Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

Just for a moment, imagine you’re like Jenny Hanna Goldfarb, creator of Unreal Deli vegan corned beef. You grew up in New York City in a family that owned several delis. Corned Beef was not only a family staple, it’s your favorite sandwich. Next you move to California and transition to a vegan diet. You […]

Terry Lin and Jiake Liu had complimentary skill sets when they teamed up to form Outer Furniture. They also had bold new ideas on how to sell it. Setting up an outdoor furniture business for some might be a daunting task, but these two had some advantages. Liu was a designer at Pottery Barn for […]

Aaron Hirschhorn started Gallant Pet because he loves his dog. We all do, and he wanted to make life easier for his elderly dog who was suffering from arthritis. Since Aaron had relief from chronic back pain from regenerative stem cell therapy, he knew it would work for his dog too. He had experience with […]

Lisa Nguyen was an accomplished woman well before she created Baubles n Soles, her line of interchangeable childrens shoes that she’s pitching in the Tank with her husband Duc and two kids. Nguyen is a former “Vietnamese Idol” who, as a result of her victory, hosted a series of TV shows in Viet Nam while […]

DogThreads let you and your pooch wear matching outfits. Yes, you read that right. Now, when you take your dog out and about, you can coordinate your wardrobe with your dog. That was the big idea Scott and Gina Davis had back in 2014. Scott wanted to have a matching Hawaiian shirt for he and […]

What else would an out of work financial analyst invent other than The Peanut Butter Pump? That’s what Andy Scherer did. He suddenly “had a lot of time on his hands” after getting let go from his position as a mergers and acquisitions specialist for a big financial firm. Andy likes peanut butter sandwiches, but […]

The Yard takes milkshakes to a whole new level. They make what’s come to be known online as Freak Shakes. The Freak Shake phenomena began a few years ago in Australia when somebody made an outrageous milkshake with ice cream, candy, cream, fudge sauce and more. They put it in a mason jar and snapped […]

Patrick Coddou started selling Supply Razors online as a side hustle while he was an international jet fighter salesman for Lockheed Martin. His interest in razors goes back to 2012 when he co-founded Brick Blades, a now defunct business with “the singular mission of developing the ultimate single blade shave.”  It was that business that […]

Dr. Sarath Malepati thinks EZ C Pak could be a solution to the expanding problem of “super bugs.” When people get a respiratory infection, cold, flu or a bacterial infection, doctors frequently prescribe antibiotics. The problem is, when you take too many antibiotics, the viruses and bacteria that they are supposed to kill develop immunity […]

Jason Thomas is the Pili Hunter. While that might sound like an intro to a new cable TV series, it’s actually his business. Pili Hunters is the latest keto, gluten free, paleo etc snack food out there and it’s all natural. Pili Nuts are the main ingredient in the Pili Hunter line, which includes roasted […]

13 year old Maddox Prichard hopes the Sharks invest in his Measuring Shovel when he pitches it in Shark Tank episode 1107. Like all successful inventors, Maddox saw a problem and sought to solve it. When he was ten years old, he was into gardening with his grandmother and mom. When ever they installed new […]

Jonothan DiPeri, Shaquille Walker and Jared Ward hope to massage the Sharks into investing in MyoStorm, their company that makes the Meteor Massage Ball, in Shark Tank episode 1103. Walker and DiPeri founded the business in early 2018. The pair met in England while working as missionaries prior to attending college. They always threw ideas […]

Golf Kicks creators Tyler Stuart and John Krosky wanted to wear their favorite sneakers on the golf course, but they didn’t have spikes on their sneakers. That led them to some experimentation and what would ultimately become Golf Kicks, the tool that turns any sneaker into golf shoes. When they got the idea, they tinkered […]

Nerd It Now founder Markevis Gideon was always a go-getter. He was that kid in his Wilmington, Delaware neighborhood who shoveled snow and sold candy door-to-door to make a buck when he was young. As he got older, he continued his entrepreneurial ways. In college he sold cars out of the Widener University student parking […]

Tailgate N Go is like a modern day chuck  wagon. Back in the days of cattle drives, there was always a cowboy cook who rode the chuck wagon. He kept all the food and food preparation items on it and cooked for the cowboys at the end of the day. In modern times, the chuck […]

While The Bug Bite Thing might not be the most imaginative name for a product appearing in the Tank, it does appropriately describe its purpose. It’s a thing, for bug bites. The funny thing about this thing is the entrepreneurs presenting the business, Ellen McAlister and Kelley Higney, didn’t even invent the thing. Higney moved […]

Tyler Jay always wanted to be a PlopStar, but he had “issues” when pooping anywhere but his own home. He got disconcerted by the odiferous residue his feculence would impart in the atmosphere of his unfamiliar commode. In other words, he got embarrassed when he stunk up someone else’s bathroom. He looked for a solution […]

Snack-lins were originally a joke. Co-creator Samy Kobrosly and a friend (who happens to be a chef) thought it would be hilarious to make a vegan pork cracklin (pork rind). After they finished laughing about it, they realized it actually was a very good idea. Over the next several months, they experimented in the kitchen […]

Swedes turned Californian entrepreneurs Mikael Soderlindh and Marc Lickfett hope to sharpen their pitch when they introduce KnifeAid, their mail-in knife sharpening service, in episode 1105. Both men have strong entrepreneurial backgrounds in a variety of digital spaces. They came together through a love of surfing (they purposefully located the company HQ in Malibu) and […]

Gabe and Jessica Miller didn’t have the problem they solved when they first envisioned the Squid Sock Company, Gabe’s cousin did. While visiting his cousin, Gabe and Jessica noticed their toddler son was constantly losing his socks. Whether he took them off or they fell off, the socks weren’t where they belonged most of the […]

When Brandon Davenport and Marcellus Alexander III first started a business back in 2007, they probably never envisioned pitching Baobab Polo Shirts on Shark Tank 12 years later. The two men co-founded a company called Vesta Mobile Solutions, LLC which provided mobile marketing solutions. They sold the company in 2010 and each of them embarked […]

Adelle Archer first got the idea for making diamonds from ashes after the loss of a very dear friend. The friend’s family gave Adelle some of her ashes to remember her by and Adelle wanted to memorialize her in a special way. She decided to send the ashes off to get turned into a diamond. […]

The Aira Charger wasn’t Eric Goodchild’s first venture into wireless technology.  He also runs Goodchild Engineering, a company that creates “musical Tesla coils, robotic instruments, and practical special effects.” In fact, he holds the Guinness World Record for making the most powerful Bi-Polar Tesla Coil. He almost seems like he’s more mad scientist than entrepreneur. […]

Energy drinks are an industry designed to give people a boost of energy, but they have caffeine and make you feel jittery. Oxygen is a natural energy booster, your body’s cells burn oxygen to work properly. If you have too little oxygen in your blood stream, you could suffer from hypoxemia, which occurs when levels […]

Circadian Optic Light Therapy Lamps were designed by entrepreneur Amber Leong to help maintain the body’s circadian rhythm. Light, particularly sun light, regulates our bodies sleep/wake cycle. Long, dark winter days – like those Ms. Leong experiences in her native Minneapolis, can leave people feeling sluggish. This is a result of an interrupted circadian rhythm. […]