Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

Beards are still in and guys with beards who have significant others will want a beard bib by Beard King in their tonsorial repertoire. Nicholas Galekovic rocks the close-cropped, full beard (not the full-on shaggy “hipster style”), so he obviously trims regularly. Anyone with a beard (or who lives with someone who has one) knows this […]

We have smart homes, smart cars, smart phones, even smart beds – why not a smart changing pad? With the ever-increasing ubiquity of automated, app-enabled devices, it was just a matter of time before baby products started having smart features. Baby monitors have been around for two decades and now Hatch Baby is stepping things […]

Scholarship crowdfunding seems like a very good idea, especially when people crowdfund everything from business start-ups to honeymoons to funerals. I am actually surprised nobody has implemented it already. Tasha and Antonio Adams hope the Sharks will like their ahead-of-the-curve thinking when they pitch Village Scholarships, their scholarship crowdfunding concept, in Shark Tank episode 707. […]

David Hegarty brings a little bit of social justice combined with entrepreneurship when he pitches his traffic ticket app, Fixed, in a tech-heavy episode 707. Hegarty sounds more like a legal clinic advocate than a businessman when he discusses the mission for his company, but that passion is what makes the business so successful. Hegarty […]

Lindsey Laurain created the Happy Mat for one simple reason: toddlers are complete slobs! Anyone who ever had to feed a 1-4 year old knows sometimes more than half the food on the plate ends up somewhere other than the child’s mouth. She hopes the Sharks see how useful the product is when she pitches […]

When I was searching for information about Controlled Chaos Curl Creme, I went old school and made a phone call to Alanna York, who pitches the product on Shark Tank episode 715. I couldn’t find any information of the product or company, other than a thinly built-out Facebook page. All I had was her name, which […]

Ugly produce tastes the same as pretty produce and it has the same nutritional value, too. Unfortunately, a lot of perfectly good produce – over 6 billion TONS – gets thrown away every year, just because it doesn’t “look right.” Evan Lutz found a way to save all these vegetables from going to the island […]

Tony Gauthier invented Spretz Breathe Spray to do two things: freshen his breathe and freshen his hands. He wanted a product that would mask smoke and food odors, when he couldn’t find one, he invented it. He’ll pitch the product along with his business partners, Scott Hoag and Wesley Osaze, in Shark Tank episode 715. […]

Former secret service agent Dwight Littlejohn is used to wearing suits and looking sharp, which is probably what led him to invent the “ultimate necktie accessory,” Total Tie Keep. He’ll pitch his product to the Sharks in episode 713. Littlejohn began selling the his ultimate necktie accessory after applying for a patent in 2007. His […]

Firefighter Peter Thorpe invented Fire Avert, a kill switch for electric stoves, to prevent the number one cause of home fires (unattended cooking) that kill over 500 people each year. He hopes the Sharks help him bring his message and product to the masses when he pitches his business in episode 713. Thorpe has seen […]

Josh McClellan and Ashley Drummonds are two fitness marketers who sell workout systems and their line of ABS protein pancakes to help you get fit while eating “good” food. Drummonds markets an information product called Flat Abs For Women and McClellan has a similar product aimed at men. Drummonds came up with the idea for […]

David Strakunas started Beard Head because his face got cold. He wanted something other than a scarf or face mask to keep warm while snowboarding, so he decided to sew beards onto knitted ski caps. The first Beard Head beards were knitted wool; new incarnations include realistic “stubble” beards, too. Strakunas started the business in […]

Before inventing Geek My Tree animated Christmas tree glow-balls, entrepreneur Brad Boynik was well-known in western Michigan for going “just a little bit bonkers” decorating his house for Christmas. He was the owner of “that house” in his area; you know, the one you could spot from the moon due to the Christmas decorations! This […]

When Wombi Rose and John Wise set out to become naval architects, they may have seen their fair share of Sharks, but I’m sure they didn’t dream of pitching Love Pop, their pop-up greeting card company, in Shark Tank episode 712. The pair started the business after observing intricate paper sculpting in Viet Nam on an assignment. Once they […]

Whether Jess Edelstein and Sarah Ribner get a deal for their natural deodorant, Piper Wai, or not, they most certainly won’t break a sweat when they pitch their product in Shark Tank episode 712. PiperWai is a charcoal based, natural deodorant cream Edelstein created after experimenting with many different natural deodorant products and formulas of […]

I, like just about every American kid born since 1964, rode the original racing trike: the Big Wheel. There was nothing like spending an afternoon racing around with your friends and doing power slides. The sad thing is, we all outgrew them because the maximum weight limit is around 90 pounds. Secretly, many former Big […]

Sarah Lee and Christine Chang bring their curated Korean Beauty Products business – Glow Recipe – into the Shark Tank tonight in episode 714. The pair of make-up mavens scour the Asian continent to find, test, and ultimately sell the best, most unique natural cosmetics to women in the Western world. Korean beauty products are all […]

Sarah Oliver and the Purlettes (+1) sounds like the name of a doo-wop band from the 1960’s, but they’re actually the driving force behind Sarah Oliver Handbags. The Sharks get to meet the Purlettes and Sarah when she pitches her business tonight in Shark Tank episode 714. The Purlettes (+1) are Sarah’s workforce; their average […]

Jesse Potash and Gaston Blanchet had a vision of sturdy, technologically superior, zipperless luggage when they set out to raise funds for Trunkster. Little did they know, they’d go on to be the highest crowdfunded travel business on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. They did so well on Kickstarter, people still wanted to pre-purchase once the campaign […]

Sock Tabs is on a mission to solve a big problem: in Shark Tank season six, Mark Cuban said one of the great mysteries of life is “where’s the other sock?” Glen and Tracie Burress believe they have the answer, or at least the solution, to the “lost sock” problem. Their Sock Tabs allow socks to […]