NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A Newport News business is showing off its product on the show Shark Tank this week.
A small office in Newport News is the headquarters for Calm Strips. But they’re more than just stickers.
“They’re designed to help reduce fidgeting, increase focus and regulate restless energy,” said Calm Strips Creator and Co-Owner Michael Malkin.
The textured strips can be placed on school desks, laptops, and phones leaving no sticky residue.
Michael Malkin got the idea after using a piece of carpenter tape wrapped around his finger to stay calm when he was working in retail.
“And I find when we would get really busy that it would cause me to kind of feel really anxious and I found just having something sensory with me would help me to kind of ground me and calm me,” said Malkin.
Michael and Luce Fuller launched their business in the middle of the pandemic. Almost two years later, Calm Strips are selling internationally.
“We have over 125,000 satisfied customers all across the US and Canada we ship some to Australia as far away as the UK,” said Malkin.
Malkin said Calm Strips are helping children across the country.
“We’re in over 3,000 schools. We hear from school counselors, guidance counselors’ teachers who are using these effectively to kind of help both themselves and kids as well,” said Malkin.
Now they hope to reach a wider audience and help more people stay calm.
If you want to know more about these Calm Strips, watch Shark Tank this Friday at 8 p.m. Eastern on ABC.
