The Profit, Marcus Lemonis is in Chicago, Illinois hoping to make a deal with Hangout Lighting.  Hangout Lighting is a lighting business that helps customers design their own custom fixtures.  Jennifer Brown built the company from scratch and she has been doing too many roles at once and doesn't delegate work.  There is no clear mission for the business and there is a high employee turnover rate.


Let's take a look at some information related to Hangout Lighting as well as what kind of deal was made on the show.




News and Links Related To The Company:

• Here is the Hangout Lighting website and Facebook page where they are promoting the upcoming episode.
• The About section of the website states, "With nearly endless ways to personalize, you can mix and match vintage, industrial and modern styles and elements. Your design is handmade in our Chicago workshop and on its way to you in under a week. With a bit of our heart and soul in each light, we are committed to craftsmanship, quality and top-notch customer service."
• There are also 15 employees listed in this part of the website.
• In a December 2017 interview about her business, Jen Brown said this about expanding, "The greatest challenge has been learning how to transition from a one-person operation to a larger team while keeping everything organized. I always want to be involved in everything and want to be doing too many things at once, so I think we all spread ourselves too thin at times."
• Here is Jen's LinkedIn page.
• Hangout Lighting has an Etsy shop with over 800 reviews, most of which are 5 out of 5 stars.  There are 192 items for sale and Hangout lighting has made almost 7000 sales on Etsy since 2009. (Link)
• Hangout Lighting has 9 reviews on Yelp, all of which are 5 out of 5 stars. (Link)
• In an interview with Chicago Business Journal, Jen said she applied for the show because she was a superfan and the producer called her saying that Marcus Lemonis was looking for a lighting company specifically.
• After working with Marcus Lemonis, Jen said, "We’ve grown a lot. He gave me the extra kick I needed — we ended up expanding our space, hiring a lot more employees, re-doing the website."
• You may remember that Marcus Lemonis invested in Vision Quest Lighting on season 3 of The Profit.  Here is the Vision Quest Lighting Update - Marcus walked away after losing money and the company eventually filed for bankruptcy.

The Deal From The Episode Plus Post-Show Updates (this will be updated continually):

• The Deal - Initial offer - $250,000 for 33% of business and full financial control.  Jen countered with $500,000 for 33%.  The final agreement was $250,000 for 25% of the business.
• Jen later came back to Marcus and wanted to change the deal to $150,000 for 10% of the business.  Marcus countered with $200 for 20% of the business and 5% will go into a  bonus plan to be shared by employees.
• Jen later gave Brian a guaranteed salary with commission along with some equity in the company.
• When designing your own pendants and items on the Hangout Lighting website, the picture of the product still doesn't change to show the customized designs as you select them.
• Brian is still listed as an employee (Director) on the Hangout Lighting website.  Dustin is not.

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