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Rob Merlino: Blogger, Writer, Entrepreneur & Foodie

Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A father of five who freelances in a variety of publications, Rob has a stable of websites including The Shark Tank Blog, Hot Dog Stories and more.

Rent a Grandma Shark Tank Preview

Rent a Grandma will be jumping into The Shark Tank on Friday; the big question on everyone’s mind is will Grandma get funded or will she be a “meal” for the Sharks? Founded by Mr. Todd Pliss, Rent a Grandma is a terrific example of the best entrepreneurial strategy of all: find a need and […]

Follow Up Donny McCall Invis-A-Rack

I spoke with Donny McCall the other night. He’s the guy who invented Invis-A-Rack, the fold away pick up truck rack he invented after his wife gave him some guff about going out on the town in a truck with permanent work racks affixed to the top. I can identify with that sentiment; when I […]

The Original Profender Shark Tank Preview

On Friday night, the creator of The Original Profender will be the first entrepreneur to try to slam dunk into The Shark Tank. What is the Profender? It’s a basketball training tool. Inventor Tony Devine came up with the idea for The Profender while trying to find a basketball training tool for his son. After […]

Nardo’s Natural

Four brothers from the Tampa area will be jumping in The Shark Tank on Friday night. The Mastronardo boys, who own Nardo’s Naturals, hope to get one of the sharks to invest in their line of organic, all natural skin care products.  It seems a bit strange (to me anyways) to have four guys representing an […]

Scott Jordan: TEC and ScotteVest Part Three

I had the opportunity to speak with Scott Jordan, the Technology Enabled Clothing entrepreneur who appeared on last Friday’s Shark Tank. This is the third in a series of three posts based on that discussion. One thing he agreed with is the publicity power of appearing on the Shark Tank. Every entrepreneur who appears on […]

Litter Jewelry Preview

Litter Jewelry, Mackenzie Burdick & Rachael Mann Litter has been on the Shark Tank before, but it was Kitty Litter, not Litter Jewelry! One of this week’s entrepreneurs is the team of Mackenzie Burdick and Rachael Mann. The gals, who are sisters, make all kinds of jewelry out of reclaimed items from stuff they find […]

Correction on Today’s Earlier Post on Scott Jordan

In part two of my Shark Tank Scottevest three part series of posts based on my conversations with Scott Jordan, I’d like to correct the following paragraph which appeared in the original post: “Actually, Scott Jordan has only taken adversarial legal action twice with regards to his clothing patents. In one case, there is a Chinese company […]

Scott Jordan: TEC and ScotteVest Part Two

I had the opportunity to speak with Scott Jordan, the Technology Enabled Clothing entrepreneur who appeared on last Friday’s Shark Tank. This is the second in a series of three posts based on that discussion. Scott Jordan’s plan is to license his patented Technology Enabled Clothing system- he would get money from clothing manufacturers who […]

Scott Jordan: TEC and ScotteVest Part One

Scott Jordan, TEC (Technology Enabled Clothing) entrepreneur who appeared on last Friday’s Shark Tank and I had the opportunity to speak after the show. This is the first in a series of three posts based on that discussion. The Scott Jordan appearance on Friday’s Shark Tank spurred a lot of controversy with sharks and fans alike. […]

Daymond John Jumps in a Different Shark Tank

Daymond John has partnered with Edison Nation to fund promising entrepreneurs with “the next big thing.” Edison Nation recently gained a lot of Shark Tank related exposure with the appearance of Jared Joyce on last week’s show. Jared didn’t do a deal with the sharks, but he ended up doing a deal with Edison Nation. The […]

TEC: Technology Enabled Clothing

Of all the entrepreneurs to be featured this week on The Shark Tank, Technology Enabled Clothing probably has the largest amount of pre-show hype and controversy. Before I go into that, let’s see exactly what TEC (short fot Technology Enabled Clothing) is all about. This is a clothing line of Personal Area Network jackets that […]

Kisstixx Lip Balm

Kisstixx lip balm is the brainchild of two Utah entrepreneurs: Dallas Robinson and Mike Buonomo. Their invention resulted from some amateur chemistry experiments at Utah Valley University, where the pair met. Their goal was to make kissing a little more “interesting.” Their product is a kind of re-invention of lip balm, like the eponymous “chapstick,” […]

