After a few weeks on hiatus, Shark Tank is back 4/7/17 at 9pm EST on ABC. Each day this week I’ve given you the profile of the companies that are going to be featured. It’s tough to make predictions but of the four companies I profiled I think 3 realistically have a shot at getting an investment. It all depends on how their presentations go. However, the sharks are unpredictable so it’s a tough call. Speaking of unpredictable, the sharks are going to be dancing in the show’s return. You read that correctly. They will be dancing. We have previews of that below. Before we get to the dancing, let’s do a quick rundown of the contestants appearing:
Zavala started the business in 2015 with the goal of creating a “safe and fun alternative to hard snacks” for our four-legged friends. The company took off with a lot of solid search engine optimization and social media buzz. The company got its name from Zavala’s cat, Apollo, who disappeared for two years (presumably to learn wine making skills).
Apollo Peak isn’t alcoholic, it’s more like a tea for your pet. Ingredients include catnip and beet juice. With catchy names like “Pinot Meow” and “CharDOGnay,” they have a flavor for every pet. Prices range from five bucks for a 1.8 ounce tasting bottle to sixteen bucks for a 12 ounce bottle.
The product is available on the company website, Amazon, and at dozens of mom and pop pet stores around the USA. Zavala likely wants a Shark to help him get into big box retail. Will a Shark think this business is the cat’s meow?
Mylen Yamamoto wants to change all of that by making the common chopstick greener. She’s invented a product called Cropsticks. Cropsticks are made from sustainably harvested bamboo and each chopstick also includes a built-in holder attached to each pair. Yamamoto’s company Cropmade plans to make additional products. Cropsticks are only her first in an entire line of products she envisions the company having.
MacKugler got the idea for his product in 2012 while house sitting a friend’s 80 acre farm. He loved the fresh veggies he got while staying there, but didn’t think he had what it takes to start his own garden. When the idea for SeedSheet popped in his head, he designed the first prototype with his friend’s kid’s crayons.
As an architect, he knew about elements of design. Customers design their gardens online with the patent-pending garden-builder software. Enter your zip code, and the software gives suggestions for what grows best in your area. Once you design your garden, they put it together and ship it. MacKugler got the business going with a successful Kickstarter campaign back in the summer of 2015. He raised $30,664 and shipped over 250 ready-made gardens. Pre=designed kits start at $15, so it’s both cheap and easy to get started.
Rick Pescovitz invented his “soccer mom chair” with a tent attached product so that spectators could avoid the elements in the event of bad weather at outdoor games. The idea came to Rick when he was attending his son’s soccer tournament. The game was at 8am and featured freezing temperatures and cold rain. That same night the light bulb went off in his head and Under the Weather was born.
Under the Weather is a tent/chair combination (they’re called pods) that’s portable, but not cumbersome. It keeps you warm and dry in cold weather and offers sun protection in warm weather. In order to star the business, Rick cashed in his living savings. The business started off slow but has picked up steam. After he brought on his wife to help him with the business the business was shipping hundreds of units within weeks.
Here are a couple of preview clips to get you excited.
The Sharks got moves you’ve never seen… Check it out! ;) NEW #SharkTank back after few weeks hiatus on ABC tmrw night 9/8c! @ABCSharkTank pic.twitter.com/YCabNqjDxw
— Lori Greiner (@LoriGreiner) April 6, 2017
Welcome to Chopsticks 101 with Professor @kevinolearytv. #SharkTank is all-new TOMORROW! pic.twitter.com/hJvKCftv5O
— Shark Tank (@ABCSharkTank) April 6, 2017
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