Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

Michael Malkin invented The Calm Strip as a fidget device. When he got stressed at work, he’d frantically drum his fingers to relieve the stress. When someone suggested putting tape on his fingers and rub them together, it worked. The tactile sensation of the roughness of the tape soothed his tension, but it made his […]

Daniel Sheppard and Andrew Martin invented The Kettle Gryp to save space and money. If you ever worked out with free weights, you know about the difference between dumb bells and kettle bells. Kettle bells are usually round weights with a handle on top. The handle places the weight over the weight which allows you […]

Chet Beiler didn’t invent Over EZ Chicken Coops, he just bought the company in 2020. He’s an Amish gentleman from Lancaster County Pennsylvania. He bought the business from some former fellow Lancaster County men who were running the business in Colorado. Beiler is no stranger to selling wooden products. He operates the one of largest […]

Mark Apelt and Mark Lareau first got the idea for Blowzee in January, 2020. They were attending a child’s birthday party and the guest of honor wasn’t feeling well. The kid was coughing and congested. When the time came to blow out the candles, he blew spit and snot onto the cake. Needless to say, […]

Tristen Ikaika Rings are the brainchild of Tristen Amal Ikaikamaikai’ikaneokalani Persons. He started making them when he was 12. When started the business in 2017, he amassed an almost cult-like social media following. He started on Instagram taking photos of his travels around the world. Now, when he travels, he searches for the raw materials […]

Leila Shams created TA3 Swim out of anxiety. Before going on a beach vacation, she’d feel pressure to diet so she’d look good in a swimsuit. It took the joy out of vacationing for her. She was so concerned about it, she had liposuction. While recovering from the surgery, she had to wear a surgical […]

Tania Speaks started her organic skincare brand because she was getting bullied at school. She had very bushy eyebrows and her schoolmates were relentless in teasing her about them. She’d come home crying and begging for her mom’s help. Her mom simply told her to be proud of herself. One day, Tania was so upset, […]

Dr. Ali Seifi invented Hicc Away to solve a very common problem: curing the hiccups. There are lots of home remedies like holding your breath or drinking a glass of water with your nose plugged, but they don’t always work. He first became concerned about curing hiccups as an anesthesiologist 20 years ago. He noticed […]

Raquel Graham started Roq Innovations because her kids wouldn’t wear their scarves in the winter. She sewed together what looks like a plush buff and a business was born. That product is called Nekz and she eventually brought it to the Home Shopping Network where they sold out in about an hour. That led her […]

Justin Clark, one of the co-founders of RomperJack is a pretty savvy business man. His LinkedIn profile lists five businesses he’s involved with. His biggest business is Whiz Tutor, an app that matches students with local tutors. It’s a very successful business, but things slow down in the summer when school’s out. Back in the […]

Trevor Lambert and John Vadnais hope to clean up in the Shark Tank with Va-Broom, their broom with a mini vacuum attachment, in Shark Tank episode 1309. The guys have a lot of experience bringing products to market. Trevor and John are principles at Enhanced Innovations, a company that is “a manufacturer and distributor of […]

Mollie Cha and Hannah Hong created Must Love Ice cream because they both developed lactose intolerance in their twenties. To be fair, it’s not really ice cream, they call it “nice cream.” It’s made from pureed bananas. They started making it in 2016 and the first few batches were not that good. The bananas froze […]

Brian Yennie and Earl Cole introduce the Sharks to their Smart Tire Company, a pre-revenue business that makes tires that need no air, won’t puncture and will last far longer than regular rubber tires. The “Smart” in Smart Tire stands for “Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology.” The secret is NASA technology. They were inspired by […]

Manuel Godoy created Black Sands Entertainment to bot entertain and serve a cultural purpose. In his own words: “our business specializes in developing comics, novels, and books focusing on history before slavery for African-American audiences.” He feels the entertainment industry has hijacked the African American experience and its narrative is not indicative of what African […]

Kevin Choi and Evan Cho created Snactiv, their finger chopsticks, to keep their hands clean while snacking and working or gaming. Computers, gaming consoles and things like potato chips don’t go well together. When your hands get greasy, you can’t touch the keyboard or console without wiping them off well. This caused the guys to […]

Entrepreneurial couple Keithan and Quiante Hendrick pitch Meet Candi, their platform that lets fans live chat with celebrities, in Shark Tank episode 1312. They got the idea for the platform from an app called Cameo where celebrities create personalized videos for fans. They thought if videos would sell, live chats would too. With no entertainment […]

Hans Dose got the inspiration for the Tenikle Tripod from two things: a busted phone and an octopus. His phone broke on some rocks while trying to balance it for a photo. On the way home, he looked at his cumbersome, suction cup mounted phone holder in his car and he thought of an octopus. […]

Nezar Akeel created his MaxPro portable gym after designing things for other companies for years. He wanted a portable gym with a “minimalist design theme” that would offer all the workouts you can get in a gym and still fit in a back pack. In 2019, after four years in development, he got the business […]

Olivia Bowser created Liberate Studio, her mental fitness studio, to make working on her own anxiety  easier. Bowser was going to all kinds of exercise classes to relieve stress but it  wasn’t working for her, so she tried one of the many meditation apps out there. While the apps helped, she thought there was something […]

Renee Heath and Bechara Jaoudeh invented Banana Loca, their banana gadget that straightens and fills bananas, because they were reminiscing about eating bananas and Nutella. Bechara loved that combo as a kid and Renee said her nieces and nephews liked bananas and peanut butter. The friends liked checking out cool gadgets at trade shows and […]

Chris and Elisa Cirri created Santa’s Enchanted Mailbox from a family tradition. Their son, who was four at the time, would put pictures to send to Santa in a “magical” mailbox they made out of cardboard. Elisa would distract him while Chris snuck the pictures out of the box. Then, they’d open the box and […]

The Navqi family graces the Shark Tank for a second time when they pitch Mik’al and Ayaan’s new invention, the Ornament Anchor. The family appeared in season 10 seeking a partner for KudoBanz, a “positive parenting” tool that had low lifetime sales when they pitched it. While the product, valuation and sales figures didn’t impress […]

Wendy Hoffmeister started Wendy’s Gnome Shop as a lark. She thought her designs were cute, so she decorated her house with them. Soon, friends and family were asking her to make them, so in 2019 she set up an Etsy shop to sell them. Soon a real website and social media accounts followed. By April, […]

Tommy Holl, aka The Real Elf, took an off hand comment from a friend and turned it into a Christmas themed business. His friend told him he looked like the “Elf on a Shelf,” so Tommy went out and got an elf suit to take a picture for a Christmas card. Now, people all over […]