Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

Brian and Michael Speciale hope to start their business in the Tank when they pitch The Comfy, their sweatshirt/blanket, in the Shark Tank Holiday Special – episode 910. Their product, a humongous hooded, fleece-lined sweatshirt that doubles as a blanket, isn’t even in production yet. They’ll be pitching a prototype when they enter the Shark […]

Rok Blok inventor Logan Riley hopes to resurrect the golden age of vinyl when he pitches his portable record player in Shark Tank’s Holiday themed episode 910. Unlike record players of old, Rok Blok is smaller than the records it plays. Essentially, it’s a block that rides around on top of a record. Simply lay […]

Modern Christmas Trees were originally envisioned by Lawrence “Bud” Stoecker, the grand father of Matt Bliss. Matt enters the Shark Tank in the Shark Tank Holiday Special to pitch his version of the product. Sadly, Mr. Stoecker died in 2012 from Alzheimers, which inspired Mr. Bliss to market Modern Christmas Trees to the world. Mr. […]

Christmas Tree Hugger inventor Ryan Kenny always took Christmas very seriously. As a child, he wanted his trees to look perfect so Santa would be impressed. He even went so far as to sleep under the Christmas tree after decorating it! As an adult, Ryan’s fascination with Christmas trees turned to consternation. When he and […]

When most people think of oatmeal, they don’t envision what Mush oatmeal is. The creation of Ashley Thompson and  Katherine Thomas isn’t your father’s (or mother’s) oatmeal. Most people think warm, comforting mush when they think of the ubiquitous breakfast staple. Nobody thinks of oatmeal as an “on the go” breakfast; it’s meant to be enjoyed […]

Julia Cheek created Everly Well home health test kits to take the hassle out of getting lab work done and to put more choice in the hands of consumers. If you ever had blood work done, you know you make an appointment with a doctor or lab who draws the blood. Then they ship it […]

Vincent Zaldivar likes coconut water so much, he invented a tool, called CocoTaps, that turns a fresh coconut into its own bottle of coconut water. His patented kit includes a drill that makes a hole in the coconut and two bottle-top-looking caps that twist in. The caps can be re-sealed, so you can tote your […]

Brendan Alper created the Hater app to help people connect. Most dating apps work on matching people by what they like in common. The Hater app does the opposite: it connects people based on what they hate. Hater doesn’t condone hate, in fact hate speech and anything most people consider hateful isn’t allowed on the […]

Kelly Oriard and Callie Christensen created Slumber Kins to help kids. The two “momtrepreneurs” merged therapeutic techniques with their line of cuddly toys to help young children deal with different anxieties and childhood fears. They know what they’re talking about, too. Kelly has a Master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and School Counseling and worked […]

Reely Hooked Fish Dip is the creation of Steven Markley and James Arcaro, two Florida fishermen and wild lands firefighters. They, like many Floridians, like their smoked fish dip. They like it so much, they want to make and sell their own brand. Smoked fish dip is a Florida favorite made from king mackerel; they […]

Alexander Simone hopes he has more success pitching Pronto Bev to the Sharks than he did when he first “invented” it. When he was a frat boy back in 2013, he wanted to sip some wine with a young lady in his frat house. Unfortunately, all he had was warm white wine. He wanted to […]

Cut Buddy inventor Joshua Esnard made the first version of his hot selling home hair cut tool when he was 13 years old. It seems his dad was doing such a bad job on his hair cuts, Joshua wanted to take matters into his own hands. At first, he didn’t do so well cutting his […]

The Robin Robotic Lawn Mower wants to change the face of lawn services everywhere. People spend billions on lawn care – mostly on a crew of guys to come in and cut the grass with gas powered mowers. Robin is an electric mower that cuts the grass without any human help at all. Picture a […]

Gryp Mat inventor Tom Burden simply got tired of dropping his tools while working on airplanes and jets. As an Air Force jet mechanic, he often had various ratchets, wrenches and other tools lying out while working. Jets don’t have many flat surfaces to rest tools on and it became a pain in his neck. He […]

Oliver Noel’s DNASimple hopes to capitalize on the growing market for DNA data and he hopes to bring a Shark along for the ride. Companies like 23 and Me and others sprung up over the last few years to let people learn more about their ancestral DNA. They charge anywhere from $49-$200 for a home DNA […]

BrilliantPad creator Alan Cook is a talented entrepreneur. He not only invented the device, but he got it funded on IndieGoGo AND delivered his promised product on time. That’s an unfortunately rare occurrence these days, but he did it. He got his concept built with over $110,000 in backing. The BrilliantPad is “The World’s First Self-Cleaning […]

Krista Woods invented Glove Stix because she got tired of being invited to a “stink party.” Her son plays lacrosse and his gloves got so sweaty, they literally stunk the family to the point of nausea. When Woods went searching for a solution, she found none. Of course this “momtrepreneur” decided she’d create her own. […]

Hoop Maps is the second app appearing in Shark Tank episode 914. It’s designed to let users find a local pick-up basketball game in their community. Say you and some friends want to find a game, simply check the app and find one. Sign in and say you’ll be there and go – it’s that […]

Husband and wife team Dr. Hector Rodriguez and Maria Luna found it frustrating when they wanted to tip or pay a service provider and didn’t have cash. As we move to a more cashless society, it’s getting more difficult to pay for things when there’s no credit card machine available.  It turns out, there’s an […]

Amy and Michael Perry got so sick of wrestling their kids while changing diapers, they invented Snoofy Bee. The reason they wrestled their kids is the kids were sticking their hands in the nether regions during diaper changes and getting poop all over their hands. That necessitated a second clean up. With five kids, that […]

Jenni-Lyn Williams created Snarky Teas after she was inspired by her daughter to start a business. As an MBA grad from Villanova University, she certainly has the skill set. Becoming a “Chief Snark Officer” probably isn’t on the minds of most MBA grads, but Jenni-Lyn has a heck of a lot of Snarkiness that she […]

Jennifer Paschall and Gita Vasseghi tout No Mo Stache as a simple, portable solution to a hairy problem. Their product is a portable wax treatment that removes upper lip hair in the same manner as more time-consuming and expensive salon wax treatments. Their other product, No Mo Bush, removes unwanted hair from the bikini line […]

If you like to fall asleep to music, Dream Pad makes it easier. It’s a high-tech pillow that lets you play music through your smart phone and turns your pillow into a speaker that literally puts the music inside your head. You hear the music through vibrations in the pillow and the sound waves stimulate […]

When you have five daughters with long hair, you need a DrainWig. Hair tends to clog up the bathroom shower drains; the more hair, the more frequent the clogs. Jennifer and Gifford Briggs had this problem and got sick and tired of not only clearing the drain, but handling the yucky sludge hair clogs create. That’s […]