Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

Twist it Up Comb inventor Noel Durity had to hit rock bottom before becoming a successful entrepreneur. At age 22, he dropped out of college and moved back in with his mom, penniless. He made it his goal to save $100,000 and he did it in just two and a half years. Since he didn’t […]

Carolyn Shewfelt and Juls Bindi, partners in ZugoPet, were drawn into business together out of their love for dogs. Bindi is a life-long animal lover who volunteers at many different animal shelters while balancing her career as a physical therapist to Hollywood stars and now, entrepreneur. Shewfelt was a dog lover living in Idaho who […]

Zahra Kassam started Monti Kids to bring Montessori Education into homes with young children from 0-3 years of age. As a new mom and former early childhood education teacher, she quickly found that there weren’t a lot of quality educational toys for her to present to her own kids. With a Masters of Education from […]

Brice Baillie, an immigrant from France, created Obvious Wine to “take the snobbery” out of buying wine. The French educated MBA did a four-year stint at Price Waterhouse in Paris before moving to New York and up the corporate ladder at cosmetics giant L’Oréal. When he relocated to the Los Angeles area in 2014 and […]

Iskra Tsenkova wants the Angel Shave Club to be for women what to be what the Dollar Shave Club was for men. In 2011, Dollar Shave Club disrupted the $13 Billion razor industry by offering quality razor blades at a lower price on a monthly subscription basis. Gillette, the world’s leading disposable razor manufacturer (and […]

Husband and wife “catrepreneurs” Rusty Niedwick and Nikki Linn made their first Kitty Kasa out of necessity. Linn is a cat lover extraordinaire who left the radio business after divorcing her first husband. She got out of the radio business and opened a cat shelter. For twenty years, Linn’s shelter – the ARNI Foundation – operated in […]

Meredith Jurica and her Makeup Junkie Bags are yet another successful product for women to appear in Shark Tank episode 1010. Jurica, a speech pathologist turned entrepreneur, is a makeup junkie. She hated the makeup bags that were available to her because they weren’t easy to clean and literally wouldn’t stand up to the demands […]

Whitney Lundeen created Sonnet James “play dresses” so she could look fashionable while rough-housing with her two young boys. She freely admits “playing with my sons was not something that came naturally to me.” The former interior designer found herself divorced and in need of a job after the birth of her second son. Rather […]

Adam Butlein and Chid Liberty want to provide school uniforms for African children while outfitting Americans with chic urban wear. Their company, Uniform, uses Liberian women as their labor force. Liberty, a native of Liberia who immigrated to the USA at a young age, is committed to helping people in his native land. He, along […]

Cousins Brandon Karam and Jessica Karam Oley, creators of Pristine Cleansing Sprays, had something in common before going into business together. Besides being related, they’re both attorneys and they both used a lot of wipes. Jessica used them on her kids and Brandon used them on himself. The problem with regular wipes is twofold: they contain […]

Sean and Jared Bingham have over 150 Adventure Hunts planned for 2019. What are Adventure Hunts you ask? They’re a combination of Amazing Race-like tasks and a real treasure hunt. The two brothers started organizing these events a few years ago and they had tremendous success. You can go on Adventure Hunts in the USA, […]

Daniel Lentz, creator of Aqua Paw, loves his dogs. He’s had dogs his whole life and, while he enjoys their company, he knows caring for them is quite a chore sometimes. This is never more evident than at bath time.  Bathing a dog is a frenetic, messy and sometimes stressful activity – for dog and […]

Tammy Rant got tired of her back hurting from carrying her two kids, that’s why she invented Tush Baby. The software sales executive wanted a baby carrier that didn’t hurt her back but also kept baby comfortable. Doctors love the product because it distributes baby’s weight on mom’s hips while keeping baby in the ergonomic, […]

Paul Toback and Steve Lenz think their new fitness center concept – Sproing – is the next big thing in cardio fitness. They hope the Sharks think so too when they pitch Sproing in episode 1008. If you ever go to the gym, you see a LOT of treadmills. It’s probably the most popular piece […]

Alyssa and Zachary Brown named their product, Moki Door Step, after the “moki steps” carved into the cliffs by the cliff-dwelling Pueblo people. They used small steps to scale the cliffs where they made their homes. While the Browns don’t live in a cliff, they do lots of skiing,  biking and kayaking. That means putting […]

Max Feber, a high school student from West Bloomfield, Michigan, wants to brew up some interest from the Sharks for Bruw, his cold brew coffee-making “system.” It’s actually a very simple item. Cold brew coffee doesn’t brew like hot coffee. The grounds basically soak in cold water overnight. The method makes coffee smoother and less […]

Summer Pierce, Billy Pierce and Kayla Roof  created the Pop-It-Pal because they have a “unique obsession,” they like to pop zits! They hope the Sharks get a kick out of their hot-selling novelty item that some are calling the next fidget spinner when they present it in episode 1005. The Pop-It-Pal is a small, rectangular […]

Stephen and Allison Ellsworth want the Sharks to drink up and invest in Mother Beverage, their line of apple cider vinegar based drinks in Shark Tank episode 1005. The “mother” in Mother Beverage pays homage to what’s known as the mother of a bottle of vinegar. It’s the sludge like blob at the bottom of […]

Bolly X creator Shahil Patel first performed Bollywood inspired dance routines on America’s Got Talent back in 2009. He didn’t win, but he made it to the finals. That was the start of an interesting journey that brought him from California to Boston and made Bolly X what it is today. Bolly X is an […]

Mitch Allen and dozens of Santa Claus characters join the Shark Tank cast as Allen pitches his Hire a Santa employment agency in the Shark Tank Holiday Special. Allen is a professional Santa who has developed a large, world-wide database of people who dress as Santa for the Christmas season. All his Santas are vetted […]

When Arik Nordby and Ryan Walther pitch RynArik on Shark Tank, they’ll be pulling a prank. RynArik is a name they made up for the show to pitch Prank-O, their hilarious gift boxes. Each box has a gag “product” on its cover. They look like plausible, but very off the wall “as seen on TV” type […]

Before opening Oat Meals, Samantha Stephens was a successful investment banker. She first fell in love with oatmeal while getting her education in finance. Like a lot of freshmen in college, she put on the “freshman fifteen,” though she claims it was closer to thirty pounds. This made her turn to oatmeal, the perfect college […]

Ski Z inventor Kyle Allen and his business partner Nick Palmero want to roll into the Tank and get an investment from a Shark for Christmas. They’ll pitch their product – a wheeled ski tote – in the Shark Tank Holiday Special Sunday night. Apparently a skiing related product helps folks envision the winter wonderland […]