April 28, 2025
Christopher Guerrera: The Modern Inventor, Shark Tank, and Pitch the Pros | EP 17
As the CEO of The Modern Inventor, Christopher Guerrera is a seasoned entrepreneur with a track record of launching nearly 100 products and getting them onto retail shelves nationwide. In this episode, Chris walks us through the full product development journey - from initial concept and design to supply chain logistics and marketing strategy. He also shares behind-the-scenes insights from his recent appearance on Shark Tank, his partnership with Daymond John, and details about his upcoming event, Pitch the Pros.
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Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
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I always had that entrepreneur
skill in me.
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I trademarked a name, I bought
the IPS, and then I started to
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really blow it up with Shark
Tank Gas and some big names.
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I had somebody actually threaten
to throw me off the off their
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third floor balcony.
If you know anything about me,
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you know I don't take that stuff
well.
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I'm a competitor.
Amazon sold out of 8800 units in
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like 2 minutes and my first
shark is Mr. Wonderful.
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No matter how prepared you are,
you're still not prepared when
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you walk up and see them staring
at you.
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I don't care how ready you are.
If you've never done that,
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you're truly not ready.
You got to act on your actions.
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Can't speak them to life.
They don't come to life by
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speaking about them.
You've got to go to work.
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It's not going to come to life
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So.
How long have you been doing the
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modern Inventor?
I literally, I was doing a lot
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of stuff before that that was
similar, but I actually launched
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it last January and it's like a
blew up last year.
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How, how much preparation did
you have going into it?
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Like what was?
How long did you have the idea
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for it?
Probably for like 1/2 a year at
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least.
I would say we were doing a lot
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of trade shows.
I'm also on the board of like
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the United Inventor Association,
which is an inventor
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association, and we do a lot of
pitch to pros.
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And I'm like, OK, nobody's like
this becoming a big deal.
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So I trademarked the name.
I bought the IPS and then I
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started to really blow it up
with Shark Tank gas and some big
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names and then we got really
some attention by Alibaba and
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that's what we got.
Like we put that we put on a big
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show Last Vegas last year in
Vegas in September and Damon was
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my Co host and we had 2200 in
the audience and 11,000,000 live
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streaming.
And every time I did a
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commercial we did like I I
talked about it on CBS and then
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we ran it.
I had like 380 five 385,000
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views on one, 435,000 views on
another just blowing up.
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So that for those that are
listening are not familiar, what
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is the modern inventor?
Yeah, the modern inventor is a
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platform.
If you have an idea or a
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product, we could make it
reality, we could bring it to
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life.
So if you're looking to get it
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in front of large companies, we
have that capability of looking
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to get it marketed.
We can do that, Amazon folks,
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warehousing, inventory
management, television exposure.
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We really can take that product
or that idea and, and, and and
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make it a reality.
So I guess you've had a ton of
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experience throughout your
career of actually doing that.
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Is that kind of where the idea
of where it came from?
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Yeah, You know, I would say I
started back when I was 13.
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You know, I had the largest
paper and people going, what's
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the pig?
You're probably saying, what's
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the paper?
Yeah.
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Newspaper.
Newspaper, yeah, the largest one
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in in Waterbury, CT And
essentially you get like at 5:00
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in the morning, there's a truck
and or somebody's station wagon
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car.
They drop off newspapers at your
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house.
I had 130 customers.
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So I had as a 13.
Year old as a 13 year old now.
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Now keep in mind I was also
third in the state and track.
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I was, you know, I was playing
basketball and, and when you're
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in track and cross country, you
have to work out a lot, right?
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You have to do a lot of hill
work, 10 mile run.
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So you're occupied and then you
have to do your school work on
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top of all that, right?
So I, I, I would take the paper
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in the morning and go deliver it
all The, the, the weekday wasn't
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as bad as like Sunday.
Sunday was three to four times
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larger.
How long would that take this?
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That could take 4 hours.
So as a 13 year old you were
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working 4 hours every Sunday.
Absolutely.
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I mean, that's I felt like I
always had that entrepreneur
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skill in me or where and I was
competitive.
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So my friends had paper routes.
We had a bet who was going to
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get the biggest one, who was
going to last the longest and I
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did.
I just felt like, you know, I
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would get up at 5, do my paper
route, get ready for school, go
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to school 2:00, get out, go do
my cross country runs on my
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track meets, then come home,
play basketball for a couple
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hours, do my homework at night
and started all over again.
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And on Thursdays I had to
collect.
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So you got to literally go and
collect money from your
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customers.
So you deliver the papers and
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then you have to do the whole
route again.
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Yeah, collect money.
Yeah, there was morning routes,
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afternoon routes and then Sunday
routes.
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Do you ever have times where
customers weren't willing to
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pay?
I had somebody actually threaten
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to throw me off the off the
third floor balcony if I tried
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to collect again.
And it's funny because the
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newspaper company said you have
to keep delivering.
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I said, OK.
I said fine, I'll, I'll this is,
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this isn't one of our
Connecticut.
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It's kind of in a rough
neighborhood so I said OK, I'll
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keep delivering, but I'm taking
my brothers with me.
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I had two older brothers so they
showed up and of course a guy
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never answered his door with my
two older brothers with me.
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But I eventually got paid.
There's ways of getting paid.
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We made it happen.
Was that work ethic instilled in
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your parents?
My mom, my mom and dad.
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My dad was worked for Raytheon.
Really.
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I used to work for Raytheon.
Oh, you did.
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Yeah, we were.
So I worked in cyber security
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and it was Raytheon here down
the road, but their cyber
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security department, they sold
it to Blackstone.
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Yeah.
And so now we're called
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Nightwing.
My day-to-day is the exact same,
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my contracts the exact same.
But yeah, it was Raytheon.
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So that's.
Fine.
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My dad worked for 40 years, wow.
And my brother worked there for
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45 years.
Wow.
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I worked there for three months.
That was it.
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I'm I, I like to move.
I'm no it was fine, but it
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wasn't something I wanted to
work with my dad or my I want to
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be my own person.
What were you doing?
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I just, I was doing, I became an
excellent solderer.
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I was doing manual soldering of
electronic boards.
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Yeah, back in the day before the
wave solder machines came, I
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ended up doing that too, but.
So you went to school for
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mechanical engineering?
Mechanical.
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That's the only engineer there
is right mechanic.
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I'm I'm a computer engineer.
I'm just teasing.
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Yeah, we know Brady's in
cybersecurity.
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OK, nice there.
You go and Windstream for what,
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6 years before she started
working with me?
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Nice.
Cyber security is growing a ton,
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so I enjoy it.
But yeah, your day to days are
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pretty like repetitive.
It's kind of saying that you
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code all day.
She had, she had cyber security,
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she was working in, in the field
where when they came to do an
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attack on a site, she had 7
minutes to stop them before they
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infiltrate it.
So it was pretty stressful.
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And during COVID, she was
working from home.
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So I would go and ask a
question.
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She'd be like, not now, not now.
I'm like, what's going on for
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someone?
She had the Panthers, I think as
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an accountant.
So people trying to get into
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their into their business we're.
Gonna have to have a whole other
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podcast.
Oh yeah.
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So we we do more like software
and like building tools for the
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government more.
Yeah, just engineering, building
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tools, that kind of thing.
Not necessarily the the red
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teaming, the blue teaming, going
back and forth with penetration
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testing and whatnot.
But yeah, to to get it back to
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you there, what sparked your
interest in mechanical
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engineering?
I liked working on my hands.
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There was something about like
I, I, I was the guy that back in
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the day, you probably won't know
there's some showing my age now
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when I had to work on my car,
for example, I would have to as
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a 15 year old, I have to go buy
a book.
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There was no, there was no
YouTube.
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There was no Google go Google
it.
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I had to go like Caldor's.
I'm really, I'm really dating
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myself now.
Caldor's department store,
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Bradley's.
This is all before Walmart.
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Go buy a book about if I want to
change my brakes and then read
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about it and then I would
actually go and do it.
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I just felt like a really good
visual learner, great with my
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hands taking apart
transmissions.
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Went to a technical high school.
So all of that was something
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that just instilled in.
I think it's part of your DNA.
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My dad was electrical.
I never, he wanted me to go into
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electrical.
I did.
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I like the mechanical better and
I and think about it at 13, I
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made a decision that I want to
be an engineer.
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I went to a technical high
school as a freshman at 13 from
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Waterbury, CT Cano Tech.
You had to pass a test like it
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was a pretty.
Magnet program.
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Yeah, it was a pretty elaborate
school.
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A lot of a lot of the kids that
went to that school, their first
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year of college was credited
because the school was that was
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that that, you know, had that
credibility.
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And we went through 28
curriculums, everything from
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plumbing to paint and body to
electronics to electrical
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engineering, mechanical nursing.
I just like the mechanical.
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I made a decision age 13 and
stay with my entire life which
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is not common.
Yeah, well, I'd love to jump
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into your Shark Tank experience.
That's obviously very
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interesting and very fun thing
to dive into.
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You've done it.
Is it twice that you've done on
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the?
Show once on Good Morning
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America Shark Tank and then once
on the Shark Tank you see every
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every.
Friday night, two different.
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On ABC, Yeah, it's owned by ABC
and Disney.
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Yeah, right.
They they had one on Good
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Morning America.
Yeah, I, I was working with
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Barbara Cochran at that time.
And then the one in that you see
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me on, on season 12.
We, we, we ended up on the grand
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finale.
Yeah, wow.
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What is the process like for
getting on a Shark Tank?
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You know, for me it was rather,
rather easy.
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I hate to say it quite like that
because I basically had several
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products and I sent an e-mail
in.
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Like a lot of folks go to these
meats in Vegas or Philly or
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California, long lines pitching
all day.
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I sent an e-mail in and I got a
call, I mean Brandy was in the
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car with me.
Actually I got a call and they
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told me they liked the products
that I sent and I had AI said
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what can I can I submit a
couple?
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She said no, you already
submitted a couple, you need to
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pick one now that you want they.
Were interested in all of.
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Them yeah that you want to go
through the process then it
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starts then the then the work
starts because then you got to
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do a video of yourself like who
you are what you've been doing
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what your background is and you
have to fill out like 100 page
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document like I'm telling you
everything they want to know
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about your background because
they they want to make sure
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you're legit.
Then once you pass all of that,
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you go through these intervals
of, of submitting more videos
222
00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,640
to, to go through different
levels of producers until you
223
00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:29,000
finally get to Mark Winnett, who
was the executive producer.
224
00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,520
He's the final stop.
And that took, I did it during
225
00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:34,320
COVID.
So it was even more complicated,
226
00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,360
right?
There was 80,000 applicants and
227
00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,800
they pick 80.
So we ended up, I ended up going
228
00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,520
through the whole process and I
can remember like the thing that
229
00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,200
stuck with me the most is one of
the producers that I had said,
230
00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,240
OK, make this your best video.
And I'm thinking, what do you
231
00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:50,920
mean?
Every one of my videos was the
232
00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:52,920
best.
No, this is the last one.
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00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,840
Like this is the last stop.
This is Mark Burnett's team
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00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:57,720
looking at it before you
actually get selected.
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00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,320
Did another video get the call,
booked the flight.
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00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:07,520
So I went from like the April
submission to the final video in
237
00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,920
August.
Booking my flights end of August
238
00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,920
and then literally flying out
during COVID again.
239
00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,840
So all COVID protocol.
I was in Vegas at the Venetian.
240
00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,000
Had to do a COVID test before I
left.
241
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:22,920
COVID tests when I landed a
COVID test when I went in the
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00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:25,480
bubble.
This is August of 2020.
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00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:31,720
And then, then once in the room
I was, I was in a suite in the
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00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:36,080
Venetian, literally looking out
of Vegas, but I couldn't even
245
00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:37,120
leave the room.
I couldn't even go in the
246
00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:40,640
hallway.
And then five days later,
247
00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,720
another COVID test.
So they made you quarantine?
248
00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,920
Your yeah 11 so the 11's day.
So I was in that room.
249
00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:48,280
Well, yeah, play.
It's time to prepare.
250
00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,280
That's the problem.
By the 5th day you had enough.
251
00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:56,040
Like you're saying this thing
every day and this is all during
252
00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:57,800
video.
Like everything was nothing was
253
00:11:57,800 --> 00:11:59,920
live.
It was all during zoom and there
254
00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:02,240
was some things at the end of
the video where we threw money
255
00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,640
me and my partner and had to be
In Sync and I hadn't even met
256
00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:07,000
her yet.
It's like we've been working
257
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,000
together for 2 1/2 years.
COVID, all the COVID
258
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,800
restrictions and when she was on
the West Coast, I was on the
259
00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:13,480
East Coast.
How'd y'all?
260
00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,800
Get introduced.
She called me one day, she saw
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00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:18,320
some stuff that I was doing.
She called me and said that she
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00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,200
had a product and I looked at
it, I liked it.
263
00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,240
It reminded me of some other
products and that's it.
264
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,320
I blew it up.
I got it in Walmart in two
265
00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,680
weeks, which I end up going to
Bentonville and, and this is
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00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:32,240
when my mother was passing away.
So I have a plant up in New
267
00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:38,080
Hampshire and Walmart said I
like it, but we'll give it a
268
00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,520
try.
We'll put it in 400 stores and
269
00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,760
we'll see how it sells through.
But you got to give me 15,000
270
00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,640
units in the next two weeks.
That's automatically said, no
271
00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:49,240
problem.
Really, that wasn't a problem.
272
00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,120
For you, no, it was a problem.
Never show you cars, right?
273
00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,880
I left, went back to the plant.
Everyone said, but basically I
274
00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,560
was crazy.
I said no, like I'm going to,
275
00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,720
I'm going to do what BMW taught
me as I ran one of the plants
276
00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,000
here, right?
All the suppliers were local.
277
00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,680
So I came up with a box that had
an easy tear away display case,
278
00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:12,480
took pictures with my friends
and my my nephew's kids using
279
00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,880
it, put it on a label, put it so
when you RIP the display case
280
00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,640
off, the display showed what the
product was and explained what
281
00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:23,000
it was.
We ordered resin right away.
282
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,280
I had the hardest part was a
silicone pads because normally
283
00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,200
they come off of reels that you
put on the bottom of the Super
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00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:33,040
potty trainer and then it
becomes part of the unit.
285
00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,120
But now we had to do those
individually.
286
00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:38,120
So I had my son help me.
He'll never work with me again.
287
00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:42,440
Pumped out 60,000 of these.
We had to make it a little small
288
00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:47,440
die and a jig.
Pumped out literally 60,000 of
289
00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:49,520
these little pads to put on 4
per unit.
290
00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:51,320
Put them in a box, got them
shipped.
291
00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:54,480
That's absolutely insanely
didn't run into duck supply
292
00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,160
chain issues with all that.
Yeah.
293
00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,000
And I, I'm telling you, I think
it has a lot to do with having a
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00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,400
good partnership right with your
supplier base.
295
00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,320
Yeah, definitely.
And having them local.
296
00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,720
I had box manufacturers actually
driving the boxes to the plant
297
00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,600
as we were making all.
Your entire supply chain was
298
00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,080
local.
Everything was within 20
299
00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:13,000
minutes.
You don't have to ship.
300
00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:14,480
Anything, nothing, it was
nothing.
301
00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,000
And and that that's what made it
different because talked to
302
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,520
other people who had problems
like with China on the West
303
00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,560
Coast could have never done it.
So we got it in Walmart 400
304
00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,360
stores on March 5th.
Guess what happened?
305
00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:27,120
Sold out.
COVID.
306
00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,120
Oh yeah, yeah.
I wish we sold out.
307
00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,960
COVID hit.
Nobody was buying anything but
308
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,320
right but food and and toilet
paper.
309
00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:39,440
I was going to all the Walmarts
it was in.
310
00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:41,720
They were selling but really
slow.
311
00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,800
That's that.
So the sell through was slow,
312
00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:48,880
but I think we got from it about
65,000 in sales and that was
313
00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:50,560
enough.
That was enough to get their
314
00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:52,400
attention.
Then we had some sales.
315
00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:56,600
We had a pretty cool product.
And then you know as we're going
316
00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:58,880
through the process, we're
looking for like what kind of
317
00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:00,240
clothes we want to wear on the
show.
318
00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,800
This is when we finally got
picked, you know that now you
319
00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,800
got to come up with what you see
on their first stage presence.
320
00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,760
That's all part of the
entrepreneur responsibility to
321
00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:11,680
do that.
So we start shopping for
322
00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:14,600
clothes.
I was in Macy's and I saw this
323
00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:18,040
really cool light baby blue
suit.
324
00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,880
I'm like that.
That's not me, but it fits the
325
00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,840
baby product, right?
So I took a picture of it.
326
00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,640
I sent it to to Brandy.
Brandy said no way.
327
00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:28,440
My partner said I don't think
so.
328
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,200
One of my kids said, Oh yeah, I
think so.
329
00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:31,360
Maybe.
Yeah, that's pretty cool.
330
00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,040
It's pretty bright.
My other kids said no way.
331
00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,560
So I tried it on, looked great.
I took a picture in the mirror
332
00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,760
and in the dressing room at
Macy's and I sent it to the
333
00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,240
producers.
I got an e-mail back in like 2
334
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,200
minutes saying Judy, go get a
pink one just like it.
335
00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,880
That's how that that came about.
So if you see me on Shark Tank,
336
00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,040
I'm in a light blue.
