A Mobile Tailor Is Coming To 'Shark Tank'

MTailor certainly won't be the first app presented on Shark Tank, but it's really the first of its kind ever seen on the investment reality series. That could be good or bad, depending on how business has been for the company. But whether or not this app scores an investment on Shark Tank , aren't you now curious about how to get MTailor?

Well, you should get excited, because MTailor is one of those apps that'll blow you away with its innovation but also make you wonder how no one has thought of something like this before. That all sounds well and good, but the most important question to ask here is "Will the Sharks want to invest in MTailor?"

We're going to have to wait until Friday night's episode premieres to find out the answer to that. But without seeing the outcome of this company's pitch in the Tank, I can only guess that techie Mark Cuban, fashion guru Daymond John, and Silicon Valley venture capitalist and guest Shark Chris Sacca will have an interest in MTailor.

But just because the interests and business portfolios of these Sharks align well with what MTailor is selling doesn't mean it's not possible that the other two Sharks featured in Friday night's episode, Kevin O'Leary and Barbara Corcoran, won't love this company just as much as them. Here are some things they should consider as they decide whether or not to invest.

Get Custom Shirts Without Leaving Your House

MTailor is a company that allows men to order custom clothing, from shirts to slacks to suits, through a mobile app. But don't think this is just like any old online shopping experience. MTailor lets you customize your clothing by taking your measurements by you essentially filming a video of yourself spinning around in "form-fitting" clothing, as described by Sam Degremond for Town & Country. In case that sounds super-creepy to you (it does to me), the company says the video is permanently deleted after an expert reviews it, so that's a bit of a relief. MTailor uses that info to custom fit your clothing and then ships it to you, so you can look like a sharp-dressed man with just a few swipes on your smartphone.

It's Eerily Accurate

The robot apocalypse is coming, and tailors should beware. That's because MTailor claims its "process is scientifically proven to be 20% more accurate than a professional tailor," according to the company's website. I don't know how accurate that statement really is, but that Town & Country review of the product as well as reviews from BuzzFeed, Kinowear, and DailyTekk have all raved about the clothing received from MTailor, so it sounds like its tailoring may really be that spot on.

You Can Download It Now

Like what you're reading? Well, then you're in luck because you can download MTailor right now for iOS and Android devices for free. The company currently sells shirts (starting at $69), suits ($499), pants ($169), and blazers ($349), which all come with free domestic shipping. Admittedly, I don't know much about men's clothing, but these prices seem to be reasonable, especially considering the fact that they include custom tailoring.

It May Get Even Better

One of MTailor's goals is to deliver its wares at a rate that's comparable to Amazon Prime, i.e. two-day shipping, the company's CEO and co-founder Miles Penn told BuzzFeed News in an interview in October 2014. That aforementioned Town & Country review, which was published in March 2015, said it took about three weeks to receive the order from MTailor. With that and the fact that the clothing is made in China, this might be a lofty goal for the company, but it's also one that a little investment from a Shark could probably help with.

It's Already Gotten Some Help

However, MTailor might just be one of those companies that enters the Tank and doesn't really need the investment. The company got $2 million from Khosla Ventures in 2014 and was also backed by Y Combinator. All I can hope is that MTailor really is appearing on Shark Tank to get an investment and not just to get exposure, because you really can tell when that's the case.

The Founders Don't Have Fashion Backgrounds

Penn and Rafi Witten founded MTailor back in 2014. The two met as freshman studying math and computer science at Stanford University. Their backgrounds in machine learning and computer vision actually helped them create the technology for MTailor, Penn told San Francisco Racked in July 2014. However, the idea for the company came from a real-life situation when Penn's father told him he would never buy clothes online that he didn't already own or know would fit him. Luckily, for MTailor, I think that's a sentiment many people share.

Don't Confuse It With This Company

Strangely enough, there's another company out there with a very similar-sounding name called M-Tailor, which is based in Singapore and also lets users purchase custom-designed and tailor-made clothing online. However, with this company, you set up a meeting with a trained style consultant to measure you in person. No matter how close in name M-Tailor is, that's definitely not as convenient as what MTailor does.

Considering all of this, my hopes are definitely high for what MTailor will bring into the Tank.

Images: Michael Desmond/ABC; Giphy (2)