Chris & Tiffany McCasland on Shark Tank Season 17, Episode 12
This is Part 1 of our Shark Tank story — how we went from building businesses in our garage to walking onto a soundstage in Los Angeles to pitch The Chair Blanket™.
If you had told me years ago that I would be walking into the Tank with my husband, I probably would have smiled politely… and gone back to writing a communications strategy deck.
Before City Bonfires.
Before The Chair Blanket™.
Before Shark Tank.
I was a government consultant working at the Pentagon, focused on strategy and communications. I later built my own communications consultancy. I’ve always loved building things — ideas, narratives, brands, momentum. Even as a kid, I was entrepreneurial. I just didn’t always know what that would look like.
And I’ve always loved Shark Tank.
I watched it for the stories. The risk. The grit. The moments when everything changes in one conversation.
I just never imagined we’d be the ones standing on that carpet.
City Bonfires Wasn’t the Plan — It Was Survival
In 2020, like so many families, everything shifted overnight.
Uncertainty. Contracts ending. A pandemic that changed the world.
City Bonfires wasn’t some grand master strategy. It was a leap of faith.
Chris and our neighbor started experimenting with a portable fire concept — something simple that brought people together at a time when connection felt fragile. I helped shape the brand, messaging, and marketing from behind the scenes. We were packing boxes ourselves. Running ads late at night. Learning supply chains in real time.
It was chaotic. It was exhausting. It was exhilarating.
And it worked.
City Bonfires grew faster than we expected. What started in a garage turned into a nationally recognized outdoor brand.
But even as that business scaled, something else kept nagging at us.
The Problem We Couldn’t Ignore
We’d be sitting around our own fire pit, kids running around, friends gathered, and someone would inevitably say:
“Why are these chairs always freezing?”
Or damp.
Or dirty.
Or uncomfortable after twenty minutes.
It sounds small — until you’re the one sitting there.
If you’ve spent time at youth sports games, tailgates, camping trips, backyard fires, or outdoor concerts, you know exactly what I mean. Outdoor chairs are almost always an afterthought.
And then our friend Ryan Brooks came to us.
Ryan is an inventor at heart. He had developed what he believed was the perfect fire pit accessory — a fitted chair cover that combined a cozy blanket with a waterproof, wind-resistant, stay-put design. It wasn’t something you draped over a seat. It was engineered specifically for the chair.
When he showed it to us, I immediately saw the bigger picture.
This wasn’t just an accessory.
It was a category.
It aligned perfectly with what we already believed: outdoor moments should be enjoyed — not endured.
And that’s how The Chair Blanket™ was born.
Ryan brought the ingenuity.
Chris brought the operational horsepower.
I brought the brand, positioning, and communications strategy.
Together, we brought it to life.
Launching a Second Company Is a Different Kind of Risk
Starting City Bonfires during a pandemic was one kind of leap.
Launching The Chair Blanket™ while City Bonfires was already scaling? That was another.
New brand.
New inventory.
New manufacturing.
New capital at risk.
But the idea wouldn’t go away.
City Bonfires makes the fire.
The Chair Blanket makes the seat comfortable.
It felt like a natural extension of the ecosystem we were already building — elevating outdoor experiences from start to finish.
So we went for it.
Shark Tank Was Always in the Back of My Mind
I’ve watched Shark Tank for years. I studied the pitches. The body language. The way founders told their stories. The questions the Sharks asked. I’d quietly imagine what I would say if I were standing there.
A few years ago, a casting agent actually reached out about City Bonfires. At the time, the company had already grown beyond the early-stage profile the show typically looks for, so we didn’t move forward. It wasn’t rejection — it was timing.
That stuck with me.
If the timing ever aligned again, we’d be ready.
By 2025, it did.
We had traction.
We had a patent-pending product.
We had growth.
We had a story that felt authentic and earned.
And this time, we were pitching something earlier-stage. Something category-defining.
So we applied again — for The Chair Blanket™.
The Process Is No Joke
If you’ve ever wondered how Shark Tank works behind the scenes — it’s intense.
Applications.
Financial disclosures.
Background checks.
Recorded auditions.
Follow-up interviews.
Hundreds of questions.
As someone who’s spent a career in communications, I understood how high the bar would be. You don’t just show up. You prepare. You refine. You rehearse. You anticipate every question.
Still, there’s a point where it’s out of your hands.
You try not to get your hopes up.
And then you get an email.
Then a call.
Then the words:
“You’re moving forward.”
When It Became Real
We were given a tentative film date: June 2025.
Even then, it didn’t feel real. You don’t truly believe it until the flights are booked.
The week before filming, we got confirmation.
Los Angeles.
June 2025.
Shark Tank.
It was happening.
Chris and I were going to walk into the Tank together.
Not just as co-founders — but as husband and wife.
Why This Meant So Much to Me
For me, this wasn’t just about exposure. And it wasn’t just about a deal.
It was about stepping fully into something I’ve quietly believed for years — that I’m not just behind the scenes. I’m a builder. A strategist. A founder.
We had built businesses from scratch during uncertain times.
We had taken risks most people wouldn’t.
We had bet on ideas that seemed “too simple.”
We had chosen comfort, connection, and family as our guiding principles.
And now we were going to stand in front of five Sharks and defend it.
Together.
We flew to LA with our pitch memorized, our numbers drilled into our heads, and more emotions than I can fully describe.
Next up: walking onto that carpet.
Read Part 2 – Filming Day in Hollywood →