Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

Highlights: Double dose of Shark Tank: Two exciting new episodes on May 17th to end Season 4 with a bang! Hero sisters pitching patriotic jewelry, scone wars, luggage battles & geeky gaming furniture Exclusive dating, gourmet grilled cheese, kid entrepreneur’s pet treats & a translation app for travelers Surprise comedy “pitch” from animated mad scientist […]

Entrepreneurs and Wharton Business School graduates Ryan Frankel and Kunal Sarda introduce the Sharks to their translation app called Verbalize It in episode 424, the Shark Tank season 4 finale. Verbalize It is not just another algorithmic voice translation app, it actually provides international travelers access to live translators. Both partners have horror stories about not being […]

Grilled cheese and tomato soup have been an American lunch-time staple for as long as I can remember; they go together like – well, grilled cheese and tomato soup! Entrepreneurs and cooks Trew Quackenbush and Corey Ward took the familiar favorite and turned it into a business called, appropriately, Tom and Chee. They’ll pitch their fledgling […]

One out of five people in a current, committed relationship today met through an online dating service. Entrepreneur Val Brennan hopes the Sharks will see the money to be made in the online dating world as she pitches her business called Three Day Rule in episode 424, the Shark Tank season 4 finale. The business […]

11 year-old Ryan Kelly pitches his home made dog treats in Shark Tank episode 424. He started his business, called  Ryan’s Barkery, when the rescue dog he brought home turned up his nose at the store-bought treats Ryan tried to feed him. He set out to learn all he could about making yummy dog treats […]

Friday May 10 has two Shark Tank episodes in store and it doesn’t look like Happy Endings will preempt the 8 PM re-run this week. Fans will have 2 hours of  “Sharkiness” for the next three weeks including a “double season finale” next week as the episode that got bumped for the Boston bombing coverage […]

Entrepreneur Mary Beth Lugo pitches a bike with no training wheels in Shark Tank episode 425. Lugo and her partner,  Elizabeth Wagner (who doesn’t appear on the show), are co-owners of KaZAM, a company that sells “balance bikes” to help train young children how to ride a bike. The bike with no training wheels doesn’t have […]

Baby’s Bad Ass Burgers entrepreneurs Erica Cohen and Lori Barbera pitch their burger babes food truck in Shark Tank episode 425. Erica and Lori are combining two key ingredients to assure their business is successful (with the male demographic anyway): good burgers and beautiful burger babes to serve them! They decided to brand the concept […]

Track Days is a motorcycle racing movie that seeks funding in Shark Tank episode 425. It’s the pet project of stuntman James LaVitola, writer Cliff Dorfman, and producer Brian Pitt; they’re looking to raise $2 Million to get their motorcycle racing movie produced. They launched a Kickstarter campaign on April 22, 2013 and to date […]

Pink Shutter Photobooths brings its photobooth rental service business to Shark Tank episode 425. Almost everyone has used a photo booth, the pre-Instagram solution to people who want to share silly pictures of themselves at an event. It’s fun to cram people into a photo booth and photobooth rental service businesses are a hot commodity […]

Friday May 3, 2013 brings fans a Shark Tank double-header! The final three weeks of season four feature similar line-ups, too. On Friday May 3, a re-run of episode 408 airs at 8 PM eastern time and the all-new episode 421 airs at 9 PM. Episode 408 on Friday May 3 For those who missed […]

David Glickman, a former New York city business executive, brings his line of Vermont Wood Products to the Shark tank in episode 421. The business is called The Vermont Butcher Block and Board Company and they make cutting boards, utensils, bowls, and decorative items out of native Vermont wood like cherry, maple, and walnut. The […]

Single mom, former truck driver, restaurateur, and entrepreneur Carol Foster pitches her frozen gumbo, called Mee-Ma’s Louisiana Gumbo Brick, in Shark Tank episode 421. Carol’s been selling her frozen gumbo “bricks” online since 2007; she used to cook up fresh gumbo in her own restaurant until heavy rain caused the roof to collapse back in […]

Entrepreneur Brian Altamore pitches his door-to-door luggage pick up service, called LugLess, in Shark Tank episode 423. Checking bags at the airport is becoming an increasingly expensive hassle when traveling. Most US airlines charge baggage fees: the airline industry reports over $815 million in collected baggage fees last year and it’s a number that won’t […]

A belt with no holes makes an appearance in the Shark Tank in episode 422 as entrepreneur Zachary  Holzapfel pitches the Mission Belt to the Sharks. The Mission Belt with no holes is a fashionable and moderately priced leather belt that can be worn with a suit or jeans. It’s a unisex belt, so women can […]

ShellBobbers are fishing bobbers made from spent shot-gun shells. Entrepreneurs and fishing buddies Jeff Stafford and Dusty Holloway pitch their Fishing Ammo brand in the Shark Tank in episode 422. Fishing Ammo is what the name of their business is, but ShellBobbers are the “flagship product.” The Fishing Ammo line also includes apparel, fishing rods, […]