She's in a light pink.
337
00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,000
Then we said, OK, let's really
blow it up.
338
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,360
How can we make this really fun?
I'm king of manufacturing.
339
00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:01,760
She's queen of potty training.
So let's go in as king and
340
00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:03,680
queen.
So we went and went king and
341
00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,360
queen robes.
We threw money at the end.
342
00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,440
I don't know.
We threw our crowns off to our
343
00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:12,320
jackets off and it and it was
like an instant hit, like big
344
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,600
time entertainment and it's
aired now, like I said, more
345
00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,080
than 23 times that's.
Absolutely insane and it first
346
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,440
aired during.
So it aired, so we filmed in
347
00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,320
September 2020.
And you don't know if you're
348
00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:26,760
going to make it.
They tell you, you may not.
349
00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,160
So you go and you pitch, but you
might not.
350
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:30,520
You might not.
You have no idea.
351
00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:31,920
They don't give you any lead
ways.
352
00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,240
A Sharks say they don't know.
So you have, you know what you
353
00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,360
did, you know how it ended up,
but you don't know if you're
354
00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,000
physically going to air.
We got a call, so that's
355
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,280
September 2020.
I got a call from Damon first at
356
00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,120
the very end of April.
Usually Shark Tank doesn't tell
357
00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,240
you till three weeks before.
So the end of April, Damon
358
00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,600
Collins said you guys got
selected, hand selected by Mark
359
00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:55,160
Burnett to be on the grand
finale.
360
00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,920
That means you're the last last
ones, the last entrepreneurs, a
361
00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:02,800
close season 12.
It's a big deal.
362
00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,880
Yeah, it's a big deal.
So did you go in knowing you
363
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,440
would?
Have you partnered with Damon
364
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:08,319
and Laurie?
Correct.
365
00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:12,000
Yeah, so when so but it but the
deals change like it's what you
366
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,040
see on TV.
Here's, here's my, my thought on
367
00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,200
our, on our deal, right?
All the baby products have gone
368
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:21,280
and asked for $50,000 or 5%.
To me, it's just not worth
369
00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,960
anybody's time.
And they got basically laughed
370
00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:26,280
out of the studio.
And I'm like, if you know
371
00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,319
anything about me, you know, I
don't take that stuff well.
372
00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,640
I'm, I'm a competitor and I'm
always going to stand up for
373
00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:33,200
what I believe in.
And I believe in me.
374
00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,680
I believe that I can sell, I can
blow things up.
375
00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,040
And I've been, I've been doing
it my entire career.
376
00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:40,040
So I said, let's go in big,
right?
377
00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:44,480
We got 65,000 sales.
I know if it has an audience, it
378
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,560
can really scale.
So we went in with 300,000 at
379
00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,440
10%, with 65,000 sales.
So you're evaluating the company
380
00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:55,440
at 3 million and it's really
should be evaluated at 650,000.
381
00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,440
And the Sharks or any VC
capitalist don't like you
382
00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,120
betting on future sales because
you don't know what's going to
383
00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:04,760
happen.
And I just went in, I was close
384
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,400
to $1,000,000 PO at Walmart
because it was starting to sell
385
00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:08,960
through as we got later in the
year.
386
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,280
They want to keep it around.
And I sold that premonition that
387
00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,760
I believe in me.
I know if it has an audience, it
388
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,440
will sell.
And that was kind of the the
389
00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,080
heated moment in Shark Tank
where the camera goes on your
390
00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,680
face and looking intense and
you're arguing with one of the
391
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:24,800
sharks and.
They're trying to get into your
392
00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:26,640
skin.
A. 100 percent, 100%.
393
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,480
And Damon always said he, he, he
invest in people more than
394
00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:32,160
product.
You have a great product that's,
395
00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:34,800
that's a bonus.
And so I, I just remember saying
396
00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,920
that at the very end that it
needs an audience and it will
397
00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,080
sell through.
And junior was like, just give
398
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:41,560
us a chance.
And they were going back and
399
00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,600
forth and then, you know, it
closed with us doing a deal
400
00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:47,960
with, with, with, with Laurie
and Damon for 50%.
401
00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,960
So I mean, at that point, my, my
percentage is upped.
402
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,320
So we all had equal equity.
But after the show, it all
403
00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:57,680
changes.
But the best part was at my
404
00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:01,200
airing party, we get a little
more extra, you get a little
405
00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:03,200
extra time because it's a, it's
a grand finale.
406
00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:09,760
We as they start airing our
episode, Amazon sold out of 8800
407
00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:12,960
units in like 2 minutes.
And I'm not kidding when I say
408
00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,840
this, my phone like everyone
there couldn't believe it.
409
00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:20,080
It was just just rolling in
orders this like literally I
410
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,240
couldn't believe it.
And we had I think like 10,000
411
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,640
orders for the weekend.
So it doubled the valuation of
412
00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,400
what we went in with.
And I just remember going back
413
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,000
saying, Damon, how do you like
me now?
414
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,440
Exactly what I said was going to
happen, happen in an audience.
415
00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:38,880
It blew up and then I sold my
assets and my ownership to a
416
00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:43,560
larger baby company.
So the following year I cash
417
00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:45,680
out.
Nice little exit and and Judy
418
00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,960
stayed on to do some licensing
directly with them over time.
419
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,480
Yeah.
Is either of the Sharks still
420
00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:53,480
involved at all with it?
Or no, everyone.
421
00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,320
Like basically when we did that
final deal, Damon got his
422
00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,120
payment, I got my payment, and
Judy just stayed on to do.
423
00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,960
And even the deal at the end
never closed with Lori and
424
00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,960
Damon, just closed with Damon.
Yeah, 'cause that Lori said baby
425
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,160
products are hard, they're not
that easy.
426
00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:09,640
We're talking about like QVC,
She said.
427
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,960
It won't sell well.
And she kind of just like
428
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:13,880
fizzled a little bit.
And Damon took it all on.
429
00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:16,480
Yeah, yeah.
And Damon took it all on.
430
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:18,800
And I've been friends with him
now for a while and he's been
431
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:20,040
great.
He's done a lot of events with
432
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,920
me.
He's come to see his shows with
433
00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:24,520
me.
He's letting me be part of his
434
00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,960
his Rise Nation project where I
met some really high level
435
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,040
people there.
Went to a couple parties in
436
00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:34,720
Miami with them.
I did the Co hosts with in Vegas
437
00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:36,840
to pitch the pros.
That's really cool you.
438
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:38,280
Guys are still so well
connected.
439
00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:40,600
Yeah, I guess you're not
officially business partner.
440
00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:42,120
Right, Yeah, yeah.
But we're still friends.
441
00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:44,920
And I guess he just put, he just
wore my son's shirt on his
442
00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:47,920
product reviews, which if you
know Damon, he only wears his
443
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:49,760
clothing.
He won't, you know, this shirt
444
00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,120
change it all.
My son's my son's shirt.
445
00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:55,000
So son was pretty excited and
and I'm still in contact.
446
00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:56,720
You know, I I texted Damon quite
a bit.
447
00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:58,040
He's going to do some other
events with us.
448
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:02,240
Just a just a good human.
He understands the road's not
449
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,360
easy right to get to that level
and he and he gives back quite a
450
00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:13,630
bit.
Thank you for spending your
451
00:21:13,630 --> 00:21:16,230
valuable time with us.
We know you're likely incredibly
452
00:21:16,230 --> 00:21:18,790
busy and we truly appreciate you
tuning in.
453
00:21:19,230 --> 00:21:21,830
We hope you're finding these
insights just as valuable as we
454
00:21:21,830 --> 00:21:23,520
are.
Throughout this journey, we've
455
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,960
been fortunate to receive
incredible support with many
456
00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,280
people asking how can we help or
how can we support you?
457
00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,440
If you haven't already, one of
the best ways you can support us
458
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:35,000
is by giving us a follower
rating on Spotify, Apple podcast
459
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,040
or whatever platform it is
you're listening on.
460
00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:39,520
It just takes a second.
You don't even have to pause the
461
00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:41,440
episode.
And it makes a huge difference
462
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,240
in helping us bring to you even
more of a top tier, high
463
00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:45,640
achieving leaders in our
community.
464
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:47,920
Thank you again for being part
of this journey.
465
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:55,720
Now let's get back to our guest.
Full transparency, were you
466
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:57,800
nervous at all going into the
Shark Tank episode?
467
00:21:58,120 --> 00:21:59,640
You know, I, I would tell you
this, right?
468
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:03,800
I watched it for 12 years and,
and no matter how prepared you
469
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,360
are, you're still not prepared
when you walk up and see them
470
00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:09,400
staring at you.
So I'll tell you this.
471
00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:12,640
Was I nervous?
I was, I was focused, right?
472
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,760
Really intense.
At some point being locked in a
473
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,280
room for 11 days, like you're
ready.
474
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:19,920
Like I, I, how many times can
you say this thing?
475
00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,120
I've said it so many times.
In my sleep at this.
476
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:24,440
Point yeah, basically wake up at
2:00 in the morning, you're
477
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,040
still saying it because you've
seen some other people freeze
478
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,920
and you never get you never
recover from that.
479
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,160
And now everyone in the world is
watching it.
480
00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:36,120
It's on every YouTube station,
it's on Hulu, it's everywhere in
481
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:38,000
the world.
And the last thing I wanted to
482
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,800
do is disappoint my family, my
kids, right, or my partner.
483
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:46,040
And, and it's kind of ironic
right before I went down to go
484
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:49,840
pitch and Brandy thought she had
missed me because the clocks, I
485
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,160
guess in my room were 5 minutes
fast.
486
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:53,520
They were coming to get me at
11:00.
487
00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,560
Well, Brandy finally got me
right before I walked out to go
488
00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,160
downstairs to pitch.
She said, hey, there's someone
489
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:00,480
at the house that wants to speak
with you.
490
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:02,280
And I'm like, who could be at my
house right now?
491
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:05,480
And she played a recording on my
mother who had just passed away.
492
00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,240
So it was like, it's a Brandy.
You realize I I'm going to be on
493
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,200
the largest stage in the world
right now and you just made me
494
00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:14,560
really emotional.
It was pretty, it was pretty
495
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,080
cool when you look back of it
and, and I have my mother with
496
00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:18,360
me.
I take her everywhere like in a
497
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:21,280
car and I had it with me and I
felt her presence.
498
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:23,920
So to add to it's a long way of
answering your question.
499
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,080
I wasn't nervous.
I was really focused.
500
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:30,520
But I will tell you, it's like
right before you walk through
501
00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,600
the first set of doors, one of
the camera guys says, I'm going
502
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,360
to count you down to seven.
If you don't walk through that
503
00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:39,440
door, I'm going to push you
through it or you're going to be
504
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,160
out.
And I remember looking at Judy
505
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,160
just joking around saying, Hey,
what's my name again?
506
00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,360
She says, Oh my God.
Because it's it's that is really
507
00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:49,440
that intense because you got
like, they're doing makeup.
508
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,600
They're fixing your your outfit,
making sure you look perfect.
509
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,080
Then you walk through the, you
know, the corridor where the
510
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,840
sharks supposedly are.
The real sharks are not real
511
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,960
sharks in the tanks.
And then you have to hit a
512
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:02,160
platform.
There's a marking.
513
00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:03,680
You can't look down.
You have to hit it without
514
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:05,360
looking down.
And you only have done this
515
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,120
once.
You only had one trial through
516
00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:10,240
it.
So you walk up and for 30
517
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,920
seconds there's no talking.
It's called the shark stare.
518
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:16,960
So every shark.
The sharks are.
519
00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:19,360
Looking at you, nothing for 30
seconds because they're
520
00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:21,880
adjusting cameras.
Cameras are going by your face.
521
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:26,320
They're taking photos.
So it's a 32nd shark stare, and
522
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,560
my first shark is Mr. Wonderful.
He's looking right at me.
523
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:34,920
And you got Cuban, Damon, Mr.
Wonderful, Laurie, and then
524
00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,520
Robert.
And it was pretty intense.
525
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,960
And that's if someone says go,
and then if you mess up, it's
526
00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:45,280
it, they're, they're, they're
going to edit it so that because
527
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,120
they, they, they want it to be
entertaining, right?
528
00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:48,960
Yeah, they want viewers.
They want viewership.
529
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:50,920
I mean, it's good, it's an
educational piece, but you're
530
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,280
not around for 16 years if
you're not giving some
531
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,080
entertainment to the to the
audience.
532
00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,280
And I that pitch was great, man.
It's what I teach, right?
533
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,560
I teach a 92nd pitch.
That pitch was 90 seconds to the
534
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,080
second.
We did 15 extra seconds because
535
00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:07,800
we basically when we threw our
money, that was kind of into the
536
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,560
pitch, but then we took off our
jackets and said let's get down
537
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,240
to business.
That was about 15 seconds, but
538
00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:15,600
but always keep it under 2
minutes and it was good.
539
00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:17,760
It was a big hit.
It's aired a lot of time, so
540
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:22,440
it's got a lot of attention and
our sales literally blew up.
541
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:28,080
The beautiful part about it, I
was making it in the US so I had
542
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,040
a bunch of units on the shelf
from Menards.
543
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,200
Which was huge during COVID.
It was so big because you people
544
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:34,760
couldn't, you really couldn't
get product.
545
00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:37,440
It was so bad.
We were able to put the tool
546
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:39,680
back in.
I used product that was going to
547
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:41,480
go to Menards.
I said, hey, you've been, I've
548
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:42,800
been working with you for two
years.
549
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:44,520
You've been waiting to take the
product.
550
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,160
Well, we're going to use it now
for our own good, right?
551
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,360
For our inventory, put the tool
back in.
552
00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:51,720
We didn't miss a beat.
We had every order shipped by
553
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:54,560
within seven days.
And that's, that's the beauty of
554
00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:57,080
American made products.
You know, I would, you know, I
555
00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,960
would say I'm the American made
in the USA guy and that that's
556
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:02,680
the reason for it.
I really believe in if you set
557
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:08,000
up your, your process where,
where my background is lean 6
558
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:09,320
Sigma, right?
But if you set it up where it's
559
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:14,240
efficient, you can be as
competitive as, as, as, as
560
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,040
China, because everyone talks
about, right, it's peace price,
561
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:18,920
but it's more than peace price.
When you're shipping from China,
562
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,760
you have all that freight, then
you get it to the dock, you have
563
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,880
all that freight going to your
three PL. or to your warehouse
564
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,280
or to Amazon.
That's a cost.
565
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:29,120
I didn't have any of that.
I had none of them.
566
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,000
I really eliminated all the
logistics.
567
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,360
The business process that I use
was all EN6 Sigma.
568
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:37,920
It was literally molding a
product.
569
00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,680
As that door closed, the
operator who's now standing
570
00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,320
around right, has now got value.
They're putting on labels,
571
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,520
they're putting on the pads,
they're putting it in boxes onto
572
00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:49,920
a skid.
That's it.
573
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,680
There is no waste of time.
They was already paid for,
574
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:53,720
right?
Yeah.
575
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:55,560
Was it, Were you in Greenville
at the time when you were
576
00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:56,520
manufacturing?
Yeah.
577
00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:58,440
No, no, I was in New Hampshire.
That plant was in New Hampshire,
578
00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:00,240
but I was I was travelling back
and forth.
579
00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,720
How was the Shark Tank
experience compared to some of
580
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:05,680
your Good Morning America
experiences?
581
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:07,320
Shark Tank was, it was
different, right?
582
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:11,960
It was very just a lot of work
because when you fill out the
583
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,640
application and all the videos,
that's like a full time job for
584
00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,400
a little while.
Then you have to get the stage
585
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,360
presents ready.
You have to make sure your
586
00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:22,000
website can handle the volume if
you get put on.
587
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,880
And then you have to have the
warehouse right, the warehouse
588
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,280
and the inventory ready to ship.
And then you have after you do a
589
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:34,120
deal, it starts all over again.
The sharks do exactly due
590
00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:37,720
diligence like like Sony and ABC
Papers.
591
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:39,160
Are signed.
They're doing even deeper.
592
00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:42,000
Dive deeper dive.
I mean, there's so much detail
593
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,040
that they want to know.
I mean, they want to make sure
594
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,240
they're partnering with the
right people.
595
00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:49,040
I think early on in the show,
like seasons 1-2 and three,
596
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:51,840
people were getting money and
maybe the due diligence wasn't
597
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:52,960
as strong as it should have
been.
598
00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:57,240
They were buying cars, paying
off their houses, so it wasn't
599
00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:59,560
going for their business.
So now they're a little
600
00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,640
reluctant, right?
12/13/16 years later they're
601
00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,520
really careful who they partner
with and who they give money to.
602
00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,080
Good morning, America.
Obviously a lot less work going
603
00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:10,600
into.
It this one, this one's a little
604
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:12,360
interesting because I propose, I
don't know if you know that, but
605
00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:14,600
I propose live to Brandy.
Oh, nice.
606
00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,560
Good Morning America.
This is a good story because it
607
00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,280
was, I've been on it, you know,
multiple times.
608
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,240
And I was with my son at the
time, he was 21.
609
00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:24,160
And I said, hey, what do you
think?
610
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:26,640
If I go on Good Morning, America
and then pose live to Brandy?
611
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:28,200
And he literally laughed in my
face.
612
00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:30,680
He said, then I got to let you
go on there and do that.
