Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

If you want to put some Mazel Tov in your Christmas decor, the Hanukkah Tree Topper is just the ticket. Created by the interfaith husband and wife team of Morri and Marina Chowalki for the one million or so Jewish/Christian families in the USA, the Hanukkah Tree Topper brings the faiths together with its shmaltzy yet functional […]

Entrepreneur Shawn Genenbacher hopes the Sharks agree that Litenetics magnetic Christmas lights promise to be “the first major improvement in Christmas light strands in years.” Genenbacher pitches his product on the Shark Tank Holiday Special on Friday, December 13. Litenetics is the latest “magnetic” solution to an old problem that appears on Shark Tank. ReadeRest and Wurkin […]

Melissa Barone and Rachel Bernstein are bringing their luxurious hair extensions called Cashmere Hair to the Shark Tank Holiday Show on December 13, 2013. Melissa, is a brunette and celebrity hair stylist and Rachel is a blond make-up artist and model who owns Sunset Blonde – a make-up accessories business. The two met while Melissa […]

Tipsy Elves brings a bunch of ugly Christmas sweaters to the Shark Tank on Friday, December 13th. The Tipsy Elves guys, Evan Mendelsohn and Nicklaus Morton have the world’s largest online store that deals in ugly Christmas sweaters. Their designs are loud, tacky, ugly, and, in some cases, wildly inappropriate. They’re also loads of fun and […]

Virtual reality comes to the Shark Tank as entrepreneur Jan Goetgeluk pitches Virtuix Omni, his gaming interface that allows gamers to immerse themselves in their favorite PC games. The Virtuix Omni is an omnidirectional treadmill that lets you walk through game environments when coupled with virtual reality glasses. The game accessory was a huge Kickstarter hit: […]

Toys R Us veterans and momtrepreneurs Jocelyn Fine and Kelly Dineen bring their line of helmet accessories called FoHawx into the Shark Tank on Friday, December 6. FoHawx were created by accident when Joelyn’s daughter made a makeshift “Mohawk” for her little brother’s bike helmet one day a few years ago. They thought it was […]

Chase Hamilton, Alexander Mendeluk, Marley Marotta and Ashley Haber, four friends and business partners bring some spirit to the Shark Tank in the form of their line of faux fur hats called Spirit Hoods. They started their company with a conscience in 2010 and turned on LA hipsters to the “wild side” with animal themed […]

Former NFL defensive Rookie of the Year Al “Bubba” Baker took to the kitchen when he retired from football and he’s cooking up some of his famous “patented” boneless ribs in the Shark Tank in episode 513. Al’s been making award-winning barbecue in Cleveland since he retired from the Cleveland Browns. Barbecue is in his […]

When I was a kid, there was no such thing as custom lunch boxes. In fact, unless you decorate your own, Yubo is the first company to make a business out of custom lunch boxes. Husband and wife entrepreneurs Paul and Cyndi Pedrazzi pitch their business to the Sharks in episode 511 and they hope […]

Nothing says “I Love You” like custom chocolate bars, at least that’s what Joe Dauenhauer, who’ll pitch Chocomize to the Sharks in episode 511, hopes people think. Dauenhauer and his partner Fabian Kaempfer (who doesn’t appear in the episode) started Chocomize when their dreams of making it big in the corporate world were tempered by […]

LA Publicists and entrepreneurs Jenn Deese and Kelley Coughlan hope to get the Sharks “stylin’ and dialin’” with their cell phone purse combo called Purse Case in Episode 511. The young women ran a successful Kickstarter campaign last spring (2013) and raised over $35K to fund the first production run. They’ve been using their mad […]