MSOE alumnus Matt Mundt '14 will sink or swim at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30 when he pitches his highly reviewed Sleep Pod by Hug Sleep startup on the national televised Shark Tank program (ABC, CNBC).  

The former Harley Davidson and Apple product designer founded the start up as a side hustle in spring 2019 while working at Foxconn. Mundt, a life-long troubled sleeper who tried just about everything to get a good night’s rest, used his MSOE mechanical engineering degree and vast product design career experience to solve his sleep problems.  

His result was the Sleep Pod blanket (think adult baby swaddle) that uses the same science behind weighted blankets, but without any of the downsides of heat, size and weight, to help get a better night’s sleep. Like millions of others, Mundt was laid off at the start of the pandemic and since then has focused full time on Sleep Pod, which is manufactured right here in Milwaukee and has sold thousands of units.  

The Sleep Pod uses four-way stretch material to provide compression, applying gentle pressure that hugs that body. After dozens of positive reviews by media outlets including Fast Company, BuzzFeed, Yahoo! and more, producers from ABC’s Shark Tank approached Matt and his wife Angie Kupper, a mental health therapist, to pitch the start up. The couple taped their segment this summer, but we’ll have to wait until Friday night to find out if any of the Sharks invested and what’s next for Hug Sleep.   

Regardless of what happens, Mundt's not worried and he’s sleeping better than ever. He says, “The biggest thing MSOE taught me was how to problem solve. Without my MSOE education, I highly doubt I’d be where I am right now. It’s just been this incredible journey that I really have MSOE to thank for.”