613
00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:31,920
I said, I don't know.
I got some pretty good
614
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:35,800
connections.
I literally made a text and it's
615
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:37,400
a hit or miss.
You either get a response right
616
00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:39,240
away or you get 1-2 hours from
now.
617
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:41,480
Got a response right away
saying, hey, I don't know if we
618
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,400
can go live.
Yeah, but we'll definitely get
619
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,480
you on within a minute.
I had four VIP passes in town.
620
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:51,800
It was like, what?
So Fast forward to summer 6th,
621
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,160
right before COVID 2, Summer
6th.
622
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,240
We, we, we get to Times Square.
I get a call at 3:00 in the
623
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:00,960
morning just walking me through
saying, hey, I don't know if
624
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,000
we're going to go live, but this
is how we're going to do.
625
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,280
We're going to call Brandy up to
the front and a commercial.
626
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,400
I'm going to have you come up
from behind.
627
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:08,840
So they had this whole thing
set.
628
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,440
Then I get another call back at
5:00 AM.
629
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:12,760
Brands like who are you talking
to?
630
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,480
So she thinks I'm pitching a
product because that's what I
631
00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:16,960
normally do when I go on Good
Morning America.
632
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,360
I said, I'm just just talking to
some of the producers that set
633
00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,520
up the stage.
And then I get a call at 5
634
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,080
saying, hey, forget everything
we just said.
635
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:28,960
I'm going to hand you a mic.
I don't know when he said just
636
00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,840
be ready, bring the ring and
don't F it up.
637
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:35,680
Quote UN quote.
I'm like, so then we get there
638
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:36,880
early.
So it's come at 5:30.
639
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,200
We're we're the only ones there.
The camera guys aren't talking
640
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:40,240
to me.
No one's talking to me.
641
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:42,680
And she goes, why do you look so
nervous today?
642
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:44,360
You never look nervous when you
pitch.
643
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:46,280
So I don't have my lines down
yet.
644
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,480
That's all I said because they
wanted me to talk about Robin
645
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,440
Roberts.
I I've known her for 20 years.
646
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:53,360
I met her in where I used to
live in Bristol.
647
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:55,040
And XD yes, my wife.
Actually got to meet her
648
00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:57,280
briefly.
Oh yeah, yeah, like 2 years ago
649
00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:58,640
or so.
That's really cool connection.
650
00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,480
Yeah, she's, she's wonderful.
I mean, she got to meet all my
651
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,640
kids.
She took us backstage a couple
652
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,560
times and meet Rebecca Jarvis
and.
653
00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:07,960
How'd you get connected with
her?
654
00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:13,720
I, I met her in 1990 at a a
supermarket in Bristol, CT.
655
00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,840
So she had just started Sunday
morning with ESPN and I was
656
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:21,040
shopping.
I look over and I said it's
657
00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:22,680
Robin Roberts and she's with her
mom and dad.
658
00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:24,760
So I'm going to go over and
introduce myself.
659
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,080
So I enjoy it.
And she just started with ESPN.
660
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:29,480
So I enjoy a show.
I watch it every Sunday.
661
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:34,200
Probably talked 20-30 minutes.
So this is another good story.
662
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,880
Fast forward 20 years later, I'm
doing a national commercial on
663
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:40,520
Good Morning America at Robin
Roberts.
664
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:43,080
And I had been on there a couple
times and she wasn't on and
665
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:45,680
Brandon is saying she's not
going to remember any of that.
666
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:48,360
She's not going to remember you.
She walked by and said hello,
667
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:50,920
talked a little bit and I said,
oh man, maybe she won't Remember
668
00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:52,920
Me.
So now we have we're doing the
669
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,920
commercial, we get a little bit
break.
670
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,160
I got great pictures of this,
too, with Brandy and them.
671
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,120
We start talking a little bit,
said, Robin, I got to ask you 20
672
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:02,400
years ago.
She said, yeah, right.
673
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:04,400
I met you right in the A&P
grocery store.
674
00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:05,640
I introduced you to my mom and
dad.
675
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,680
And Brady's like, oh, my God,
he's been talking about this for
676
00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:10,560
years.
I said, you know, I would never
677
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,400
forget him.
I don't just introduce anybody
678
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:14,560
to my parents.
She said, oh, it was a great
679
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:15,880
experiment.
She started crying.
680
00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:17,960
She started crying.
She hugged me.
681
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:21,240
Everyone got it on camera.
Then she tweeted it out later,
682
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:23,080
saying it was great meeting you
after so long.
683
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,280
I'll never forget you meeting my
mom and dad.
684
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:28,400
Really cool.
Was she from the same area or?
685
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:29,480
Her.
No, no, no.
686
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,720
She just was working at ESPN and
ESPN is in Bristol.
687
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,240
Bristol, CT Yeah.
And I had a condo that was
688
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,120
literally a mile away.
That's when I had my son.
689
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,080
My son was born in Bristol,
right across from Bristol High
690
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:43,680
School.
It's kind of ironic.
691
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,520
It really is.
And now every time she sees me,
692
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,360
she was my favorite guy.
She brings my kids back,
693
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,280
everything.
And it's it's really, really
694
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:54,080
been a great relationship.
Matter of fact, after I proposed
695
00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,520
a Brandy, they came to our house
and did another episode in
696
00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,560
August, like a follow up to
that, and we filmed it and did a
697
00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:06,360
brief thing Robin Roberts did
like a episode out of her, out
698
00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:07,840
of her house.
It was really cool.
699
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:11,000
That is really cool.
My kid met Michael Strahan that
700
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:12,960
day.
You really do know all these
701
00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:14,720
people.
I made them a believer.
702
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:19,000
That is so crazy.
Well, let's go back to the
703
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:20,880
modern inventor.
Actually, let's go in to Pitch
704
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:22,040
the Pros.
We haven't talked about that
705
00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:23,840
yet.
What is Pitch the Pros and how
706
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:25,280
can people get involved?
Do they want to be?
707
00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:27,040
Yeah.
So Pitch the Pros is something
708
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:31,240
from doing a lot of shows that I
see how entrepreneurs struggle
709
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:33,720
getting their products launched.
And I thought and what a great
710
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:38,200
platform to have inventors pitch
to industry experts.
711
00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,480
So I put together a program, I
bought the IPS, I trademarked
712
00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:46,480
it, and now I put these shows on
where I bring the experts.
713
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:50,880
You know, at in Vegas we had
Everett Taylor, who's the CEO of
714
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:53,360
Kickstarter.
Jason Pfeiffer is a senior
715
00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:57,480
editor of Entrepreneur magazine.
Rudy Meyer, who's the, the, the,
716
00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,720
the number one marketing genius
with all the celebrities.
717
00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,160
Matter of fact, he's got a
program on Amazon called 60 Day
718
00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:07,240
Hustle.
He's filming season 2 right now.
719
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,400
So he's coming to our event in
Greenville, but basically gives
720
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:14,360
entrepreneurs a chance to pitch
and, and, and, and really like a
721
00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,320
Shark Tank environment where you
have folks who know how to
722
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:19,520
launch products, they know how
to market it, you have
723
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,600
investors.
How many products do you have
724
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,360
launched at this point?
Boy, let me say 100 at least
725
00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,760
100, right, Maybe more.
It's up there, including some of
726
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,560
my own, but it's been to me.
It's rewarding when you get the
727
00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:32,880
right partner and you help the
right people.
728
00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,160
The the joy and the feedback is
just incredible because like,
729
00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:39,480
like scrub daddy, right?
It's guys going to do a billion
730
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:41,760
dollars in sales.
When are you going to meet him?
731
00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:44,920
He's on the stage, you know, and
he's great.
732
00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:46,200
Yeah.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
733
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:47,440
He's gracious with his.
He's a friend of mine.
734
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,720
He's gracious with his time
talks a lot of them.
735
00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:51,880
Sometimes I got to break him
away because they won't let go.
736
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,000
Right.
But, but like, where are you
737
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:55,400
going to get a chance to meet
some of these people?
738
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:59,360
Or even Daymond John Damon came
to Greenville last last couple
739
00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:03,320
years, did a charity event with
with Tasha, her events called
740
00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:06,760
Hope Organization.
So you give kids like from from
741
00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:11,440
10 to 18 a chance to pitch their
product and show off some of
742
00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,800
their skill sets.
And one year we brought the 12
743
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:17,199
Shark Tank winners.
Damon was there and they were
744
00:34:17,199 --> 00:34:20,600
pitching directly to these
winners and great feedback and
745
00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:23,679
they did a really great job.
It's just it's, it's amazing so.
746
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:25,560
What do you have in store for
this year This.
747
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:28,960
Year's going to be a good one.
So we're going to do a, a pitch
748
00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:30,600
off event.
That's what we did in Vegas too.
749
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:34,080
We, we had the, the ones like
there's usually 15 or so, 15 or
750
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:37,639
20 that make it to the big stage
where you win, you know, you can
751
00:34:37,639 --> 00:34:41,159
win $10,000.
You can get on Hall of Fame, you
752
00:34:41,159 --> 00:34:44,639
can get on TV and National
Exposure, you can get a partner.
753
00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:48,800
This year we're going to, we did
a pitch off and we do the same
754
00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:51,480
thing this year where you get
to, to actually the ones that
755
00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:56,360
don't finish, let's say in the
top 131415, there's a couple
756
00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:59,440
spots, usually one or two on the
mainstage and we haven't pitched
757
00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:01,320
it off.
There'll be 30 products that
758
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:05,040
maybe fall into that category.
They'll have multiple judging
759
00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:06,440
panels.
They'll pitch.
760
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,280
The judges will pick the ones
that they want to go on the
761
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:11,840
mainstage.
And in last year's event, one of
762
00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:14,800
the pitch off products finished
in the top five.
763
00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:16,880
So if they didn't get a chance
to pitch off, they wouldn't have
764
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:18,520
made it to the top five.
Yeah.
765
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:20,440
So it's really, really cool.
And it brings a lot of
766
00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:22,320
excitement.
So we'll do that in Greenville,
767
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:25,400
downtown Greenville, that during
the day.
768
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:27,800
And then at night, we're going
to have up on one of the
769
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:29,920
rooftops a really big meet and
greet.
770
00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:33,960
Matter of fact, Garrett Kaufman
Huffman, one of the rising stars
771
00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:36,000
in Greenville for country music,
he's going to be playing.
772
00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:38,760
Kid is great.
And then on Friday we're going
773
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,720
to have the the big pitch off
event where we're actually not
774
00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:45,520
going to tell people who won.
You have to be present like the
775
00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:47,840
ones who have pitched, and we're
going to call you out of the
776
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:49,520
audience.
On the spot.
777
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:52,400
To.
Pitch and everyone says I can do
778
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,240
it, I won't be nervous.
You should have.
779
00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:56,200
How many people have told us
that last year in Vegas?
780
00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,200
Then you walk on the stage and
Damon's there with me.
781
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:03,680
There's 2200 people, the lights
are bright, there's these big
782
00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:06,080
time clocks on the bottom and
monitors.
783
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:10,280
And then you see like your
voices are cracking, hands are
784
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:12,120
shaking.
It's a whole different thing.
785
00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:15,240
That's and I don't care how
ready you are, if you've never
786
00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:17,120
done that, you're truly not
ready.
787
00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:19,560
Especially too, because you
don't know when you're going up
788
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:21,400
there.
If you are, you're just in your.
789
00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:23,840
I'm notorious for that.
I'm in my comfort zone.
790
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:25,960
I'm just so chill.
And then all of a sudden you
791
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:27,360
spark it.
It's like you get up on top of
792
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:29,640
the stage, face turns red.
I'm like, oh shoot.
793
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,480
It's like blood pressure rising.
This is why I would say I got
794
00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:35,240
pretty good at this because
like, you know, being on TV, but
795
00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:37,800
even like everyone said, you
know, you've done a lot of TV
796
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:39,520
stuff so you won't be nervous on
Shark Tank.
797
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:42,600
And I don't feel like I was.
I really wasn't nervous, but
798
00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:45,520
it's pretty intense because
they're drilling you on
799
00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:48,200
questions and they're arguing
with each other like some stuff
800
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:51,760
you don't see, like they edit it
so it's good for TV, but they're
801
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:53,920
going at each other.
Like I had like I had like
802
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,240
O'Leary tell Robert to shut up.
Say this guy can probably help
803
00:36:57,240 --> 00:36:59,920
you with your matter of fact.
You guys are horrible at it.
804
00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:02,320
I mean, they were going at it
and then he was coming at me
805
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:05,840
about the valuation and I
remember saying to him, I know
806
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:08,160
you probably don't shop at
Walmart, but when I launch
807
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,360
products, I actually go into
Walmart to see how they're
808
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:11,920
doing.
Your people probably do that.
809
00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:14,000
Then I finally later he actually
goes to Walmart.
810
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:16,800
Oh, he does.
So, so maybe you know, he didn't
811
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:19,440
like the evaluation, which I get
it, but I figure if we're going
812
00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:21,320
to go in big, we're going to go
in all the way.
813
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,640
Have you and Damon John like,
reminisced about that episode
814
00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:26,240
and just I guess that's the
first time you all met I'm.
815
00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:26,840
Sure.
Yeah, Yeah.
816
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:28,840
No, it's not.
And actually, I, I did a little
817
00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,760
clip, which I'm going to post in
the next couple days of me on
818
00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,200
the stage before we actually
started our event.
819
00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:38,240
I talked about it about like,
you know, what a great guy is.
820
00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:40,600
He truly is the people shark.
I mean, he's been so gracious
821
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:44,760
with me and my family and I see
him given time and he invited me
822
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,160
to some of his big events where
there's some, I mean, it was
823
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:51,040
like the last one, like 7
billionaires in the room, like
824
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,280
10 millionaires, right?
Like big time players and it and
825
00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:57,600
it's just really, really cool.
He's, he's an easy guy to talk
826
00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,200
to.
Having my kids meet him, that
827
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,440
was exciting for me because
they, they were nervous. 1 was
828
00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,000
giddy.
Not who they are, right.
829
00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:09,560
Like they're all cocky and, and
now Damon's around meeting for
830
00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:11,800
the first time.
It changes the whole, it changed
831
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:14,080
the whole, you know, the whole
body language.
832
00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:15,080
It was pretty cool.
Absolutely.
833
00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:19,040
That's crazy, who won the the
pitch off last year?
834
00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:22,360
So we had five products, I don't
know if I remember all of them,
835
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:24,280
but there was a rake called
Rako.
836
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,840
It was kind of a a three or four
in one rake.
837
00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:31,160
So it had a rake that adjust in
size, gets wider and narrow, has
838
00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:32,880
a little hole in the back for
digging.
839
00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:39,080
It had a a a bag for poopers
scooping, literally.
840
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:41,040
All in one.
Like, yeah, and it had like a
841
00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:43,400
opener to open up a bottle.
That's pretty good.
842
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:44,640
Oh, no, it's real.
I use it all the time.
843
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,040
It's a great product.
They just got into Ace.
844
00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:50,680
Really good product.
They want paintbrush Fellow 1.
845
00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:54,480
He had this ergonomic paintbrush
that doesn't take No, when you
846
00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:56,560
paint, you get like tension and
tendonitis.
847
00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:59,360
It's really different configured
funny.
848
00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:01,360
He was one of the pitch offs.
He won.
849
00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:06,880
It was this this like crazy lawn
chair and and this is again for
850
00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:10,400
pitching.
She was really nervous and I can
851
00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:12,360
see nobody was understanding
what her product was.
852
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,280
So I kind of stepped in and
said, I don't understand this
853
00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:15,800
product.
Is it just a chair?
854
00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:18,560
I knew what it was or just it
opened up and then it kind of
855
00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:21,880
like it opened her up.
She was like literally shaking.
856
00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:25,480
Then I so let all this opens up,
let's show it.
857
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:29,040
And then she can see it clicked.
She took it on the ground.
858
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:31,960
She opened it up, showed the
compartments how you sit on it.
859
00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:35,160
And it was really cool product.
It was really genius product.
860
00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:40,560
And and it just for me, just
just pushing her a little bit to
861
00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:43,120
show the value of it.
It opened her up, gave her a
862
00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:43,680
little more.
Yeah.
863
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:46,520
I mean, she was so nervous.
I mean she your hands were
864
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:48,160
shaking.
What was your first product?
865
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:53,000
Oh, boy.
My first product was like, this
866
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:54,800
goes way back to the design
school.
867
00:39:55,240 --> 00:39:58,680
I I had this task of coming up
with this like little jet model
868
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,360
plane that you can sell and
build.
869
00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:02,800
I don't remember back in the
day.
870
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:04,040
Again, I'm showing my model
planes.
871
00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:07,040
Yeah, but you had to paint it
and it came up with this fancy
872
00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:11,640
design and and it had to be
like, so I had to design it from
873
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:15,280
scratch.
Like label it, market it, do the
874
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:16,840
drawings, the whole design,
everything.
875
00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:18,720
That was really my my first big
one.
876
00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:21,240
I got a A+ on it.
I got extra credit on it.
877
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,360
What was your first product that
you got into a commercial
878
00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:28,720
retailer?
It's probably one of our tick
879
00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:30,280
removers.
We have a tick remover called
880
00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:33,320
Ticket Off today.
It's a one handed tick remover.
881
00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:35,960
Literally it's plastic.
It has a lifetime warranty.
882
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:37,920
You can you don't have to touch
the tick.
