Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

Michael Sweigart invented the Fur Zapper by accident. He was dabbling in special effects make up as a hobby and he dropped some of the “zombie face foam” on the floor. When he picked it up, it was loaded with pet hair. After seeing how easily it rinsed clean, the wheels started turning. Michael worked […]

Melissa Clayton invented the Matte to solve a problem. The mom of three boys hated putting her hair dryer and makeup on her toilet while getting all gussied up in her small bathroom. She needed more counter space around her bathroom sink but that wasn’t happening. So she created a small – about the size […]

Cheese Chopper inventor Tate Koenig likes his cheese so much, he calls himself “Mr. Cheese.” He eats a lot of cheese, so he found it to be expensive. The best way to save money on cheese is to buy it in big blocks, that way you aren’t paying for a lot of processing and packaging. […]

Ophthalmologist and entrepreneur Dr. Anika Goodwin created OpulenceMD Beauty to protect women’s eyes from harmful glues associated with other commercially available false eyelashes. The lashes available on the market contain cyanoacrylate –  an ingredient in Crazy Glue! This glue tends to rip out your real lashes and causes allergic reactions for many. Dr. Goodwin wanted […]

Step N Pull inventors Mike Sewell, Ron Ely and Kelly Coddington never imagined what would happen to their business in 2020. The three men, friends since the 1990’s, invented the product when Ron brought the idea up in 2007. He noticed people at his workplace using paper towels to open the swinging bathroom doors, often […]

Merrick Maxfield invented The Probiotic Maker to save money. He, his wife and their 8 kids all love yogurt and they were burning through 32 cups every couple of days. It was an expensive snack habit. They tried commercially available yogurt machines, but they were very slow and hard to clean. He wanted a better, […]

The Phoozy came about with a collaboration between a race car driver, a corporate executive and some rocket scientists. After missing an important call due to an overheated phone while boating, NASCAR driver Kevin Conway went searching for a product that would act like a koozy for his phone. When he couldn’t find one, he […]

Dyno Safe inventor Rebecca Romanucci created this product and the software behind it to “own the porch.” The Dyno Safe is a large , lockable safe for deliveries that sits on your front porch. Simply send a code to the delivery driver and they can unlock the safe, place your package inside and lock it […]

Bunch Bikes CEO Aaron Powell got the entrepreneurial itch when his daughter was born. He wanted the flexibility to “put his family first, so he quit his job as a high school band teacher and started selling jewelry online. Within a year, the site was earning him twice his teacher’s salary. He booked a family […]

Hairy Grabster creator Patty Watne has one word for hair in the shower: GROSS! Patty and her husband, Andy, pitch their gadget in the Tank in episode 1219. They first thought about making the product when their bathroom flooded due to a hair clog in the shower. Over a period of two years, they tinkered […]

Mad Rabbit Tattoo co-founders Oliver Zak and Selom Agbitor knew they wanted to start their own business, they just weren’t sure what it would be. The guys met as freshmen in college and became fast friends. A few months before graduating in 2019, they started Mad Rabbit. The inspiration for their first product, their tattoo […]

Joe Savino and Ari Tolwin invented the Nu Milk almond milk machine to give consumers fresher almond milk and cut down on waste in the food supply chain. Consumers choose their ingredients, push a button, and have almond milk in thirty seconds that’s more nutritious than packaged almond milk. Almonds are high in vitamin E, […]

Lindsey Fleischauer invented Tote Babies to make shopping with her infant easier. When you put a baby seat in a shopping cart, there isn’t much room left for groceries – unless you bury your kid. With Totes Babies, the car seat is suspended so you can put groceries underneath it. Lindsey made the first Tote […]

For the Clark family, Tandem Boogie Boards is a true family affair. Manya and John Clark and their daughters Alleanna, Juliette and Lyla all enjoy various water sports and the California beach lifestyle. The San Clemente family made a business out of one of their passions: boogie boarding. For those unfamiliar with this, it’s like […]

Chase Mitchel and Brian Bloch invented Chill System Coolers to cool your room temperature drinks without the use of ice. Instead of ice, they’ve built freezing gel right into the cooler itself. Coupled with one of their packs or totes, you can carry around enough beverages for a day on the go. With the pack […]

Misfit Food creator Phil Wong knows a plant based diet is better for our planet. He also knows most people aren’t ready to take the full on plunge into a vegetarian lifestyle, so he created products that take you half way there. For instance, their sausages are 50% vegetables and 50% humanely raised chicken. Their […]

Jared Cannon first created his Simply Good Jars as a way for him to get a healthy meal while working full time and going to night school for his MBA. Cannon was a chef in some of Philadelphia’s best restaurants for 18 years before he took the leap and started this business in 2017. The […]

Pinch Me Therapy Dough creator Nancy Rothner knows exposing senses to different smells colors and textures helps you relax. That’s why she designed her therapy dough to stimulate all three senses.  The putty is fun to fidget with and the calming colors and aromatic infusion centers your focus and helps you relax. Nancy would know, […]

Taylor Ness and Garret Lamp created The Muff Wader because they love the outdoors and drinking. The envisioned overalls with a built in cooler, bottle opener, beer holder and special pockets for storing booze and other items. So they made a prototype, failed at a Kickstarter, then started the business anyway back in 2018. In […]

BusyBaby inventor Beth Fynbo got sick of “playing fetch” with her baby, that’s whys she invented the product. Babies love throwing things from their high chairs to the floor. When they do this, whatever they throw gets dirt and germs on it. Not to mention it gets old quickly. Busy Baby is an elegant solution […]

Lisa Baronoff invented WalkeePaws to protect her dogs’ paws from road salts during winter time. Road salt seriously irritates paws to the point of them splitting and dogs can ingest toxins if they lick their paws after exposure to road salt. The only solutions are to thoroughly wash your dog’s paws after exposure to road […]

Hop Scotch co-founder Samantha John started her business with educator Jocelyn Leavitt in 2013. They wanted a way to get more girls interested in programming and engineering. She was 26 at the time. The original app was designed to teach kids ages 8-12 to code using visual programming language for touch screen devices like the […]

Looking at this picture, you wouldn’t think those were vegan burgers stacked up there. They look like real, juicy burgers and that’s what Jumoke Jackson, Danita Gassen and Duane Cheers cook up every day at Everything Legendary, their vegan café and now ecommerce vegan burgers purveyor. They initially opened in Washington, D.C. in 2019 with […]

Judy Schott and Nita Gassen originally invented The Better Bedder as a device to make bunk beds easier. It really didn’t help, but they discovered it could do a lot of  cool things for regular beds – one of the biggies is it holds your sheets in place. Picture a giant headband that goes around […]