Mama’s Milkbox on Shark Tank: Where Are They Now?

In season 8 of Shark Tank, Elena Petzold pitched her online clothing subscription service to the sharks. Did she strike a deal and is she still in business today?

Mama’s Milkbox Shark Tank Recap: How Much Did She Ask For?

Elena came into the tank asking for $200,000 for a 20% stake in her company.

What is Mama’s Milkbox?

Elena started Mama’s Milkbox as an online subscription service that sells gently worn maternity wear to other expectant mothers. The way it worked, was that the potential buyer would fill out the form on the website and Elena would prep a box of garments suited to that buyer’s needs.

Did Mama’s Milkbox Strike a Deal?

Elena may have gotten a ton of exposure for her new subscription based service, but in the end she did not strike a deal.

Shark, Kevin O’Leary and Mark Cuban were turned off to offering Elena a deal. Kevin felt that she would not be in business too long due to an unsustainable model. Mark Cuban remarked that he felt Elena was a bit of a know it all. After she did not provide the sharks with direct answers to their questions, they all started going out one by one. The sharks were all out, leaving Elena without any investors.

Who is Elena Petzold?

Elena Petzold is the founder of Mama’s Milkbox. She owns a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based company called Maternity Girl, LLC that sells maternity clothing. This young entrepreneur is a go getter. She also runs a bracelet company called Bucky and Bling. According to her Linkedin profile, she started Mama’s Milkbox in 2013. Currently, she is the chief marketing officer at American Dreamers Renovations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Where is Elena?

Elena was most recently interviewed on the podcast, “Outside the Tank” in 2021. The hosts dig into why she started her subscription service business all the way to her time on the ABC show, Shark Tank.

Watch the full interview at the video below:

How Did She Get on Shark Tank?

Elena describes how she wound up on Shark Tank in the “Outside the Tank” podcast. “It’s always a fascinating story of how I ended up on the show,” Elena begins. There is always a bit of fate that goes into being an entrepreneur she believes. “I was in New York on a buying appointment and I was walking down the street and who should come out in a big bright yellow coat but Barbara Corcoran!” she exclaimed.

“I was such a dork, I’m a business dork,” she laughs. Elena jumped at the chance to talk to her business idol, asking for a quick selfie. “I told her, I watch your show and I just started a business.” Then Barbara said, “I hope to see you on Shark Tank some day.” It was when Barbara’s cab came to pick her up and whisk her away that Elena realized her missed opportunity. “I was so mad, I was thinking I should have offered to pay for her cab if I can just sit in the car with her.”

In complete awe that she just met one of her favorite sharks, Elena decided to check out Barbara’s Facebook page. She had just announced that they were having an open casting call for Shark Tank the next day. Even though Elena was planning to go back home to Pittsburgh, she decided to stay in New York for another day to take her shot at success.

The Casting Call

Elena admits that she never went on a casting call ever before. “It was super crazy,” she exclaimed! Elena got there at 5AM that day. “People were acting crazy and I started thinking what did I sign myself up for,” she said. After the initial lineups, things became more orderly. After she submitted her video into the show, she didn’t hear back for a long time.

Then Shark Tank called Elena back a year later, looking for single moms. However, she was really married and told them so. She did tell the producers who called her that her business had grown exponentially over the past year and that she really did need investors. “Then that got me back into the running,” she explained.

Is Mama’s Milkbox Still in Business?

No they aren’t. It appears that you can no longer pay for this service as they are out of business. The business started in November 2013 and according to Elena’s LinkedIn, closed up shop in November 2018.

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