883
00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,840
You can take it off of a dog off
of you drop it in container,
884
00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:43,320
have it checked.
We got that in in retail.
885
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:46,280
Super potty training was another
big one that was sitting around
886
00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:47,720
for a while.
Yeah.
887
00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:50,640
So I, I've been in design my
whole life, right.
888
00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:53,920
And, and in some point design
and automotive.
889
00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:56,760
Then I started getting into the
design of products and another
890
00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:01,320
big product called the the Dust
Deputy, which I took really from
891
00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:06,440
a scratch of like a metal
prototype and turned it into
892
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:09,760
this really plastic
sophisticated product that
893
00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:12,840
cyclones material out of shop
vacs.
894
00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:15,040
So if you know anything about a
shop vac, when you're doing like
895
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:18,120
sheetrock or wood, it
immediately clogs a filter.
896
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:21,240
And in most cases, contractors
don't want to stop the work.
897
00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:24,240
They blow out the motor and then
they have to replace it.
898
00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:27,080
Well, this doesn't allow the
filter to get clogged.
899
00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:30,600
It cycles the material out,
drops into a separate bucket so
900
00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:31,760
you never have to replace the
filter.
901
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:34,920
The filter is always clean and
it segregates, especially with
902
00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:36,880
sheetrock.
Sheetrock will fill it up like
903
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:39,200
like that, right?
It's like 3 microns.
904
00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:42,240
If someone comes to you with an
idea, what does that process
905
00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:45,080
look like from idea to finally
retailer?
906
00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:47,200
Yeah.
So I, I always ask like some
907
00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:50,360
questions upfront, like if it's
an idea, then you got to get it
908
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,080
on paper, right?
That's the first step.
909
00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:56,920
You got to get something that
you can show somebody, even if
910
00:41:56,920 --> 00:41:59,400
it's a, if it's a handmade
prototype, if you have a
911
00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:01,360
prototype, then I always ask
questions.
912
00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,520
Did you think about any type of
patents on it, whether it's a
913
00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:07,880
utility or design, you can do a
provisional which will cover you
914
00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:10,560
for a year.
Then then you got to look at
915
00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:13,800
budgets because that that's like
when you're launching products.
916
00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:18,640
It's an intense amount of work
and it's, it's, it, it, it's not
917
00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:21,840
something you can do part time.
It'll take you forever part
918
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:23,320
time.
If you truly want to do it, then
919
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:25,400
you, you have to either get some
people that know what they're
920
00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:27,880
doing to help you, right?
You got to look at the design of
921
00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:30,640
it, the manufacturability of it.
Do you want to go in retail?
922
00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:32,800
You just want to be on Amazon.
You want to be in e-commerce.
923
00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:35,120
What type of marketing you want
to get on social media?
924
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:36,840
Do you want to actually do a
marketing campaign?
925
00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:40,400
If you, if you get it in retail,
then you have to be ready for
926
00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:42,600
the, the, you know, the
wholesale price.
927
00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:44,600
If it's a $20 unit, they'll
probably sell it to them for
928
00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:45,880
11:00.
You got to pay for shipping.
929
00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:48,600
You got to have a, a
distribution center that
930
00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:50,880
actually can fulfill it.
They that's what we call these
931
00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:53,480
three PLS or a warehouse that
can ship it.
932
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:56,960
You got to have a place for a 18
Wheeler to pull up or you're
933
00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:59,320
going to do it.
A lot of the, the, the postal
934
00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:01,280
services.
I mean, there's a lot that goes
935
00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:06,640
into it and it's a lot of money.
And I, for me, I love the fact
936
00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:10,240
that I'm on TV because I get a
big audience all at once.
937
00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:12,880
Where if you don't have that,
then you got to market it to
938
00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:17,040
social media or you got to be on
TikTok or Instagram or e-mail
939
00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:18,880
blast.
And then it's not as fast.
940
00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:21,960
I mean, you do get some that go
viral, but typically when you
941
00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:23,760
stand in front of a camera and
there's 2 million people
942
00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:26,600
watching, you get an immediate
hit and you got to be ready for
943
00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:27,760
that.
Your websites got to be ready.
944
00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:30,000
Some people say they have a
website ready and I look at it
945
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:32,400
and go, it's not ready.
Looks like your kid did it.
946
00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:36,640
So you talked about earlier
about doing American made
947
00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:38,440
products for all of your
products American?
948
00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:40,320
Made.
No, I, I did not.
949
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:43,200
Everything's made for the US
Like things that I can injection
950
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:47,000
mold and eliminate the waste I
do a really good job of and I
951
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,960
can be really competitive and
fastest to market.
952
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:53,480
But if you're doing clothing,
it's just not, it's not, not not
953
00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:54,960
made.
Or if you're doing a lot of
954
00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:58,240
assembly, not good for US
because labor's so high.
955
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:01,000
But you have to look at when
you're doing it outside of the
956
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:05,360
country, what are the shipping
costs and what are the handling
957
00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:08,440
costs when you get it to the US?
Because a lot of people think,
958
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:10,240
oh, I'm making that $0.50
cheaper.
959
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:13,080
But when you're done, you're
really not because shipping
960
00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:16,920
costs, logistics costs is a cost
and it goes to the bottom line.
961
00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:19,480
So you might be getting the
peace price a little bit
962
00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:22,800
cheaper, but getting it to a
point where you get it
963
00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:25,160
delivered, it's not.
So always ask for that delivered
964
00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:27,160
price.
When people have an idea and
965
00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:29,160
they want to get it launched,
what are some of the biggest
966
00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:31,200
mistakes that they make?
They spend the money in the
967
00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:33,000
wrong places.
Not everything needs a patent
968
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:34,720
right away either, right?
First of all, you got to really
969
00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:36,520
spend some time and see if there
is there a market.
970
00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:39,320
Are there consumers that want to
buy your product?
971
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:43,480
So those, those spend a lot of
money on tooling unnecessarily,
972
00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:46,440
a lot of money on patents
unnecessarily without even
973
00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:47,680
knowing if they have a market
yet.
974
00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:50,400
And then when it's time to
market, they say I don't have a
975
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:52,800
budget for it.
That's the most important part
976
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:55,280
of it because I always say you
have the greatest product in the
977
00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:57,800
world.
If no one knows about it, it's
978
00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:01,600
not going to sell.
And that that's why I see so
979
00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:03,840
many mistakes, so many common
mistakes.
980
00:45:03,840 --> 00:45:06,320
When you look back on your
career, I mean you started in
981
00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:09,000
the corporate and then quickly
took off and where do your own
982
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:11,440
thing entrepreneurship, What
were some of the obstacles that
983
00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:13,240
you had to overcome?
I think the same thing.
984
00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:15,080
It's it's how you're going to
fund it, right?
985
00:45:15,080 --> 00:45:17,680
It's always like it is a risk.
I can't remember Brandy always
986
00:45:17,680 --> 00:45:20,320
saying to me, you're really
going to put 100 grand into that
987
00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,240
product.
I'm like, I have a good feeling
988
00:45:23,240 --> 00:45:24,800
like, and you can't do with
every product.
989
00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:28,680
And not that you even having a
good feeling means anything, but
990
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:30,000
there's, I've been good with
that.
991
00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:31,520
There's been an instinct, like
there's something I'm really
992
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:33,200
good at.
There's some things like buying
993
00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:37,160
stocks I'm not so good at
because you don't have control
994
00:45:37,160 --> 00:45:39,480
over that, right?
But things that I can do, I have
995
00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:41,600
control over.
I think that's, that's been a
996
00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:42,840
big thing.
But there's, there's a, you
997
00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:46,160
know, there's a moment of, of,
of coming to Jesus when you're
998
00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:49,240
dropping 100 grand on a product,
Are you going to get that back?
999
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:52,520
Because it's like, it's, I
always say like when you, when
1000
00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:55,520
you're in manufacturing, you can
make a mistake and build too
1001
00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:58,760
much inventory and if it sells,
slowly get it back.
1002
00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:00,200
So you just slow your cash flow
down.
1003
00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:03,720
But if you mess up labor and you
pay too much for labor, you're
1004
00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:07,080
never getting it back ever.
That's a waste you can't ever
1005
00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,200
recover.
So I always say that that's why
1006
00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:13,680
to me, process is so important
to cost because it's, it's, it's
1007
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:16,560
a, it's a, it's a, a dollar
amount that you can't recoup.
1008
00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:18,520
Yep.
OK, I make too much inventory.
1009
00:46:18,520 --> 00:46:21,240
As long as you're not buying
stupid inventory, I see people
1010
00:46:21,240 --> 00:46:23,960
buy $300,000 with inventory and
they'll never get their money
1011
00:46:23,960 --> 00:46:26,160
back because it's not going to
sell then you then you're
1012
00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:28,400
selling it, you know, for
clearance items.
1013
00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:30,960
But if it's, if it's a
reasonable amount of inventory
1014
00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:33,920
where you need it to sell it,
you'll get it back even if it's
1015
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:37,040
a longer period of time.
So that that's really important
1016
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:39,480
early on and marketing is again,
it's such a it's.
1017
00:46:39,600 --> 00:46:40,960
Insightful way.
I don't realize how important
1018
00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:42,120
marketing was, but it makes
sense.
1019
00:46:42,120 --> 00:46:43,720
I mean, you have a great
product, no one knows about it.
1020
00:46:43,720 --> 00:46:45,480
You can't.
I can remember going to a
1021
00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:47,440
corporate America company and
they had a great product.
1022
00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:48,640
I took it on Good Morning
America.
1023
00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:50,120
They were selling 1000 units a
month.
1024
00:46:50,720 --> 00:46:53,680
Literally the best product on
the market that no one knew
1025
00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:55,840
about.
We got on Good Morning America.
1026
00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:59,600
We went from 1000 a month to
10,000 a month. 10,000 over over
1027
00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:01,760
about a year.
No, this is even before this is
1028
00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:04,280
before TikTok.
I got to keep aging myself, do.
1029
00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:08,000
You use TikTok pretty heavily.
Yeah, I I use it.
1030
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:09,760
I use it for fun really.
Does that does that have a good
1031
00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:13,320
turn out?
It just pens like you like for
1032
00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:15,440
TikTok.
To me, you have to be on there
1033
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:19,520
alive and spend a lot of time on
live to really pick up followers
1034
00:47:19,520 --> 00:47:22,360
and have it go viral.
It's kind of like the the, the
1035
00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:24,600
way they have it set up.
Instagram's a little bit
1036
00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:27,480
different, Facebook's different,
Linkedin's different TikTok to
1037
00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:31,760
me, if you're on there live on a
regular basis, you can get a lot
1038
00:47:31,760 --> 00:47:33,600
of volume.
I'm I'm just not doing TikTok
1039
00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:34,560
that live.
Yeah.
1040
00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:36,720
Anyways, I'm doing more of the
TV stuff.
1041
00:47:37,120 --> 00:47:39,000
But I think we'll, with the
radio show, we'll probably start
1042
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:40,240
doing that a little bit more
live.
1043
00:47:40,240 --> 00:47:41,480
Nice.
Yeah, I'd love to dive into your
1044
00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:43,520
radio show a little bit.
When does that expected?
1045
00:47:43,520 --> 00:47:46,920
To April 8th is the first show.
This will be out before then or.
1046
00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:47,960
After then I should Yeah.
OK.
1047
00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:51,120
April 8th, it's it's me and and
Justin Williams.
1048
00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:53,240
He's the director of the Hall of
Fame.
1049
00:47:53,640 --> 00:47:56,120
So we we did a big Hall of Fame
show last year.
1050
00:47:56,280 --> 00:47:58,040
We had what, over 2000 in the
audience.
1051
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:00,200
Josh Turner was there, a lot of
big names.
1052
00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:03,200
It was all the media was there.
It was pretty cool.
1053
00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:06,480
I got a chance to speak, tell
everybody how I Can't Sing.
1054
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:10,640
Although I met, I met Stephen
Tyler.
1055
00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:13,400
That's another good story.
So I met Steve, he's from New
1056
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:16,440
Hampshire.
I was at an event he was at and
1057
00:48:16,440 --> 00:48:18,600
you know, everyone's going up to
him and that's the last thing I
1058
00:48:18,600 --> 00:48:19,680
want to do is go up and bother
him.
1059
00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:20,440
So I wait.
I didn't.
1060
00:48:21,080 --> 00:48:22,200
So I got to meet him.
I got to meet him.
1061
00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:23,360
Great.
So he's walking out.
1062
00:48:23,720 --> 00:48:28,040
It's like me and him literally.
And I'll introduce myself.
1063
00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:31,600
And then I said let's do a
selfie.
1064
00:48:31,600 --> 00:48:33,720
Did a selfie, but actually put
his cheek on my face.
1065
00:48:35,080 --> 00:48:37,000
And I said, you know, everyone
tells me I Can't Sing.
1066
00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:39,240
I figure I'll sing you a song.
You tell me.
1067
00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:40,840
And I think it was what I'm
saying.
1068
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:43,320
It was living on the edge.
I started singing.
1069
00:48:43,320 --> 00:48:46,040
He goes, OK, take the picture.
I go, so are you telling me I
1070
00:48:46,040 --> 00:48:47,840
Can't Sing?
He said, no, I'm not saying
1071
00:48:47,840 --> 00:48:50,080
that, just take the picture.
I said, so it's a picture.
1072
00:48:50,080 --> 00:48:52,840
I really Can't Sing.
But he was great.
1073
00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:55,400
He was gracious.
We met Rob Thomas from Matchbox
1074
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:58,080
20.
That's what this is.
1075
00:48:58,200 --> 00:48:59,960
I'm actually good friends with
this photographer now.
1076
00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:01,800
But this is a good story we're
at.
1077
00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:06,240
And what's the casino in
Connecticut?
1078
00:49:06,240 --> 00:49:08,640
Not Ledger, the other.
Oh, Mohegan, Mohegan, we're
1079
00:49:08,640 --> 00:49:11,000
doing a concert there.
All right, VIP passes.
1080
00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:15,160
I even forgot I had a VIP passes
like 20 of us inside this little
1081
00:49:15,160 --> 00:49:17,360
studio.
And I got to meet his publicist
1082
00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:19,920
a little bit and say, hey, how
can we, how can we meet Rob and
1083
00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:21,440
start laughing?
He goes, how many people want to
1084
00:49:21,440 --> 00:49:23,160
meet him?
So I don't care about everybody
1085
00:49:23,160 --> 00:49:24,160
else.
How do I meet him?
1086
00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:27,120
So we just had some fun with
him.
1087
00:49:27,120 --> 00:49:29,200
He did a video of us talking to
him.
1088
00:49:29,920 --> 00:49:33,120
So we go to the concert, there's
like 1 section and there's a an
1089
00:49:33,120 --> 00:49:36,360
open aisle and we're in the
we're in the the first seats.
1090
00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:41,600
He's singing.
This is how our heart breaks.
1091
00:49:42,120 --> 00:49:44,200
He's singing and he starts
walking and we had just come
1092
00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:46,400
back from grabbing a beer.
We sat down.
1093
00:49:46,400 --> 00:49:49,200
I go Brandon, he's walking down
the stairs, he's walking.
1094
00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:51,440
He's got like the spotlight on
him and all his bodyguards
1095
00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:52,840
around him.
He's walking, he's walking
1096
00:49:52,840 --> 00:49:54,720
towards us.
And she like didn't even hear a
1097
00:49:54,720 --> 00:49:57,000
word I said.
He's walking towards as I put my
1098
00:49:57,000 --> 00:49:59,760
beard on.
I get my camera out, they circle
1099
00:49:59,760 --> 00:50:04,120
us and he gives me a high 5 and
starts singing and grabs her and
1100
00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:06,120
hugs her and sings the whole
song to her.
1101
00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:08,520
I got it on film.
Everything.
1102
00:50:09,240 --> 00:50:10,360
No.
Then he stood on top of the
1103
00:50:10,360 --> 00:50:12,400
chair in front of us and
finished the song and then went
1104
00:50:12,400 --> 00:50:14,760
off.
I'm like, are you kidding
1105
00:50:14,760 --> 00:50:15,880
people?
Like how did you know Rob?
1106
00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:19,680
I call, I do now.
That was a really great
1107
00:50:19,680 --> 00:50:20,400
experience.
That was it.
1108
00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:22,000
She was like, what just
happened?
1109
00:50:22,440 --> 00:50:24,560
That was pretty cool.
But we'll close it out here
1110
00:50:24,560 --> 00:50:26,040
soon.
We're getting close to an hour.
1111
00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:29,920
But when you think about the
entrepreneurial spirit and the
1112
00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:34,400
manufacturing process, if you're
speaking to a 252627 year old or
1113
00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:36,480
someone that just wants to get
started in that, what are the
1114
00:50:36,480 --> 00:50:40,240
most important characteristics
to be a successful entrepreneur?
1115
00:50:40,560 --> 00:50:44,440
You got to act on your actions.
Can't speak them to life.
1116
00:50:44,600 --> 00:50:46,440
They don't come to life by
speaking about them.
1117
00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:49,480
You have to really take action.
And I would say if you have a
1118
00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:53,320
good idea, get it on paper, lay
it out, do some, you know, some
1119
00:50:53,320 --> 00:50:57,920
cheap, inexpensive prototypes
and see how it works.
1120
00:50:57,920 --> 00:50:59,880
And then see if there's a market
for it.
