Shark Tank entrepreneurs have all kinds of ideas for a variety of products and services. We usually don’t hear about applicants to the Shark Tank, that is until today. The Amazing Zit Zapper was invented by entrepreneur Ray Skarbowski 40 years ago and he’s finally bringing it to market. I had the opportunity to chat with Ray recently; he had contacted me through the The Shark Tank Blog and he agreed to have a cyber sit down on Skype. Ray is a fan of the show and this site and he just applied to be on the Shark Tank via email last week.
The turnaround for being invited to audition for Shark Tank is a bit longer than a week, so Ray has not heard back from the producers yet. He’s no stranger to entrepreneurship either, Ray owned a van conversion shop in San Diego for seven years and he’s been in the window tinting business for the past 18 years. He recently suffered a serious rib injury that limited his ability to work at his window tinting business, so he’s spent his free time developing the Amazing Zit Zapper.
The original prototype for the Amazing Zit Zapper was invented when Ray was a teenager. He nicked one of his wife’s (then his high school sweetheart) spoons and made some holes in it to pop his own zits. Ray grew up and his skin cleared up, so the idea has been in the back of his mind all these years.
He recently acquired a provisional patent and is spending the next year trying to get funding to move the idea forward. He is going through the patent process and will seek a utility patent once the year is over. He has joined Edison Nation, the innovation platform used by Shark Tank entrepreneur Jared Joyce and endorsed by Daymond John. He says the folks at Edison Nation have helped him by walking him through the process of getting patent work done and referring him to appropriate manufacturers to get product samples made. Ray hopes to have about 25 prototypes within the next month or two.
Mr. Skarbowski isn’t waiting around for the sharks to come calling, he’s got licensing deals in the works that he hopes will move forward more rapidly once the prototypes are completed. He’s currently in negotiations with Clearasil and Proactive, two leading acne medication makers, to license the Amazing Zit Zapper. Whether those deals go through or not, he’s pushing onward to get his invention funded. “Plastic injection molds are very expensive,” he said, “so maybe the Shark Tank can help with that end of things.”
While his invention may sound a bit corny at first, 85 million plus US homes have at least one person with acne and the acne treatment market did well over $3 billion in sales in 2010; that’s a lot of zits to be zapped for sure! We here at the Shark Tank Blog will stay in touch with Ray as he moves forward in his quest to be on Shark Tank. Whether he makes it on the show or not, we certainly wish him the best in this venture. Good Luck Ray!
Entrepreneur, auteur, raconteur. Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A father of five who freelances in a variety of publications, Rob has a stable of websites including Shark Tank Blog, Hot Dog Stories, Rob Merlino.com and more.
Hello Rob:
Just wanted to touch base with you. I haven’t heard from you and hope all is well. Nothing else. I also submitted my prototype to the 2 top acne medication companies this week finally. Thanks Ray Skarbowski