Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

The Little Burro is one of those inventions that is born out of necessity and, when it comes to fruition, it really takes off. Bob Thorsen, a successful construction company operator, invented the Little Burro so his wife wouldn’t have to make a lot of trips to the gardening shed while gardening on their property. […]

Ladonte Lotts was a dancer and entertainer long before he started Jig Aerobics, his dance/fitness program that he’s pitching in the Shark Tank. As a child, he took dance lessons from a very young age. When he got older and went off to college, he was a drum major at Southern University and A&M College […]

Emily Strauss got her education in the fine arts, which certainly helped her with Mural Painter Inc. She’ll be pitching this unique business to the Sharks in episode 1121. She graduated and started her entrepreneurial career with Design Center NYC – the company that eventually became Mural Painter Inc.  She also runs Vandalize Apparel, a […]

Holly Cooper is a foodie and she brings her skills to the Shark Tank to pitch her “secret sauce” she serves on her food trailer called Fried Green Tomatoes. Her previous food businesses included running a place called the Blue Goose Café and managing and operating The Hermitage House Smorgasbord. In 2012, she joined the […]

David Scharfman decided to resurrect Just the Cheese, his family run cheese bar company, back in 2017. His family owns a cheese business and when David was younger, he came up with an idea for a new product. When making a grilled cheese sandwich, David always liked when the cheese burnt crispy. He literally wanted […]

Kent Yoshimura and Ryan Chen, the founders of Neuro Gum, are old college buddies who share a passion for fitness, wellness and athletics. Kent does Muay Thai boxing and Judo. Ryan is a Kendo black belt and trained with the US Paralympic team. Both men led busy college lives what with studies and athletics. They […]

Shannon Valko and Sarah McDermott know a mess when they see one, so they created Seriously Slime to have a neat way to play with the gooiest of kids’ crafts. Slime first came on the scene in 1978 when Mattel packed it in a can and sold it. Since then, it’s become an iconic rite […]

Jana McDaniel and Jessica Jacobs are sisters who, along with Jana’s husband Zac, pitch the Sharks on First Saturday Lime, an all natural insect repellent. Jana and Jessica grew up on a farm and their father had a lime business too. They always knew lime was a good insect repellent. It dries out the insects’ […]

Phil Black becomes one of only a handful of entrepreneurs to appear a second time in the Shark Tank when he pitches Prepwell Academy, his college admissions guidance “school.” We first saw Phil in season 5 when he pitched FitDeck. He sold that company in 2014 and began working on PrepWell shortly thereafter. The impetus […]

Ryan Cruz, Eric Cruz and Kevin Zamora always knew they wanted to invent something, they just didn’t know Muvez 3 AMs would be what they ended up with. The guys literally sat around in their garage brainstorming ideas for new footwear. When they came up with the concept for their slipper/sneaker hybrid shoes, they made […]

If you have a duvet, duvet covers are a necessity. They keep the duvet from getting soiled. It’s just like a giant pillowcase, but for your comforter. Duvets are warm and snuggly on a chilly night, but Beddley inventor Lola Ogden wanted her duvet covers to be beautiful and easy to use. She’s even been […]

Bad Birdy is not your grandpa’s golf shirt. The bold, bright colors and patterns are unlike any other golf shirt on the market. Entrepreneur Jason Richardson designed them that way. Jason’s been golfing since he was 12 when he worked as a caddy at his local country club. He’s been in love with the game […]

If anyone can make a fast casual, fresh pasta restaurant a success, it’s brandon Fay. He’s a well known New York City TV Chef and he ran The Trattoria Dell’Arte, one of NYC’s most successful Italian restaurants, for nearly 18 years. His latest venture, Pasta by Hudson, takes fine Italian cuisine and puts it in […]

Katey Evans started The Frozen Farmer, her line of “farm fresh” ice cream, to solve a problem. Her husband’s third generation family farm, Evans Farms, grows produce to sell at their own produce market and other markets and restaurants. The problem is roughly 20% of the produce they grow, they can’t sell because it isn’t […]

Linsey Fuller and Lili Yeo are the two moms behind Goumi Kids (pronounced GO ME), a ten year old kids clothing company that enters the Shark Tank in episode 1116. They named the company after the goumi berry, the fruit of a tree that’s “able to thrive in all kinds of conditions.” The two moms […]

Joe Balistreri invented The Critter Pricker to protect people from the sneakiest break-in artists in the world: raccoons. He likes animals, but as a pest control professional, he knows they can pose threats and become a nuisance to people. Joe’s had his own pest control business in Florida since 2010 and he now has Critter […]

The Safety Nailer was invented by Navy Veteran Daniel Eifes in 2012 after he was medically discharged. If you’ve ever whacked your thumb with a hammer, you will want this product. It’s a small plastic “bumper” that holds a nail securely in position and protects you from painful “errant strikes.” It took Daniel, and his […]

Bohana is a word mash of botanical and makhana – the latter being the Hindi word for water lily seeds. When water lily seeds are put over high heat, they pop into a puff like popcorn. Unlike popcorn, Bohana has 67 percent less fat, 20 percent less calories and 50 percent more protein. The puffs […]

Krystal Persaud started Group Hug, her company that makes “personal solar panels,” out of curiosity more than anything else. She was searching for a business to start, and the only criteria she had was it was a sustainable product. Persaud is a design engineer by profession and she used the processes she learned in that […]

David Sodemann and Brett Ellenson unknowingly started Boho Camper Vans when David returned from a trip to Maui with company co-founder Sarina Gomez. The couple rented a custom camper van to explore the island and they wanted one of their own, so they built one. To help pay for it, they offered it for rent […]

Brothers Andy and Eric Bert unveil their Bertello Pizza Oven with the hope a Shark will help them bring it to the masses. The Berts began designing portable, outdoor pizza ovens a couple of years ago. A pizza oven is supposed to get to a 900 degree temperature to give the crust that crispy exterior […]

Like all great ideas, Ashi Jelinek came up with the idea for Kids Luv at a youth soccer game. She noticed parents watering down sugary juices to refresh their kids between quarters. That caused her to take a close look at the kinds of drinks she was giving her own kids. She didn’t like what […]

Krissy Pruske and Rachel Lincoln invented The Space Traveler to make traveling with kids easier. Picture a road trip with 2 (or 3 or 4…) kids in the back. Invariably, there will be bickering. This can be an aggravating time for parents who have to not only keep their eyes on the road, but also […]

When Bunim Laskin saw his neighbor’s new swimming pool at age 14, little did he know it would become a business. He asked the neighbor if he could use her pool. She agreed if he’d help with 25% of the maintenance costs. He agreed, and he was impressed that the neighbor made the same deal […]

The inspiration for Pair Eye Wear came from co-founder Nathan Kondamuri’s experiences wearing eye glasses as a child. He was a little scared by the prospect and bored by the styles offered at the time. Nathan and Pair co-founder Sophia Edelstein met while attending Stanford. Nathan was a mechanical engineering student and Sophia studied biology. […]