1121
00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:03,040
Ask your friends, ask your
family, because you just don't
1122
00:51:03,040 --> 00:51:05,520
know until you so people look at
it and say, oh, I really like
1123
00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:06,880
that.
I mean, that's what happened
1124
00:51:06,880 --> 00:51:07,680
with me.
It was a Shark Tank.
1125
00:51:07,680 --> 00:51:10,240
I saw a product.
I saw something that I liked
1126
00:51:10,240 --> 00:51:11,240
about it.
It was pretty cool.
1127
00:51:11,240 --> 00:51:14,120
I'd been sitting in her garage
for eight years, really dead,
1128
00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:17,360
literally.
And I, I revived it and, and
1129
00:51:17,360 --> 00:51:19,360
that's what I would say like,
and then you've got to go to
1130
00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:21,760
work.
It's not going to come to life
1131
00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:24,360
by you talking about it.
I see a lot of people talking
1132
00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:27,640
about stuff, right?
We always talk about that was my
1133
00:51:27,640 --> 00:51:28,800
idea.
I had that idea.
1134
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:30,560
No, you didn't.
You might have had that idea.
1135
00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:33,520
Somebody reacted and made it
into reality.
1136
00:51:33,520 --> 00:51:36,360
And that's what you have to do.
You have to go to work and don't
1137
00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:39,960
try to do everything yourself
because you're not a marketer,
1138
00:51:40,680 --> 00:51:41,960
right?
Or maybe you are a marketer.
1139
00:51:41,960 --> 00:51:44,160
Maybe then you're not a no, no,
I'm saying, but then you're not
1140
00:51:44,160 --> 00:51:46,880
a design person, right?
Or you're not a social media
1141
00:51:46,880 --> 00:51:49,320
influencer.
You're not a TV influencer.
1142
00:51:49,680 --> 00:51:52,480
Find people who you can trust
and build the right team.
1143
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:56,040
That's a key point is really
finding people who see your
1144
00:51:56,040 --> 00:51:58,200
vision.
Not everyone's going to see it
1145
00:51:58,200 --> 00:52:02,400
the way you see it or believe in
what how you believe in it, but
1146
00:52:02,520 --> 00:52:06,440
find somebody that you can work
with that that have that has
1147
00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:09,680
done it not I have people all
day long telling me how to get
1148
00:52:09,680 --> 00:52:11,680
on Shark Tank.
I'm gonna how would you know?
1149
00:52:11,880 --> 00:52:14,800
You've never been on Shark Tank.
You're going around selling how
1150
00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:17,000
to get on Shark Tank and you've
never been on Shark Tank.
1151
00:52:17,360 --> 00:52:20,000
So how can you tell me that?
And that's an irritation for me
1152
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:22,520
because I know how much work it
was right to get on Shark Tank
1153
00:52:22,520 --> 00:52:24,880
or get a good get on Good
Morning America to launch a
1154
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:26,920
product.
Don't act like you're going to
1155
00:52:26,920 --> 00:52:28,640
coach somebody and you've never
done it.
1156
00:52:29,160 --> 00:52:31,920
That's false advertisement.
Like be real about it.
1157
00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:34,400
So find the right person.
It's easy.
1158
00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:37,240
A lot of information on.
I know when you Google, there's
1159
00:52:37,240 --> 00:52:38,800
a lot of information on social
media.
1160
00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:40,160
You can check people's
background.
1161
00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:43,040
You can see, I mean, if you go
on my site, everything we talked
1162
00:52:43,040 --> 00:52:45,320
about now, you can see
credibility.
1163
00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:46,960
Yeah, it's all facts.
Yeah, I've seen some of the
1164
00:52:46,960 --> 00:52:48,080
pictures and posts on LinkedIn
and.
1165
00:52:48,080 --> 00:52:48,440
What?
Yeah.
1166
00:52:48,760 --> 00:52:50,320
And it's kind of funny.
I was at Walmart.
1167
00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:53,840
I met somebody.
Does this Make 48 program?
1168
00:52:54,280 --> 00:52:56,120
And I was telling about Good
Morning America and some of
1169
00:52:56,120 --> 00:52:57,320
those things.
I can almost feel like you
1170
00:52:57,320 --> 00:52:59,480
didn't believe me.
And I started showing the real
1171
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:02,280
pictures of Michael Strahan and
Robin Roberts just like, Oh my
1172
00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:04,240
God, Oh my God.
Then he invited me to his next
1173
00:53:04,240 --> 00:53:05,320
event.
But that's what I'm saying.
1174
00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:08,080
I always have.
I like to tell a story, but I
1175
00:53:08,080 --> 00:53:10,400
also like to have the videos and
the photos that go with the
1176
00:53:10,400 --> 00:53:12,760
story because it just gives
credibility and it brings
1177
00:53:12,760 --> 00:53:15,320
realization to it.
So find the right people to help
1178
00:53:15,320 --> 00:53:17,080
you get it launched.
Absolutely.
1179
00:53:17,080 --> 00:53:19,360
And if someone is looking for
the right people, how can they
1180
00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:21,720
find the modern inventor?
It's really simple.
1181
00:53:21,720 --> 00:53:26,680
modern-inventor.com or
Christopher dot Guerrera.
1182
00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:28,680
I'm on all the social media
platforms.
1183
00:53:28,720 --> 00:53:30,200
There you go.
You heard it here folks.
1184
00:53:30,200 --> 00:53:31,520
So Chris, thank you for joining
me.
1185
00:53:31,520 --> 00:53:32,800
I really.
Appreciate this has been fun.
1186
00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:34,400
I I love talking about this
stuff.
1187
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:35,760
It's been great.
Thank you.
00:00:03,160 --> 00:00:04,920
I always had that entrepreneur
skill in me.
2
00:00:05,000 --> 00:00:08,640
I trademarked a name, I bought
the IPS, and then I started to
3
00:00:08,640 --> 00:00:12,000
really blow it up with Shark
Tank Gas and some big names.
4
00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,160
I had somebody actually threaten
to throw me off the off their
5
00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,720
third floor balcony.
If you know anything about me,
6
00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:19,080
you know I don't take that stuff
well.
7
00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,840
I'm a competitor.
Amazon sold out of 8800 units in
8
00:00:22,840 --> 00:00:26,520
like 2 minutes and my first
shark is Mr. Wonderful.
9
00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,360
No matter how prepared you are,
you're still not prepared when
10
00:00:29,360 --> 00:00:31,840
you walk up and see them staring
at you.
11
00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,320
I don't care how ready you are.
If you've never done that,
12
00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:39,040
you're truly not ready.
You got to act on your actions.
13
00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:41,720
Can't speak them to life.
They don't come to life by
14
00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:43,800
speaking about them.
You've got to go to work.
15
00:00:43,920 --> 00:00:46,480
It's not going to come to life
by you talking about it.
16
00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:53,600
Growing a small to mid sized
business is like pushing a stop
17
00:00:53,600 --> 00:00:55,360
train.
You're going to need help to get
18
00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,320
that initial momentum going.
Administrative tasks like
19
00:00:58,320 --> 00:01:01,760
payroll, managing health
insurance, and HR operations
20
00:01:01,760 --> 00:01:05,200
only add unnecessary weight to
your already busy schedule.
21
00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:08,560
That's why I'd choose Questco.
They take care of all the behind
22
00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:12,000
the scenes administrative and HR
work, letting you focus on what
23
00:01:12,000 --> 00:01:14,160
truly matters, growing your
business.
24
00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,920
Questco is your trusted
outsourcing HR service provider
25
00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:19,680
to help you get that train
moving.
26
00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:25,480
That's QUESTCO.
Questco visit questco.net or
27
00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:28,520
call your local QUESTCO
representative Thomas Owens at
28
00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:33,040
864-477-0843 to get started
today.
29
00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:42,200
So.
How long have you been doing the
30
00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:45,800
modern Inventor?
I literally, I was doing a lot
31
00:01:45,800 --> 00:01:48,120
of stuff before that that was
similar, but I actually launched
32
00:01:48,120 --> 00:01:51,000
it last January and it's like a
blew up last year.
33
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:53,600
How, how much preparation did
you have going into it?
34
00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:55,200
Like what was?
How long did you have the idea
35
00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:58,120
for it?
Probably for like 1/2 a year at
36
00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:00,320
least.
I would say we were doing a lot
37
00:02:00,320 --> 00:02:03,200
of trade shows.
I'm also on the board of like
38
00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:05,120
the United Inventor Association,
which is an inventor
39
00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,440
association, and we do a lot of
pitch to pros.
40
00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:10,560
And I'm like, OK, nobody's like
this becoming a big deal.
41
00:02:10,560 --> 00:02:14,880
So I trademarked the name.
I bought the IPS and then I
42
00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:18,360
started to really blow it up
with Shark Tank gas and some big
43
00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:23,320
names and then we got really
some attention by Alibaba and
44
00:02:23,320 --> 00:02:25,280
that's what we got.
Like we put that we put on a big
45
00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:28,920
show Last Vegas last year in
Vegas in September and Damon was
46
00:02:28,920 --> 00:02:33,600
my Co host and we had 2200 in
the audience and 11,000,000 live
47
00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:35,520
streaming.
And every time I did a
48
00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:39,280
commercial we did like I I
talked about it on CBS and then
49
00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,920
we ran it.
I had like 380 five 385,000
50
00:02:42,920 --> 00:02:46,680
views on one, 435,000 views on
another just blowing up.
51
00:02:46,720 --> 00:02:49,280
So that for those that are
listening are not familiar, what
52
00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:52,080
is the modern inventor?
Yeah, the modern inventor is a
53
00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,720
platform.
If you have an idea or a
54
00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,680
product, we could make it
reality, we could bring it to
55
00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:00,320
life.
So if you're looking to get it
56
00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,680
in front of large companies, we
have that capability of looking
57
00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:06,000
to get it marketed.
We can do that, Amazon folks,
58
00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:10,080
warehousing, inventory
management, television exposure.
59
00:03:10,080 --> 00:03:13,920
We really can take that product
or that idea and, and, and and
60
00:03:13,920 --> 00:03:15,920
make it a reality.
So I guess you've had a ton of
61
00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:18,320
experience throughout your
career of actually doing that.
62
00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:20,400
Is that kind of where the idea
of where it came from?
63
00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,720
Yeah, You know, I would say I
started back when I was 13.
64
00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:27,200
You know, I had the largest
paper and people going, what's
65
00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:28,240
the pig?
You're probably saying, what's
66
00:03:28,240 --> 00:03:29,080
the paper?
Yeah.
67
00:03:29,240 --> 00:03:31,680
Newspaper.
Newspaper, yeah, the largest one
68
00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:36,680
in in Waterbury, CT And
essentially you get like at 5:00
69
00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:41,080
in the morning, there's a truck
and or somebody's station wagon
70
00:03:41,080 --> 00:03:43,440
car.
They drop off newspapers at your
71
00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:46,720
house.
I had 130 customers.
72
00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,640
So I had as a 13.
Year old as a 13 year old now.
73
00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:52,240
Now keep in mind I was also
third in the state and track.
74
00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,520
I was, you know, I was playing
basketball and, and when you're
75
00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,000
in track and cross country, you
have to work out a lot, right?
76
00:03:59,000 --> 00:04:01,680
You have to do a lot of hill
work, 10 mile run.
77
00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,360
So you're occupied and then you
have to do your school work on
78
00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,840
top of all that, right?
So I, I, I would take the paper
79
00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:13,160
in the morning and go deliver it
all The, the, the weekday wasn't
80
00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:16,600
as bad as like Sunday.
Sunday was three to four times
81
00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:18,720
larger.
How long would that take this?
82
00:04:19,040 --> 00:04:21,920
That could take 4 hours.
So as a 13 year old you were
83
00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:23,920
working 4 hours every Sunday.
Absolutely.
84
00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:26,120
I mean, that's I felt like I
always had that entrepreneur
85
00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,640
skill in me or where and I was
competitive.
86
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,200
So my friends had paper routes.
We had a bet who was going to
87
00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:33,920
get the biggest one, who was
going to last the longest and I
88
00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:35,760
did.
I just felt like, you know, I
89
00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:38,560
would get up at 5, do my paper
route, get ready for school, go
90
00:04:38,560 --> 00:04:42,200
to school 2:00, get out, go do
my cross country runs on my
91
00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:46,000
track meets, then come home,
play basketball for a couple
92
00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:48,680
hours, do my homework at night
and started all over again.
93
00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:50,920
And on Thursdays I had to
collect.
94
00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:53,440
So you got to literally go and
collect money from your
95
00:04:53,440 --> 00:04:55,320
customers.
So you deliver the papers and
96
00:04:55,320 --> 00:04:56,880
then you have to do the whole
route again.
97
00:04:57,000 --> 00:04:58,680
Yeah, collect money.
Yeah, there was morning routes,
98
00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:00,320
afternoon routes and then Sunday
routes.
99
00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:02,320
Do you ever have times where
customers weren't willing to
100
00:05:02,320 --> 00:05:04,440
pay?
I had somebody actually threaten
101
00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:07,960
to throw me off the off the
third floor balcony if I tried
102
00:05:07,960 --> 00:05:09,840
to collect again.
And it's funny because the
103
00:05:09,840 --> 00:05:11,760
newspaper company said you have
to keep delivering.
104
00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:14,360
I said, OK.
I said fine, I'll, I'll this is,
105
00:05:14,360 --> 00:05:15,520
this isn't one of our
Connecticut.
106
00:05:15,520 --> 00:05:19,120
It's kind of in a rough
neighborhood so I said OK, I'll
107
00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:20,760
keep delivering, but I'm taking
my brothers with me.
108
00:05:20,760 --> 00:05:23,160
I had two older brothers so they
showed up and of course a guy
109
00:05:23,160 --> 00:05:25,040
never answered his door with my
two older brothers with me.
110
00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:29,000
But I eventually got paid.
There's ways of getting paid.
111
00:05:29,600 --> 00:05:32,120
We made it happen.
Was that work ethic instilled in
112
00:05:32,120 --> 00:05:34,040
your parents?
My mom, my mom and dad.
113
00:05:34,040 --> 00:05:36,560
My dad was worked for Raytheon.
Really.
114
00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:38,080
I used to work for Raytheon.
Oh, you did.
115
00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:39,960
Yeah, we were.
So I worked in cyber security
116
00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,680
and it was Raytheon here down
the road, but their cyber
117
00:05:42,680 --> 00:05:44,880
security department, they sold
it to Blackstone.
118
00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:46,040
Yeah.
And so now we're called
119
00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:48,000
Nightwing.
My day-to-day is the exact same,
120
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:50,520
my contracts the exact same.
But yeah, it was Raytheon.
121
00:05:50,520 --> 00:05:51,040
So that's.
Fine.
122
00:05:51,040 --> 00:05:54,000
My dad worked for 40 years, wow.
And my brother worked there for
123
00:05:54,000 --> 00:05:55,280
45 years.
Wow.
124
00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:57,680
I worked there for three months.
That was it.
125
00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:01,440
I'm I, I like to move.
I'm no it was fine, but it
126
00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:03,680
wasn't something I wanted to
work with my dad or my I want to
127
00:06:03,680 --> 00:06:05,200
be my own person.
What were you doing?
128
00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:07,920
I just, I was doing, I became an
excellent solderer.
129
00:06:07,920 --> 00:06:10,960
I was doing manual soldering of
electronic boards.
130
00:06:11,120 --> 00:06:13,760
Yeah, back in the day before the
wave solder machines came, I
131
00:06:13,760 --> 00:06:15,800
ended up doing that too, but.
So you went to school for
132
00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:17,280
mechanical engineering?
Mechanical.
133
00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:18,960
That's the only engineer there
is right mechanic.
134
00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:22,000
I'm I'm a computer engineer.
I'm just teasing.
135
00:06:22,400 --> 00:06:24,200
Yeah, we know Brady's in
cybersecurity.
136
00:06:24,840 --> 00:06:26,640
OK, nice there.
You go and Windstream for what,
137
00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:28,200
6 years before she started
working with me?
138
00:06:28,200 --> 00:06:30,520
Nice.
Cyber security is growing a ton,
139
00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:32,880
so I enjoy it.
But yeah, your day to days are
140
00:06:32,880 --> 00:06:35,080
pretty like repetitive.
It's kind of saying that you
141
00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:37,760
code all day.
She had, she had cyber security,
142
00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:40,320
she was working in, in the field
where when they came to do an
143
00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,600
attack on a site, she had 7
minutes to stop them before they
144
00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:46,960
infiltrate it.
So it was pretty stressful.
145
00:06:48,120 --> 00:06:49,840
And during COVID, she was
working from home.
146
00:06:49,840 --> 00:06:50,960
So I would go and ask a
question.
147
00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,480
She'd be like, not now, not now.
I'm like, what's going on for
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someone?
She had the Panthers, I think as
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an accountant.
So people trying to get into
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their into their business we're.
Gonna have to have a whole other
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podcast.
Oh yeah.
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So we we do more like software
and like building tools for the
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government more.
Yeah, just engineering, building
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tools, that kind of thing.
Not necessarily the the red
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teaming, the blue teaming, going
back and forth with penetration
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testing and whatnot.
But yeah, to to get it back to
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00:07:19,200 --> 00:07:21,160
you there, what sparked your
interest in mechanical
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00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:23,240
engineering?
I liked working on my hands.
