Currently in its 10th season, Shark Tank gives entrepreneurs and inventors a chance pitch their products or idea to a panel of 5 investors (sharks) which includes Robert Herjavec, Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary and Lori Greiner, among others. While some entrepreneurs and inventors are new entrants, others are startups that have been in the field for quite some time but are unable to meet the financial demand for costs such as manufacturing, shipping, and so on. Some products were an epic fail while others have gone on to become quite successful.
Five of the most successful products since the series' inception are:
1. Scrub Daddy
According to CEO Magazine, Scrub Daddy is Shark Tank’s biggest success as more than 25 million products have been sold. Aaron Krause, a Philadelphia resident, came to Shark Tank in October 2012 and described a product that would seemingly make cleaning of utensils easier. The smiley-faced sponge would achieve this by changing its texture when immersed in water with different temperatures. Today, the company is worth more than $170 million and is likely to compete with cleaning products’ giants such as Lysol and Brillo.
2. Groovebook
This is an app that allows you to print up to 100 photos from your smartphone into a 4.5” by 6.5” photobook which is the mailed to you. The pitch was made by Whiteman and his wife Julie who were running a commercial print shop. Before appearing on the show, they still offered this product but struggled with the shipping fees. After several adjustments which saw them increase their subscriber base to around 18,000 people, the couple went to Shark Tank. In 2014, Groovebook sold to Shutterfly for $14.5 million.
3. Tipsy Elves
When corporate lawyer Nick Morton and former dentist Evan Mendelson went to Shark Tank in 2013, they were pursuing $100,000 and offering a 5% stake in Tipsy Elves, which is a goofy Christmas sweaters manufacturing company. Robert Herjavec agreed to fund the company — a move he claims is one of the best deals he’s ever made. Tipsy Elves has now sold over two million products and raked in over $70 million in sales.
4. Breathometer
The product was founded by Charles Yim in 2012. After presenting the Breathometer which gauged someone’s blood alcohol level through a mobile app, Yim received $1 million offers from the five sharks. Within no time, Yim was raking in millions of dollars in the product’s sales. However, it was flagged in 2017 by the Federal Trade Commission over accuracy issues. The company has now moved on from the Breathometer and focused its production efforts on Mint, an oral health sensor.
5. Bombas
Bombas founders David Heath and Randy Goldberg got the idea of coming up with a socks-manufacturing company from a Facebook post which claimed that homeless shelters were struggling to find socks. For every pair of sock they sold, an extra pair was donated to charity. Daymond John agreed to invest $200,000 in exchange of 17.5% equity a deal he admits is one of the top three he’s made throughout the show. Since appearing on the show, Bombas has had millions of dollars in sales. To date, the company has donated over 10 million pairs of socks to charity.
Shark Tank has given thousands of products a chance to go to the next level. This list only goes to show that there’s room for new ideas. Aspiring entrepreneurs do not have to reinvent the wheel as is evidenced by the Scrub Daddy, which is a simple product that has gone on to make millions of dollars in sales.
Do you have an idea? Contact Zewski Corp. to discuss how we can help!