Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

The Dudes, aka Sean Riley, Ryan Meegan, and Jeff Klimkowski, pitch their business, Dude Products, to the Sharks in episode 706. Every once in a while, a product comes out that markets itself to its target demographic perfectly. The dudes at Dude Products are doing just that with their Dude Wipes. Dude Wipes are essentially baby wipes for big […]

Inventor and entrepreneur Brian Kleinschmidt pitches EZPEEZ, the next generation potty training aid, in Shark Tank episode 706. Brian is currently in pre-production mode, so EZPEEZ isn’t available for sale, but you can sign up to pre-order on their website. There’s no pricing info, so we’ll need to wait until the show airs to see what […]

Jovon English has a sweet tooth and one day she created a mash-up of a brownie and a cookie in a cupcake shape to satisfy it; she called it a brookie. As with many ridiculously good treats, friends and family wanted more, so English teamed up with Marques Brooks and Naimah Harris in 2014 to open […]

When Tom Cucco opened Table 87 Coal Oven Pizza in 2013, he probably never envisioned being on Shark Tank, but here he is in episode 706, pitching his business. Cucco is serving up “old school,” New York style pizza. Most pizza joints in New York (or anywhere else for that matter) use gas ovens – […]

Don and Lydia Hejney are this week’s Kickstarter entry into the Shark Tank as they pitch Nerd Wax, their successfully funded glasses wax, in episode 703. The Hejneys raised over $60K in May, 2014 to fund the first production run of Nerd Wax. What is NerdWax? It looks like a tube of Chapstick and it […]

Wayne Johnson pitches ValPark, his valet parking app, to the Sharks in episode 703. Johnson’s vision is that people everywhere will use their phones to find and pay for parking. He has some locations in the Washington DC area, but the app hasn’t caught on beyond that area. The idea is straight forward enough: if […]

Shark Tank has seen entrepreneurs pitching toy subscriptions, food subscriptions, even coffee subscriptions; now Foot Cardigan wants a Shark to try on their sock subscription service. Bryan Deluca, the gentleman pictured in the Girl Scout uniform, started Foot Cardigan in 2012 along with Tom Browning, Matt McClard, and Kelly Largent. The Dallas area business caught on […]

Jesse Wolfe likes his hummus. He never tried the stuff until he needed something soft to eat after getting his wisdom teeth out. When he tried hummus for the first time, he liked it, but he wanted more flavor, so he started experimenting with flavors like Buffalo, Sweet and Spicy, and Dill Pickle Hummus. His friends went […]

Chelsea Briganti and Leigh Ann Tucker didn’t think they’d be in the edible cups business when they entered a Jello contest back in 2010. When they won and people started asking where they could get them, they knew they were on to something. The two women pitch their edible cups to the Sharks in episode 702. […]

Mikki Bey is the Queen of eyelash extensions in Hollywood. She managed to parlay her job as a Hollywood make-up artist to the stars into a lucrative, six-figure per year business making eyelashes look thick, lush, and beautiful. She’ll be putting some eyelash extensions on a Shark in episode 702 (it looks like Mark Cuban […]

Passwords are something people use on a daily basis, and Doug and Chad Clark created a password app, called Splikity, that makes generating and saving passwords simpler and more secure. Basically, their password app generates complicated passwords for each of your websites, saves them for you, and synchs them across all devices. They claim their […]

Martin Hill, inventor of The Beebo, seeks an investment in his hands-free baby bottle feeder in the season seven premier of Shark Tank. Mr. Hill and his wife created the Beebo after they literally had their hands full with their second child. They wanted a way to free up one hand while bottle feeding, so […]

Jess Sanchez McClary re-introduces a centuries-old beverage, drinking vinegar, to the Sharks in the season seven premier. Some times called “shrub sodas,” the vinegar based beverages additionally contain combinations of sugar, water, herbs, and fruit juices. Samurai Warriors used to bring vinegar mixed with water to battle and the shrub sodas were popular in the colonial […]

Chris Gilpin got lucky when he started Signal Vault. Back in 2013, he was working for his dad’s ‘s nonprofit National Crime Stop Program while turning the idea for SignalVault around in his mind. Gilpin played the Florida Lottery regularly, taking one or two “quick picks” every week. In July, 2013, he matched 5 out […]

Peter Treadway’s Acton Rocket Skates and Scooters might be the coolest product pitched in Shark Tank’s season seven premier. He funded his dream with two separate Kickstarter campaigns that raised over $600,000. Production was a bit dicey at first, but they’re working out the kinks and are now shipping skates and scooters. Acton bills itself as […]

Ashton Kutcher will soon be saying “Dude, where’s my Shark Tank?” According to ABC: “On the upcoming seventh season of ABC’s hit series Shark Tank, Ashton Kutcher, 37, will serve as a “guest shark” for a limited time. The series will return on Sept. 25, however, Ashton’s stint has not been given a specified date just […]

Adriana Montano channels her “inner crazy cat lady” in Shark Tank’s season six finale when she pitches Gato Cafe, her “cat cafe” concept. Montano likes cats and she likes the growing, world-wide trend of the cat cafe. Popular in Asia and gaining momentum in Europe, a cat cafe is just a coffee shop with a […]

Joe Wilcox wowed the crowd at this year’s CES in Las Vegas when he showcased his 3 wheel scooter powered by lithium batteries. The three wheel tilting trike is the signature product for Wilcox’s Sway Motorsports. It’s designed for urban transportation and has more maneuverability than standard trikes and scooters. The secret is in the sway – […]

What do you get when you cross volleyball with foursquare – you get a whole new game: Spike Ball! Chris Ruder first created the game back in 2007 and since then, there are over a quarter million active players on over 1000 teams in the USA. Regional SpikeBall tournaments occur every year and a champion […]