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00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,320
There was something about like
I, I, I was the guy that back in
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00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:28,480
the day, you probably won't know
there's some showing my age now
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00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,480
when I had to work on my car,
for example, I would have to as
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00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:33,480
a 15 year old, I have to go buy
a book.
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00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:34,960
There was no, there was no
YouTube.
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00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:36,800
There was no Google go Google
it.
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I had to go like Caldor's.
I'm really, I'm really dating
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00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,440
myself now.
Caldor's department store,
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00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,120
Bradley's.
This is all before Walmart.
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00:07:45,520 --> 00:07:49,400
Go buy a book about if I want to
change my brakes and then read
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about it and then I would
actually go and do it.
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00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:56,240
I just felt like a really good
visual learner, great with my
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00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,080
hands taking apart
transmissions.
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00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:01,880
Went to a technical high school.
So all of that was something
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00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:03,920
that just instilled in.
I think it's part of your DNA.
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00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:06,560
My dad was electrical.
I never, he wanted me to go into
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electrical.
I did.
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00:08:07,240 --> 00:08:11,880
I like the mechanical better and
I and think about it at 13, I
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00:08:11,880 --> 00:08:13,640
made a decision that I want to
be an engineer.
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00:08:13,640 --> 00:08:16,840
I went to a technical high
school as a freshman at 13 from
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00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:19,960
Waterbury, CT Cano Tech.
You had to pass a test like it
180
00:08:19,960 --> 00:08:21,600
was a pretty.
Magnet program.
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00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:23,000
Yeah, it was a pretty elaborate
school.
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00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:26,640
A lot of a lot of the kids that
went to that school, their first
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00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,480
year of college was credited
because the school was that was
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00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:31,200
that that, you know, had that
credibility.
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And we went through 28
curriculums, everything from
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00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,360
plumbing to paint and body to
electronics to electrical
187
00:08:39,360 --> 00:08:42,640
engineering, mechanical nursing.
I just like the mechanical.
188
00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,920
I made a decision age 13 and
stay with my entire life which
189
00:08:45,920 --> 00:08:48,280
is not common.
Yeah, well, I'd love to jump
190
00:08:48,280 --> 00:08:50,360
into your Shark Tank experience.
That's obviously very
191
00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:52,000
interesting and very fun thing
to dive into.
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00:08:52,000 --> 00:08:53,680
You've done it.
Is it twice that you've done on
193
00:08:53,680 --> 00:08:54,600
the?
Show once on Good Morning
194
00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,880
America Shark Tank and then once
on the Shark Tank you see every
195
00:08:57,880 --> 00:08:59,400
every.
Friday night, two different.
196
00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:02,680
On ABC, Yeah, it's owned by ABC
and Disney.
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00:09:02,680 --> 00:09:04,320
Yeah, right.
They they had one on Good
198
00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:06,800
Morning America.
Yeah, I, I was working with
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00:09:06,800 --> 00:09:09,440
Barbara Cochran at that time.
And then the one in that you see
200
00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,520
me on, on season 12.
We, we, we ended up on the grand
201
00:09:13,520 --> 00:09:14,400
finale.
Yeah, wow.
202
00:09:15,040 --> 00:09:17,080
What is the process like for
getting on a Shark Tank?
203
00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:20,240
You know, for me it was rather,
rather easy.
204
00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:23,640
I hate to say it quite like that
because I basically had several
205
00:09:23,640 --> 00:09:26,160
products and I sent an e-mail
in.
206
00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:30,040
Like a lot of folks go to these
meats in Vegas or Philly or
207
00:09:30,160 --> 00:09:33,080
California, long lines pitching
all day.
208
00:09:33,800 --> 00:09:38,760
I sent an e-mail in and I got a
call, I mean Brandy was in the
209
00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:40,840
car with me.
Actually I got a call and they
210
00:09:40,840 --> 00:09:44,600
told me they liked the products
that I sent and I had AI said
211
00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:46,200
what can I can I submit a
couple?
212
00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:48,240
She said no, you already
submitted a couple, you need to
213
00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:51,280
pick one now that you want they.
Were interested in all of.
214
00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:54,480
Them yeah that you want to go
through the process then it
215
00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,640
starts then the then the work
starts because then you got to
216
00:09:56,640 --> 00:10:02,280
do a video of yourself like who
you are what you've been doing
217
00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:06,040
what your background is and you
have to fill out like 100 page
218
00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,400
document like I'm telling you
everything they want to know
219
00:10:09,640 --> 00:10:12,000
about your background because
they they want to make sure
220
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:15,600
you're legit.
Then once you pass all of that,
221
00:10:16,320 --> 00:10:20,640
you go through these intervals
of, of submitting more videos
222
00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:25,640
to, to go through different
levels of producers until you
223
00:10:25,640 --> 00:10:29,000
finally get to Mark Winnett, who
was the executive producer.
224
00:10:29,000 --> 00:10:32,520
He's the final stop.
And that took, I did it during
225
00:10:32,520 --> 00:10:34,320
COVID.
So it was even more complicated,
226
00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:37,360
right?
There was 80,000 applicants and
227
00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:40,800
they pick 80.
So we ended up, I ended up going
228
00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,520
through the whole process and I
can remember like the thing that
229
00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,200
stuck with me the most is one of
the producers that I had said,
230
00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,240
OK, make this your best video.
And I'm thinking, what do you
231
00:10:49,240 --> 00:10:50,920
mean?
Every one of my videos was the
232
00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:52,920
best.
No, this is the last one.
233
00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:55,840
Like this is the last stop.
This is Mark Burnett's team
234
00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:57,720
looking at it before you
actually get selected.
235
00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,320
Did another video get the call,
booked the flight.
236
00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:07,520
So I went from like the April
submission to the final video in
237
00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:10,920
August.
Booking my flights end of August
238
00:11:10,920 --> 00:11:13,920
and then literally flying out
during COVID again.
239
00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:17,840
So all COVID protocol.
I was in Vegas at the Venetian.
240
00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,000
Had to do a COVID test before I
left.
241
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:22,920
COVID tests when I landed a
COVID test when I went in the
242
00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:25,480
bubble.
This is August of 2020.
243
00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:31,720
And then, then once in the room
I was, I was in a suite in the
244
00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:36,080
Venetian, literally looking out
of Vegas, but I couldn't even
245
00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:37,120
leave the room.
I couldn't even go in the
246
00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:40,640
hallway.
And then five days later,
247
00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:43,720
another COVID test.
So they made you quarantine?
248
00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,920
Your yeah 11 so the 11's day.
So I was in that room.
249
00:11:47,040 --> 00:11:48,280
Well, yeah, play.
It's time to prepare.
250
00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,280
That's the problem.
By the 5th day you had enough.
251
00:11:51,280 --> 00:11:56,040
Like you're saying this thing
every day and this is all during
252
00:11:56,040 --> 00:11:57,800
video.
Like everything was nothing was
253
00:11:57,800 --> 00:11:59,920
live.
It was all during zoom and there
254
00:11:59,920 --> 00:12:02,240
was some things at the end of
the video where we threw money
255
00:12:02,520 --> 00:12:05,640
me and my partner and had to be
In Sync and I hadn't even met
256
00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:07,000
her yet.
It's like we've been working
257
00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:10,000
together for 2 1/2 years.
COVID, all the COVID
258
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,800
restrictions and when she was on
the West Coast, I was on the
259
00:12:12,800 --> 00:12:13,480
East Coast.
How'd y'all?
260
00:12:13,560 --> 00:12:15,800
Get introduced.
She called me one day, she saw
261
00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:18,320
some stuff that I was doing.
She called me and said that she
262
00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:21,200
had a product and I looked at
it, I liked it.
263
00:12:21,200 --> 00:12:24,240
It reminded me of some other
products and that's it.
264
00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:26,320
I blew it up.
I got it in Walmart in two
265
00:12:26,320 --> 00:12:29,680
weeks, which I end up going to
Bentonville and, and this is
266
00:12:29,680 --> 00:12:32,240
when my mother was passing away.
So I have a plant up in New
267
00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:38,080
Hampshire and Walmart said I
like it, but we'll give it a
268
00:12:38,080 --> 00:12:40,520
try.
We'll put it in 400 stores and
269
00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,760
we'll see how it sells through.
But you got to give me 15,000
270
00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:47,640
units in the next two weeks.
That's automatically said, no
271
00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:49,240
problem.
Really, that wasn't a problem.
272
00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:53,120
For you, no, it was a problem.
Never show you cars, right?
273
00:12:53,480 --> 00:12:55,880
I left, went back to the plant.
Everyone said, but basically I
274
00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,560
was crazy.
I said no, like I'm going to,
275
00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:01,720
I'm going to do what BMW taught
me as I ran one of the plants
276
00:13:01,720 --> 00:13:04,000
here, right?
All the suppliers were local.
277
00:13:04,200 --> 00:13:07,680
So I came up with a box that had
an easy tear away display case,
278
00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:12,480
took pictures with my friends
and my my nephew's kids using
279
00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:16,880
it, put it on a label, put it so
when you RIP the display case
280
00:13:16,880 --> 00:13:20,640
off, the display showed what the
product was and explained what
281
00:13:20,640 --> 00:13:23,000
it was.
We ordered resin right away.
282
00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:26,280
I had the hardest part was a
silicone pads because normally
283
00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:29,200
they come off of reels that you
put on the bottom of the Super
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00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:33,040
potty trainer and then it
becomes part of the unit.
285
00:13:33,040 --> 00:13:35,120
But now we had to do those
individually.
286
00:13:35,560 --> 00:13:38,120
So I had my son help me.
He'll never work with me again.
287
00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:42,440
Pumped out 60,000 of these.
We had to make it a little small
288
00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:47,440
die and a jig.
Pumped out literally 60,000 of
289
00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:49,520
these little pads to put on 4
per unit.
290
00:13:49,880 --> 00:13:51,320
Put them in a box, got them
shipped.
291
00:13:52,560 --> 00:13:54,480
That's absolutely insanely
didn't run into duck supply
292
00:13:54,480 --> 00:13:56,160
chain issues with all that.
Yeah.
293
00:13:56,160 --> 00:13:59,000
And I, I'm telling you, I think
it has a lot to do with having a
294
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,400
good partnership right with your
supplier base.
295
00:14:01,400 --> 00:14:03,320
Yeah, definitely.
And having them local.
296
00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,720
I had box manufacturers actually
driving the boxes to the plant
297
00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:09,600
as we were making all.
Your entire supply chain was
298
00:14:09,600 --> 00:14:12,080
local.
Everything was within 20
299
00:14:12,080 --> 00:14:13,000
minutes.
You don't have to ship.
300
00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:14,480
Anything, nothing, it was
nothing.
301
00:14:14,600 --> 00:14:17,000
And and that that's what made it
different because talked to
302
00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:19,520
other people who had problems
like with China on the West
303
00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:22,560
Coast could have never done it.
So we got it in Walmart 400
304
00:14:22,560 --> 00:14:25,360
stores on March 5th.
Guess what happened?
305
00:14:25,720 --> 00:14:27,120
Sold out.
COVID.
306
00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:30,120
Oh yeah, yeah.
I wish we sold out.
307
00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:34,960
COVID hit.
Nobody was buying anything but
308
00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:37,320
right but food and and toilet
paper.
309
00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:39,440
I was going to all the Walmarts
it was in.
310
00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:41,720
They were selling but really
slow.
311
00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,800
That's that.
So the sell through was slow,
312
00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:48,880
but I think we got from it about
65,000 in sales and that was
313
00:14:48,880 --> 00:14:50,560
enough.
That was enough to get their
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00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:52,400
attention.
Then we had some sales.
315
00:14:52,400 --> 00:14:56,600
We had a pretty cool product.
And then you know as we're going
316
00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:58,880
through the process, we're
looking for like what kind of
317
00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:00,240
clothes we want to wear on the
show.
318
00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:02,800
This is when we finally got
picked, you know that now you
319
00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:05,800
got to come up with what you see
on their first stage presence.
320
00:15:05,800 --> 00:15:09,760
That's all part of the
entrepreneur responsibility to
321
00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:11,680
do that.
So we start shopping for
322
00:15:11,680 --> 00:15:14,600
clothes.
I was in Macy's and I saw this
323
00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:18,040
really cool light baby blue
suit.
324
00:15:18,560 --> 00:15:20,880
I'm like that.
That's not me, but it fits the
325
00:15:20,880 --> 00:15:23,840
baby product, right?
So I took a picture of it.
326
00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,640
I sent it to to Brandy.
Brandy said no way.
327
00:15:26,640 --> 00:15:28,440
My partner said I don't think
so.
328
00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,200
One of my kids said, Oh yeah, I
think so.
329
00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:31,360
Maybe.
Yeah, that's pretty cool.
330
00:15:31,360 --> 00:15:33,040
It's pretty bright.
My other kids said no way.
331
00:15:33,480 --> 00:15:36,560
So I tried it on, looked great.
I took a picture in the mirror
332
00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,760
and in the dressing room at
Macy's and I sent it to the
333
00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:43,240
producers.
I got an e-mail back in like 2
334
00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,200
minutes saying Judy, go get a
pink one just like it.
335
00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:50,880
That's how that that came about.
So if you see me on Shark Tank,
336
00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:53,040
I'm in a light blue.
She's in a light pink.
337
00:15:53,520 --> 00:15:55,000
Then we said, OK, let's really
blow it up.
338
00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:57,360
How can we make this really fun?
I'm king of manufacturing.
339
00:15:57,800 --> 00:16:01,760
She's queen of potty training.
So let's go in as king and
340
00:16:01,760 --> 00:16:03,680
queen.
So we went and went king and
341
00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,360
queen robes.
We threw money at the end.
342
00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:08,440
I don't know.
We threw our crowns off to our
343
00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:12,320
jackets off and it and it was
like an instant hit, like big
344
00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:15,600
time entertainment and it's
aired now, like I said, more
345
00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:19,080
than 23 times that's.
Absolutely insane and it first
346
00:16:19,200 --> 00:16:22,440
aired during.
So it aired, so we filmed in
347
00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,320
September 2020.
And you don't know if you're
348
00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:26,760
going to make it.
They tell you, you may not.
349
00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:29,160
So you go and you pitch, but you
might not.
350
00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:30,520
You might not.
You have no idea.
351
00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:31,920
They don't give you any lead
ways.
352
00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:35,240
A Sharks say they don't know.
So you have, you know what you
353
00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,360
did, you know how it ended up,
but you don't know if you're
354
00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:41,000
physically going to air.
We got a call, so that's
355
00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,280
September 2020.
I got a call from Damon first at
356
00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,120
the very end of April.
Usually Shark Tank doesn't tell
357
00:16:48,120 --> 00:16:51,240
you till three weeks before.
So the end of April, Damon
358
00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:53,600
Collins said you guys got
selected, hand selected by Mark
359
00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:55,160
Burnett to be on the grand
finale.
360
00:16:55,440 --> 00:16:58,920
That means you're the last last
ones, the last entrepreneurs, a
361
00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:02,800
close season 12.
It's a big deal.
362
00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,880
Yeah, it's a big deal.
So did you go in knowing you
363
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:07,440
would?
Have you partnered with Damon
364
00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:08,319
and Laurie?
Correct.
365
00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:12,000
Yeah, so when so but it but the
deals change like it's what you
366
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,040
see on TV.
Here's, here's my, my thought on
367
00:17:14,040 --> 00:17:17,200
our, on our deal, right?
All the baby products have gone
368
00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:21,280
and asked for $50,000 or 5%.
To me, it's just not worth
369
00:17:21,280 --> 00:17:23,960
anybody's time.
And they got basically laughed
370
00:17:23,960 --> 00:17:26,280
out of the studio.
And I'm like, if you know
371
00:17:26,280 --> 00:17:28,319
anything about me, you know, I
don't take that stuff well.
372
00:17:28,760 --> 00:17:31,640
I'm, I'm a competitor and I'm
always going to stand up for
373
00:17:31,640 --> 00:17:33,200
what I believe in.
And I believe in me.
374
00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:35,680
I believe that I can sell, I can
blow things up.
375
00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,040
And I've been, I've been doing
it my entire career.
376
00:17:38,680 --> 00:17:40,040
So I said, let's go in big,
right?
377
00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:44,480
We got 65,000 sales.
I know if it has an audience, it
378
00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,560
can really scale.
So we went in with 300,000 at
379
00:17:47,560 --> 00:17:51,440
10%, with 65,000 sales.
So you're evaluating the company
380
00:17:51,440 --> 00:17:55,440
at 3 million and it's really
should be evaluated at 650,000.
381
00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,440
And the Sharks or any VC
capitalist don't like you
382
00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,120
betting on future sales because
you don't know what's going to
383
00:18:02,120 --> 00:18:04,760
happen.
And I just went in, I was close
384
00:18:04,760 --> 00:18:07,400
to $1,000,000 PO at Walmart
because it was starting to sell
385
00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:08,960
through as we got later in the
year.
386
00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:12,280
They want to keep it around.
And I sold that premonition that
387
00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:14,760
I believe in me.
I know if it has an audience, it
388
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,440
will sell.
And that was kind of the the
389
00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:20,080
heated moment in Shark Tank
where the camera goes on your
390
00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:22,680
face and looking intense and
you're arguing with one of the
391
00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:24,800
sharks and.
They're trying to get into your
392
00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:26,640
skin.
