Some people might consider snail mail subscription companies to be ancient history, which makes History By Mail somewhat ironic.
The business mails copies of historical documents — attempting to replicate the real documents' look, touch and feel — and a context page to subscribers, once per month. "It seems like the core value proposition is that we are a physical good, snail mail, in the digital era," founder Ari Siegel, 38, tells CNBC Make It. "That's why some people, so many people, find it novel."
History By Mail brought in more than $1 million in revenue in 2024, says Siegel, who launched his company in January 2019. The business is profitable, he added during Friday's episode of ABC's "Shark Tank."
On the show, Siegel said he got the idea while visiting the Library of Congress as a U.S. Senate intern. He saw a handwritten letter from Abraham Lincoln and, inspired by it, decided to replicate it for friends and family.
"Their eyes lit up. I thought, 'There's a business here,'" he said.
At first, Siegel sent subscribers documents — "interesting letters that touch on relevant historic themes, or that are written by or to historic figures," according to History By Mail's website — on a biweekly basis, but found he was overwhelming readers.
"A lot of feedback we got was, 'We love this, it's just too much,'" Siegel now says. "You [have] to take 15 or 20 minutes to sit down and really dig in to it. [Readers would say], 'We're busy.'"
History By Mail now has 10 full-time employees, and Siegel asked the "Shark Tank" investor judges for $250,000, in exchange for 10% of his company.
"You get to do what you love, and you're making a killing," Mark Cuban responded. "You don't really need our help to get to the next level."
Cuban and Lori Greiner declined to make investment offers. Kevin O'Leary and Daniel Lubetzky each offered Siegel $250,000 for 20% of History By Mail. When Siegel said he wanted help with his social media marketing, Barbara Corcoran jumped in — offering to join Lubetzky's offer, with each investor contributing $125,000 and receiving 10% of the company.
Both Lubetzky and Siegel agreed to the joint offer. After the show's filming, Siegel's business agreed to an investment deal with Lubetzky and his firm Camino Partners, according to a History By Mail spokesperson. Corcoran was not part of the deal, the spokesperson confirmed.
The "Shark Tank" effect was immediate, says Siegel. Daily sales surpassed the company's previous record day within an hour of the episode airing, notes the spokesperson. (The company didn't confirm any specific sales figures.)
"This was the best [sales] week we've ever had," Siegel says, adding: "The mission is to allow more people to have access to documents that already belong to them, just not in their hands. This is American history."
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."
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