The Smart Baker

Another swimmer in this coming Friday’s Shark Tank is The Smart Baker. This company was founded in 2009 by husband and wife Daniel and Stephanie Rensing. They both like to cook and they were always struggling with measurement conversions. As the old saying goes, “necessity is the mother of invention.” One day Daniel presented Stephanie with […]

The Last Lid Follow Up

I write this blog for many reasons, as does my partner, Kirk. First and foremost, we both love the Shark Tank show for its weekly mini dramas surrounding each entrepreneur. We also like the different Sharks, their personalities, and their stories. Both Kirk and I have owned multiple businesses in our lives and we decided to team […]

Jared Joyce After Show Videos

Jared Joyce is perhaps the best example to date of how to use the Shark Tank as a promotional vehicle both before and after the show has been aired. Pre- show, he produced his own teaser video.  He also did a live streaming broadcast during and after the show and he continues to promote both himself […]

Jared Joyce Update

Jared Joyce, the inventor of 5 Minute Furniture and many other items, appeared on Shark Tank last week. He was one of the more animated and engaging entrepreneurs of the season so far, and I think he may be one of the smartest. I predicted he would get funded, but I was wrong. He didn’t, […]

Heat Helper Spoiler Alert

The Heat Helper will be featured on this Friday’s Episode of  the Shark Tank TV Show on ABC. The device takes the heated exhaust from any electric dryer (it will not work on gas dryers) and recycles it to the interior of your home. Their website claims a single load of laundry can suck the warmth out […]

Twitter Bits from #Sharktank TV Shows

The Shark Tank feeding frenzy typically starts at around 7:30 PM eastern time- a half hour before the show starts. That’s when the sharks start tweeting at #Sharktank. The tweets fly fast and furious, but the sharks do answer questions from “regular folks” throughout the half hour preceding the show. If it weren’t for tweaking […]

Jared Joyce Video Shark Tank Promo

They finally came clean with what Jared Joyce will be pitching on Shark Tank. Kirk was right! Rob MerlinoEntrepreneur, auteur, raconteur. Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A father of five who freelances in a variety of publications, Rob has a stable of websites […]

Sales Cure All

I just finished reading Daymond John’s interview with Inc. Magazine entitled “Why I Invest In People, Not Companies.” In this interview, Daymond echos many mantras I have embraced as a lifelong salesman and entrepreneur. One thing he stresses is trust. In order to invest in a company, whether it is on the Shark Tank or […]

Jared Joyce, Inventor: Mad Genius or Shark Bait

Fans and followers of the Shark  Tank have surely seen Jared Joyce’s video from Kirk’s post yesterday.  It is unclear- probably intentionally so- exactly what Jared will be pitching to the sharks. This is somewhat unusual for the shark tank since most entrepreneurs have one specific product to pitch. Kirk guessed he’d be pitching his […]

M3 Girl Designs

M3 Girl Designs is run by the mother/daughters team of Diane, Maddie, and Margot Bradshaw. The trio of female entrepreneurs appeared on Shark Tank and embodied one of the more curious business on the show to date. Two kids and a mom selling crafts is not unusual in itself, what makes M3 Girl Designs unique […]

Talbott Teas Shows the Power of Shark Tank

I had intended to react to the Talbott Teas segment on Friday’s Shark Tank. It was the most powerful pitch I have seen on the show to date. They had everything the sharks would want: sales went from $100,000 in 2009 to $500,000 through three quarters in 2011, they invested $300,000 of their own money, […]

Last Lid Infomercial

I commented earlier on Kirk’s Shark Tank post about the Last Lid that I wanted to see the Last Lid infomercial. Well, here it is, in all its As Seen on TV glory! Rob MerlinoEntrepreneur, auteur, raconteur. Rob Merlino is a blogger and writer who enjoys the Shark Tank TV show and Hot Dogs. A […]

The Ledge Pillow Shark Tank Pitch

What do you do when you have a marginal product that you want to fund on The Shark Tank? Trot out a buxom babe to help demonstrate it, that’s what. This pitch started off with something that always sells: sex appeal.  Amanda immediately had the men in her pocket. Unfortunately, her pocket had a big […]