A. 100 percent, 100%.
393
00:18:26,640 --> 00:18:30,480
And Damon always said he, he, he
invest in people more than
394
00:18:30,800 --> 00:18:32,160
product.
You have a great product that's,
395
00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:34,800
that's a bonus.
And so I, I just remember saying
396
00:18:34,800 --> 00:18:37,920
that at the very end that it
needs an audience and it will
397
00:18:37,920 --> 00:18:40,080
sell through.
And junior was like, just give
398
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:41,560
us a chance.
And they were going back and
399
00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:44,600
forth and then, you know, it
closed with us doing a deal
400
00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:47,960
with, with, with, with Laurie
and Damon for 50%.
401
00:18:48,240 --> 00:18:50,960
So I mean, at that point, my, my
percentage is upped.
402
00:18:51,240 --> 00:18:54,320
So we all had equal equity.
But after the show, it all
403
00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:57,680
changes.
But the best part was at my
404
00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:01,200
airing party, we get a little
more extra, you get a little
405
00:19:01,200 --> 00:19:03,200
extra time because it's a, it's
a grand finale.
406
00:19:03,960 --> 00:19:09,760
We as they start airing our
episode, Amazon sold out of 8800
407
00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:12,960
units in like 2 minutes.
And I'm not kidding when I say
408
00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,840
this, my phone like everyone
there couldn't believe it.
409
00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:20,080
It was just just rolling in
orders this like literally I
410
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:23,240
couldn't believe it.
And we had I think like 10,000
411
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:26,640
orders for the weekend.
So it doubled the valuation of
412
00:19:26,640 --> 00:19:29,400
what we went in with.
And I just remember going back
413
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,000
saying, Damon, how do you like
me now?
414
00:19:31,560 --> 00:19:34,440
Exactly what I said was going to
happen, happen in an audience.
415
00:19:35,040 --> 00:19:38,880
It blew up and then I sold my
assets and my ownership to a
416
00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:43,560
larger baby company.
So the following year I cash
417
00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:45,680
out.
Nice little exit and and Judy
418
00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,960
stayed on to do some licensing
directly with them over time.
419
00:19:48,960 --> 00:19:51,480
Yeah.
Is either of the Sharks still
420
00:19:51,480 --> 00:19:53,480
involved at all with it?
Or no, everyone.
421
00:19:53,480 --> 00:19:56,320
Like basically when we did that
final deal, Damon got his
422
00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,120
payment, I got my payment, and
Judy just stayed on to do.
423
00:20:00,040 --> 00:20:02,960
And even the deal at the end
never closed with Lori and
424
00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,960
Damon, just closed with Damon.
Yeah, 'cause that Lori said baby
425
00:20:05,960 --> 00:20:08,160
products are hard, they're not
that easy.
426
00:20:08,160 --> 00:20:09,640
We're talking about like QVC,
She said.
427
00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,960
It won't sell well.
And she kind of just like
428
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:13,880
fizzled a little bit.
And Damon took it all on.
429
00:20:14,640 --> 00:20:16,480
Yeah, yeah.
And Damon took it all on.
430
00:20:16,480 --> 00:20:18,800
And I've been friends with him
now for a while and he's been
431
00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:20,040
great.
He's done a lot of events with
432
00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:21,920
me.
He's come to see his shows with
433
00:20:21,920 --> 00:20:24,520
me.
He's letting me be part of his
434
00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:29,960
his Rise Nation project where I
met some really high level
435
00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:32,040
people there.
Went to a couple parties in
436
00:20:32,040 --> 00:20:34,720
Miami with them.
I did the Co hosts with in Vegas
437
00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:36,840
to pitch the pros.
That's really cool you.
438
00:20:36,840 --> 00:20:38,280
Guys are still so well
connected.
439
00:20:38,280 --> 00:20:40,600
Yeah, I guess you're not
officially business partner.
440
00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:42,120
Right, Yeah, yeah.
But we're still friends.
441
00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:44,920
And I guess he just put, he just
wore my son's shirt on his
442
00:20:44,920 --> 00:20:47,920
product reviews, which if you
know Damon, he only wears his
443
00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:49,760
clothing.
He won't, you know, this shirt
444
00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,120
change it all.
My son's my son's shirt.
445
00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:55,000
So son was pretty excited and
and I'm still in contact.
446
00:20:55,040 --> 00:20:56,720
You know, I I texted Damon quite
a bit.
447
00:20:56,720 --> 00:20:58,040
He's going to do some other
events with us.
448
00:20:58,640 --> 00:21:02,240
Just a just a good human.
He understands the road's not
449
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:05,360
easy right to get to that level
and he and he gives back quite a
450
00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:13,630
bit.
Thank you for spending your
451
00:21:13,630 --> 00:21:16,230
valuable time with us.
We know you're likely incredibly
452
00:21:16,230 --> 00:21:18,790
busy and we truly appreciate you
tuning in.
453
00:21:19,230 --> 00:21:21,830
We hope you're finding these
insights just as valuable as we
454
00:21:21,830 --> 00:21:23,520
are.
Throughout this journey, we've
455
00:21:23,520 --> 00:21:25,960
been fortunate to receive
incredible support with many
456
00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:28,280
people asking how can we help or
how can we support you?
457
00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:31,440
If you haven't already, one of
the best ways you can support us
458
00:21:31,440 --> 00:21:35,000
is by giving us a follower
rating on Spotify, Apple podcast
459
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,040
or whatever platform it is
you're listening on.
460
00:21:37,560 --> 00:21:39,520
It just takes a second.
You don't even have to pause the
461
00:21:39,520 --> 00:21:41,440
episode.
And it makes a huge difference
462
00:21:41,440 --> 00:21:44,240
in helping us bring to you even
more of a top tier, high
463
00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:45,640
achieving leaders in our
community.
464
00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:47,920
Thank you again for being part
of this journey.
465
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:55,720
Now let's get back to our guest.
Full transparency, were you
466
00:21:55,720 --> 00:21:57,800
nervous at all going into the
Shark Tank episode?
467
00:21:58,120 --> 00:21:59,640
You know, I, I would tell you
this, right?
468
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:03,800
I watched it for 12 years and,
and no matter how prepared you
469
00:22:03,800 --> 00:22:07,360
are, you're still not prepared
when you walk up and see them
470
00:22:07,360 --> 00:22:09,400
staring at you.
So I'll tell you this.
471
00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:12,640
Was I nervous?
I was, I was focused, right?
472
00:22:12,640 --> 00:22:14,760
Really intense.
At some point being locked in a
473
00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,280
room for 11 days, like you're
ready.
474
00:22:17,800 --> 00:22:19,920
Like I, I, how many times can
you say this thing?
475
00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:22,120
I've said it so many times.
In my sleep at this.
476
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:24,440
Point yeah, basically wake up at
2:00 in the morning, you're
477
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,040
still saying it because you've
seen some other people freeze
478
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:29,920
and you never get you never
recover from that.
479
00:22:30,200 --> 00:22:32,160
And now everyone in the world is
watching it.
480
00:22:32,320 --> 00:22:36,120
It's on every YouTube station,
it's on Hulu, it's everywhere in
481
00:22:36,120 --> 00:22:38,000
the world.
And the last thing I wanted to
482
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:41,800
do is disappoint my family, my
kids, right, or my partner.
483
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:46,040
And, and it's kind of ironic
right before I went down to go
484
00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:49,840
pitch and Brandy thought she had
missed me because the clocks, I
485
00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:52,160
guess in my room were 5 minutes
fast.
486
00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:53,520
They were coming to get me at
11:00.
487
00:22:53,520 --> 00:22:56,560
Well, Brandy finally got me
right before I walked out to go
488
00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:59,160
downstairs to pitch.
She said, hey, there's someone
489
00:22:59,160 --> 00:23:00,480
at the house that wants to speak
with you.
490
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:02,280
And I'm like, who could be at my
house right now?
491
00:23:02,960 --> 00:23:05,480
And she played a recording on my
mother who had just passed away.
492
00:23:06,120 --> 00:23:09,240
So it was like, it's a Brandy.
You realize I I'm going to be on
493
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:12,200
the largest stage in the world
right now and you just made me
494
00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:14,560
really emotional.
It was pretty, it was pretty
495
00:23:14,560 --> 00:23:17,080
cool when you look back of it
and, and I have my mother with
496
00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:18,360
me.
I take her everywhere like in a
497
00:23:18,360 --> 00:23:21,280
car and I had it with me and I
felt her presence.
498
00:23:21,280 --> 00:23:23,920
So to add to it's a long way of
answering your question.
499
00:23:24,400 --> 00:23:27,080
I wasn't nervous.
I was really focused.
500
00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:30,520
But I will tell you, it's like
right before you walk through
501
00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:33,600
the first set of doors, one of
the camera guys says, I'm going
502
00:23:33,600 --> 00:23:36,360
to count you down to seven.
If you don't walk through that
503
00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:39,440
door, I'm going to push you
through it or you're going to be
504
00:23:39,640 --> 00:23:42,160
out.
And I remember looking at Judy
505
00:23:42,160 --> 00:23:44,160
just joking around saying, Hey,
what's my name again?
506
00:23:44,760 --> 00:23:47,360
She says, Oh my God.
Because it's it's that is really
507
00:23:47,360 --> 00:23:49,440
that intense because you got
like, they're doing makeup.
508
00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,600
They're fixing your your outfit,
making sure you look perfect.
509
00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:55,080
Then you walk through the, you
know, the corridor where the
510
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,840
sharks supposedly are.
The real sharks are not real
511
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:00,960
sharks in the tanks.
And then you have to hit a
512
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:02,160
platform.
There's a marking.
513
00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:03,680
You can't look down.
You have to hit it without
514
00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:05,360
looking down.
And you only have done this
515
00:24:05,360 --> 00:24:07,120
once.
You only had one trial through
516
00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:10,240
it.
So you walk up and for 30
517
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,920
seconds there's no talking.
It's called the shark stare.
518
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:16,960
So every shark.
The sharks are.
519
00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:19,360
Looking at you, nothing for 30
seconds because they're
520
00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:21,880
adjusting cameras.
Cameras are going by your face.
521
00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:26,320
They're taking photos.
So it's a 32nd shark stare, and
522
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:29,560
my first shark is Mr. Wonderful.
He's looking right at me.
523
00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:34,920
And you got Cuban, Damon, Mr.
Wonderful, Laurie, and then
524
00:24:34,920 --> 00:24:37,520
Robert.
And it was pretty intense.
525
00:24:37,560 --> 00:24:41,960
And that's if someone says go,
and then if you mess up, it's
526
00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:45,280
it, they're, they're, they're
going to edit it so that because
527
00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:47,120
they, they, they want it to be
entertaining, right?
528
00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:48,960
Yeah, they want viewers.
They want viewership.
529
00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:50,920
I mean, it's good, it's an
educational piece, but you're
530
00:24:50,920 --> 00:24:54,280
not around for 16 years if
you're not giving some
531
00:24:54,280 --> 00:24:56,080
entertainment to the to the
audience.
532
00:24:56,080 --> 00:24:59,280
And I that pitch was great, man.
It's what I teach, right?
533
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,560
I teach a 92nd pitch.
That pitch was 90 seconds to the
534
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:05,080
second.
We did 15 extra seconds because
535
00:25:05,080 --> 00:25:07,800
we basically when we threw our
money, that was kind of into the
536
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,560
pitch, but then we took off our
jackets and said let's get down
537
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:13,240
to business.
That was about 15 seconds, but
538
00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:15,600
but always keep it under 2
minutes and it was good.
539
00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:17,760
It was a big hit.
It's aired a lot of time, so
540
00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:22,440
it's got a lot of attention and
our sales literally blew up.
541
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:28,080
The beautiful part about it, I
was making it in the US so I had
542
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,040
a bunch of units on the shelf
from Menards.
543
00:25:30,040 --> 00:25:33,200
Which was huge during COVID.
It was so big because you people
544
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:34,760
couldn't, you really couldn't
get product.
545
00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:37,440
It was so bad.
We were able to put the tool
546
00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:39,680
back in.
I used product that was going to
547
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:41,480
go to Menards.
I said, hey, you've been, I've
548
00:25:41,480 --> 00:25:42,800
been working with you for two
years.
549
00:25:43,080 --> 00:25:44,520
You've been waiting to take the
product.
550
00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:47,160
Well, we're going to use it now
for our own good, right?
551
00:25:47,160 --> 00:25:49,360
For our inventory, put the tool
back in.
552
00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:51,720
We didn't miss a beat.
We had every order shipped by
553
00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:54,560
within seven days.
And that's, that's the beauty of
554
00:25:54,560 --> 00:25:57,080
American made products.
You know, I would, you know, I
555
00:25:57,080 --> 00:26:00,960
would say I'm the American made
in the USA guy and that that's
556
00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:02,680
the reason for it.
I really believe in if you set
557
00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:08,000
up your, your process where,
where my background is lean 6
558
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:09,320
Sigma, right?
But if you set it up where it's
559
00:26:09,320 --> 00:26:14,240
efficient, you can be as
competitive as, as, as, as
560
00:26:14,240 --> 00:26:17,040
China, because everyone talks
about, right, it's peace price,
561
00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:18,920
but it's more than peace price.
When you're shipping from China,
562
00:26:18,920 --> 00:26:21,760
you have all that freight, then
you get it to the dock, you have
563
00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,880
all that freight going to your
three PL. or to your warehouse
564
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,280
or to Amazon.
That's a cost.
565
00:26:27,640 --> 00:26:29,120
I didn't have any of that.
I had none of them.
566
00:26:29,280 --> 00:26:32,000
I really eliminated all the
logistics.
567
00:26:32,480 --> 00:26:35,360
The business process that I use
was all EN6 Sigma.
568
00:26:35,600 --> 00:26:37,920
It was literally molding a
product.
569
00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:41,680
As that door closed, the
operator who's now standing
570
00:26:41,680 --> 00:26:45,320
around right, has now got value.
They're putting on labels,
571
00:26:45,320 --> 00:26:48,520
they're putting on the pads,
they're putting it in boxes onto
572
00:26:48,520 --> 00:26:49,920
a skid.
That's it.
573
00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:52,680
There is no waste of time.
They was already paid for,
574
00:26:53,040 --> 00:26:53,720
right?
Yeah.
575
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:55,560
Was it, Were you in Greenville
at the time when you were
576
00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:56,520
manufacturing?
Yeah.
577
00:26:56,520 --> 00:26:58,440
No, no, I was in New Hampshire.
That plant was in New Hampshire,
578
00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:00,240
but I was I was travelling back
and forth.
579
00:27:01,280 --> 00:27:03,720
How was the Shark Tank
experience compared to some of
580
00:27:03,720 --> 00:27:05,680
your Good Morning America
experiences?
581
00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:07,320
Shark Tank was, it was
different, right?
582
00:27:07,320 --> 00:27:11,960
It was very just a lot of work
because when you fill out the
583
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,640
application and all the videos,
that's like a full time job for
584
00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,400
a little while.
Then you have to get the stage
585
00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,360
presents ready.
You have to make sure your
586
00:27:19,360 --> 00:27:22,000
website can handle the volume if
you get put on.
587
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:25,880
And then you have to have the
warehouse right, the warehouse
588
00:27:25,880 --> 00:27:29,280
and the inventory ready to ship.
And then you have after you do a
589
00:27:29,280 --> 00:27:34,120
deal, it starts all over again.
The sharks do exactly due
590
00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:37,720
diligence like like Sony and ABC
Papers.
591
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:39,160
Are signed.
They're doing even deeper.
592
00:27:39,320 --> 00:27:42,000
Dive deeper dive.
I mean, there's so much detail
593
00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,040
that they want to know.
I mean, they want to make sure
594
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,240
they're partnering with the
right people.
595
00:27:45,560 --> 00:27:49,040
I think early on in the show,
like seasons 1-2 and three,
596
00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:51,840
people were getting money and
maybe the due diligence wasn't
597
00:27:51,840 --> 00:27:52,960
as strong as it should have
been.
598
00:27:53,360 --> 00:27:57,240
They were buying cars, paying
off their houses, so it wasn't
599
00:27:57,240 --> 00:27:59,560
going for their business.
So now they're a little
600
00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:03,640
reluctant, right?
12/13/16 years later they're
601
00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:06,520
really careful who they partner
with and who they give money to.
602
00:28:06,720 --> 00:28:09,080
Good morning, America.
Obviously a lot less work going
603
00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:10,600
into.
It this one, this one's a little
604
00:28:10,600 --> 00:28:12,360
interesting because I propose, I
don't know if you know that, but
605
00:28:12,360 --> 00:28:14,600
I propose live to Brandy.
Oh, nice.
606
00:28:14,600 --> 00:28:16,560
Good Morning America.
This is a good story because it
607
00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:19,280
was, I've been on it, you know,
multiple times.
608
00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:23,240
And I was with my son at the
time, he was 21.
609
00:28:23,240 --> 00:28:24,160
And I said, hey, what do you
think?
610
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:26,640
If I go on Good Morning, America
and then pose live to Brandy?
611
00:28:26,640 --> 00:28:28,200
And he literally laughed in my
face.
612
00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:30,680
He said, then I got to let you
go on there and do that.
613
00:28:30,720 --> 00:28:31,920
I said, I don't know.
I got some pretty good
614
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:35,800
connections.
I literally made a text and it's
615
00:28:35,800 --> 00:28:37,400
a hit or miss.
You either get a response right
616
00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:39,240
away or you get 1-2 hours from
now.
617
00:28:39,760 --> 00:28:41,480
Got a response right away
saying, hey, I don't know if we
618
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:44,400
can go live.
Yeah, but we'll definitely get
619
00:28:44,400 --> 00:28:47,480
you on within a minute.
I had four VIP passes in town.
620
00:28:47,480 --> 00:28:51,800
It was like, what?
So Fast forward to summer 6th,
621
00:28:51,800 --> 00:28:54,160
right before COVID 2, Summer
6th.
622
00:28:55,520 --> 00:28:59,240
We, we, we get to Times Square.
I get a call at 3:00 in the
623
00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:00,960
morning just walking me through
saying, hey, I don't know if
624
00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,000
we're going to go live, but this
is how we're going to do.
625
00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,280
We're going to call Brandy up to
the front and a commercial.
626
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:07,400
I'm going to have you come up
from behind.
627
00:29:07,600 --> 00:29:08,840
So they had this whole thing
set.
628
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:11,440
Then I get another call back at
5:00 AM.
629
00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:12,760
Brands like who are you talking
to?
630
00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:15,480
So she thinks I'm pitching a
product because that's what I
631
00:29:15,480 --> 00:29:16,960
normally do when I go on Good
Morning America.
632
00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:20,360
I said, I'm just just talking to
some of the producers that set
633
00:29:20,360 --> 00:29:22,520
up the stage.
And then I get a call at 5
634
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,080
saying, hey, forget everything
we just said.
635
00:29:25,080 --> 00:29:28,960
I'm going to hand you a mic.
I don't know when he said just
636
00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,840
be ready, bring the ring and
don't F it up.
637
00:29:32,280 --> 00:29:35,680
Quote UN quote.
I'm like, so then we get there
638
00:29:35,680 --> 00:29:36,880
early.
So it's come at 5:30.
639
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,200
We're we're the only ones there.
The camera guys aren't talking
640
00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:40,240
to me.
No one's talking to me.
641
00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:42,680
And she goes, why do you look so
nervous today?
642
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:44,360
You never look nervous when you
pitch.
643
00:29:44,920 --> 00:29:46,280
So I don't have my lines down
yet.
644
00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,480
That's all I said because they
wanted me to talk about Robin
645
00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:51,440
Roberts.
I I've known her for 20 years.
646
00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:53,360
I met her in where I used to
live in Bristol.
647
00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:55,040
And XD yes, my wife.
Actually got to meet her
648
00:29:55,040 --> 00:29:57,280
briefly.
Oh yeah, yeah, like 2 years ago
649
00:29:57,280 --> 00:29:58,640
or so.
That's really cool connection.
650
00:29:58,640 --> 00:30:01,480
Yeah, she's, she's wonderful.
I mean, she got to meet all my
651
00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:03,640
kids.
She took us backstage a couple
652
00:30:03,640 --> 00:30:06,560
times and meet Rebecca Jarvis
and.
653
00:30:07,040 --> 00:30:07,960
How'd you get connected with
her?
654
00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:13,720
I, I met her in 1990 at a a
supermarket in Bristol, CT.
655
00:30:13,720 --> 00:30:17,840
So she had just started Sunday
morning with ESPN and I was
656
00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:21,040
shopping.
I look over and I said it's
657
00:30:21,040 --> 00:30:22,680
Robin Roberts and she's with her
mom and dad.
658
00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:24,760
So I'm going to go over and
introduce myself.
659
00:30:24,760 --> 00:30:27,080
So I enjoy it.
And she just started with ESPN.
660
00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:29,480
So I enjoy a show.
I watch it every Sunday.
661
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:34,200
Probably talked 20-30 minutes.
So this is another good story.
662
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,880
Fast forward 20 years later, I'm
doing a national commercial on
663
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:40,520
Good Morning America at Robin
Roberts.
664
00:30:41,040 --> 00:30:43,080
And I had been on there a couple
times and she wasn't on and
665
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:45,680
Brandon is saying she's not
going to remember any of that.
666
00:30:45,680 --> 00:30:48,360
She's not going to remember you.
She walked by and said hello,
667
00:30:48,520 --> 00:30:50,920
talked a little bit and I said,
oh man, maybe she won't Remember
668
00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:52,920
Me.
So now we have we're doing the
669
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:54,920
commercial, we get a little bit
break.
670
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:57,160
I got great pictures of this,
too, with Brandy and them.
671
00:30:58,120 --> 00:31:01,120
We start talking a little bit,
said, Robin, I got to ask you 20
672
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:02,400
years ago.
She said, yeah, right.
673
00:31:02,400 --> 00:31:04,400
I met you right in the A&P
grocery store.
674
00:31:04,400 --> 00:31:05,640
I introduced you to my mom and
dad.
675
00:31:05,640 --> 00:31:08,680
And Brady's like, oh, my God,
he's been talking about this for
676
00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:10,560
years.
I said, you know, I would never
677
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:12,400
forget him.
I don't just introduce anybody
678
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:14,560
to my parents.
She said, oh, it was a great
679
00:31:14,560 --> 00:31:15,880
experiment.
She started crying.
680
00:31:15,880 --> 00:31:17,960
She started crying.
She hugged me.
681
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:21,240
Everyone got it on camera.
Then she tweeted it out later,
682
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:23,080
saying it was great meeting you
after so long.
683
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:25,280
I'll never forget you meeting my
mom and dad.
684
00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:28,400
Really cool.
Was she from the same area or?
685
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:29,480
Her.
No, no, no.
686
00:31:29,480 --> 00:31:32,720
She just was working at ESPN and
ESPN is in Bristol.
687
00:31:33,480 --> 00:31:36,240
Bristol, CT Yeah.
And I had a condo that was
688
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:39,120
literally a mile away.
That's when I had my son.
689
00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:42,080
My son was born in Bristol,
right across from Bristol High
690
00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:43,680
School.
It's kind of ironic.
691
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,520
It really is.
And now every time she sees me,
692
00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,360
she was my favorite guy.
She brings my kids back,
693
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:51,280
everything.
And it's it's really, really
694
00:31:51,280 --> 00:31:54,080
been a great relationship.
Matter of fact, after I proposed
695
00:31:54,080 --> 00:31:57,520
a Brandy, they came to our house
and did another episode in
696
00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,560
August, like a follow up to
that, and we filmed it and did a
697
00:32:02,120 --> 00:32:06,360
brief thing Robin Roberts did
like a episode out of her, out
698
00:32:06,360 --> 00:32:07,840
of her house.
It was really cool.
699
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:11,000
That is really cool.
My kid met Michael Strahan that
700
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:12,960
day.
You really do know all these
701
00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:14,720
people.
I made them a believer.
702
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:19,000
That is so crazy.
Well, let's go back to the
703
00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:20,880
modern inventor.
Actually, let's go in to Pitch
704
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:22,040
the Pros.
We haven't talked about that
705
00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:23,840
yet.
What is Pitch the Pros and how
706
00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:25,280
can people get involved?
Do they want to be?
707
00:32:25,440 --> 00:32:27,040
Yeah.
So Pitch the Pros is something
708
00:32:27,040 --> 00:32:31,240
from doing a lot of shows that I
see how entrepreneurs struggle
709
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:33,720
getting their products launched.
And I thought and what a great
710
00:32:33,720 --> 00:32:38,200
platform to have inventors pitch
to industry experts.
711
00:32:38,760 --> 00:32:41,480
So I put together a program, I
bought the IPS, I trademarked
712
00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:46,480
it, and now I put these shows on
where I bring the experts.
713
00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:50,880
You know, at in Vegas we had
Everett Taylor, who's the CEO of
714
00:32:50,880 --> 00:32:53,360
Kickstarter.
Jason Pfeiffer is a senior
715
00:32:53,360 --> 00:32:57,480
editor of Entrepreneur magazine.
Rudy Meyer, who's the, the, the,
716
00:32:57,680 --> 00:33:01,720
the number one marketing genius
with all the celebrities.
717
00:33:01,880 --> 00:33:05,160
Matter of fact, he's got a
program on Amazon called 60 Day
718
00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:07,240
Hustle.
He's filming season 2 right now.
719
00:33:07,520 --> 00:33:10,400
So he's coming to our event in
Greenville, but basically gives
720
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:14,360
entrepreneurs a chance to pitch
and, and, and, and really like a
721
00:33:14,360 --> 00:33:17,320
Shark Tank environment where you
have folks who know how to
722
00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:19,520
launch products, they know how
to market it, you have
723
00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:21,600
investors.
How many products do you have
724
00:33:21,600 --> 00:33:24,360
launched at this point?
Boy, let me say 100 at least
725
00:33:24,360 --> 00:33:27,760
100, right, Maybe more.
It's up there, including some of
726
00:33:27,760 --> 00:33:30,560
my own, but it's been to me.
It's rewarding when you get the
727
00:33:30,560 --> 00:33:32,880
right partner and you help the
right people.
728
00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,160
The the joy and the feedback is
just incredible because like,
729
00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:39,480
like scrub daddy, right?
It's guys going to do a billion
730
00:33:39,480 --> 00:33:41,760
dollars in sales.
When are you going to meet him?
731
00:33:43,080 --> 00:33:44,920
He's on the stage, you know, and
he's great.
732
00:33:45,600 --> 00:33:46,200
Yeah.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
733
00:33:46,200 --> 00:33:47,440
He's gracious with his.
He's a friend of mine.
734
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,720
He's gracious with his time
talks a lot of them.
735
00:33:49,720 --> 00:33:51,880
Sometimes I got to break him
away because they won't let go.
736
00:33:52,360 --> 00:33:54,000
Right.
But, but like, where are you
737
00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:55,400
going to get a chance to meet
some of these people?
738
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:59,360
Or even Daymond John Damon came
to Greenville last last couple
739
00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:03,320
years, did a charity event with
with Tasha, her events called
740
00:34:03,320 --> 00:34:06,760
Hope Organization.
So you give kids like from from
741
00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:11,440
10 to 18 a chance to pitch their
product and show off some of
742
00:34:11,440 --> 00:34:14,800
their skill sets.
And one year we brought the 12
743
00:34:14,800 --> 00:34:17,199
Shark Tank winners.
Damon was there and they were
744
00:34:17,199 --> 00:34:20,600
pitching directly to these
winners and great feedback and
745
00:34:20,600 --> 00:34:23,679
they did a really great job.
It's just it's, it's amazing so.
746
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:25,560
What do you have in store for
this year This.
747
00:34:25,840 --> 00:34:28,960
Year's going to be a good one.
So we're going to do a, a pitch
748
00:34:28,960 --> 00:34:30,600
off event.
That's what we did in Vegas too.
749
00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:34,080
We, we had the, the ones like
there's usually 15 or so, 15 or
750
00:34:34,080 --> 00:34:37,639
20 that make it to the big stage
where you win, you know, you can
751
00:34:37,639 --> 00:34:41,159
win $10,000.
You can get on Hall of Fame, you
752
00:34:41,159 --> 00:34:44,639
can get on TV and National
Exposure, you can get a partner.
753
00:34:45,360 --> 00:34:48,800
This year we're going to, we did
a pitch off and we do the same
754
00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:51,480
thing this year where you get
to, to actually the ones that
755
00:34:51,480 --> 00:34:56,360
don't finish, let's say in the
top 131415, there's a couple
756
00:34:56,360 --> 00:34:59,440
spots, usually one or two on the
mainstage and we haven't pitched
757
00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:01,320
it off.
There'll be 30 products that
758
00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:05,040
maybe fall into that category.
They'll have multiple judging
759
00:35:05,040 --> 00:35:06,440
panels.
They'll pitch.
760
00:35:06,440 --> 00:35:08,280
The judges will pick the ones
that they want to go on the
761
00:35:08,280 --> 00:35:11,840
mainstage.
And in last year's event, one of
762
00:35:11,840 --> 00:35:14,800
the pitch off products finished
in the top five.
763
00:35:14,800 --> 00:35:16,880
So if they didn't get a chance
to pitch off, they wouldn't have
764
00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:18,520
made it to the top five.
Yeah.
765
00:35:18,520 --> 00:35:20,440
So it's really, really cool.
And it brings a lot of
766
00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:22,320
excitement.
So we'll do that in Greenville,
767
00:35:22,560 --> 00:35:25,400
downtown Greenville, that during
the day.
768
00:35:25,400 --> 00:35:27,800
And then at night, we're going
to have up on one of the
769
00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:29,920
rooftops a really big meet and
greet.
770
00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:33,960
Matter of fact, Garrett Kaufman
Huffman, one of the rising stars
771
00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:36,000
in Greenville for country music,
he's going to be playing.
772
00:35:36,440 --> 00:35:38,760
Kid is great.
And then on Friday we're going
773
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,720
to have the the big pitch off
event where we're actually not
774
00:35:41,720 --> 00:35:45,520
going to tell people who won.
You have to be present like the
775
00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:47,840
ones who have pitched, and we're
going to call you out of the
776
00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:49,520
audience.
On the spot.
777
00:35:50,120 --> 00:35:52,400
To.
Pitch and everyone says I can do
778
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,240
it, I won't be nervous.
You should have.
779
00:35:54,240 --> 00:35:56,200
How many people have told us
that last year in Vegas?
780
00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,200
Then you walk on the stage and
Damon's there with me.
781
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:03,680
There's 2200 people, the lights
are bright, there's these big
782
00:36:03,720 --> 00:36:06,080
time clocks on the bottom and
monitors.
783
00:36:06,840 --> 00:36:10,280
And then you see like your
voices are cracking, hands are
784
00:36:10,280 --> 00:36:12,120
shaking.
It's a whole different thing.
785
00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:15,240
That's and I don't care how
ready you are, if you've never
786
00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:17,120
done that, you're truly not
ready.
787
00:36:17,760 --> 00:36:19,560
Especially too, because you
don't know when you're going up
788
00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:21,400
there.
If you are, you're just in your.
789
00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:23,840
I'm notorious for that.
I'm in my comfort zone.
790
00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:25,960
I'm just so chill.
And then all of a sudden you
791
00:36:25,960 --> 00:36:27,360
spark it.
It's like you get up on top of
792
00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:29,640
the stage, face turns red.
I'm like, oh shoot.
793
00:36:29,640 --> 00:36:32,480
It's like blood pressure rising.
This is why I would say I got
794
00:36:32,480 --> 00:36:35,240
pretty good at this because
like, you know, being on TV, but
795
00:36:35,240 --> 00:36:37,800
even like everyone said, you
know, you've done a lot of TV
796
00:36:37,800 --> 00:36:39,520
stuff so you won't be nervous on
Shark Tank.
797
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:42,600
And I don't feel like I was.
I really wasn't nervous, but
798
00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:45,520
it's pretty intense because
they're drilling you on
799
00:36:45,520 --> 00:36:48,200
questions and they're arguing
with each other like some stuff
800
00:36:48,200 --> 00:36:51,760
you don't see, like they edit it
so it's good for TV, but they're
801
00:36:51,760 --> 00:36:53,920
going at each other.
Like I had like I had like
802
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:57,240
O'Leary tell Robert to shut up.
Say this guy can probably help
803
00:36:57,240 --> 00:36:59,920
you with your matter of fact.
You guys are horrible at it.
804
00:37:00,240 --> 00:37:02,320
I mean, they were going at it
and then he was coming at me
805
00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:05,840
about the valuation and I
remember saying to him, I know
806
00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:08,160
you probably don't shop at
Walmart, but when I launch
807
00:37:08,160 --> 00:37:10,360
products, I actually go into
Walmart to see how they're
808
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:11,920
doing.
Your people probably do that.
809
00:37:12,200 --> 00:37:14,000
Then I finally later he actually
goes to Walmart.
810
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:16,800
Oh, he does.
So, so maybe you know, he didn't
811
00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:19,440
like the evaluation, which I get
it, but I figure if we're going
812
00:37:19,440 --> 00:37:21,320
to go in big, we're going to go
in all the way.
813
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:24,640
Have you and Damon John like,
reminisced about that episode
814
00:37:24,640 --> 00:37:26,240
and just I guess that's the
first time you all met I'm.
815
00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:26,840
Sure.
Yeah, Yeah.
816
00:37:26,840 --> 00:37:28,840
No, it's not.
And actually, I, I did a little
817
00:37:28,840 --> 00:37:31,760
clip, which I'm going to post in
the next couple days of me on
818
00:37:31,760 --> 00:37:34,200
the stage before we actually
started our event.
819
00:37:34,520 --> 00:37:38,240
I talked about it about like,
you know, what a great guy is.
820
00:37:38,240 --> 00:37:40,600
He truly is the people shark.
I mean, he's been so gracious
821
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:44,760
with me and my family and I see
him given time and he invited me
822
00:37:44,760 --> 00:37:48,160
to some of his big events where
there's some, I mean, it was
823
00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:51,040
like the last one, like 7
billionaires in the room, like
824
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,280
10 millionaires, right?
Like big time players and it and
825
00:37:54,280 --> 00:37:57,600
it's just really, really cool.
He's, he's an easy guy to talk
826
00:37:57,600 --> 00:38:00,200
to.
Having my kids meet him, that
827
00:38:00,200 --> 00:38:03,440
was exciting for me because
they, they were nervous. 1 was
828
00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:06,000
giddy.
Not who they are, right.
829
00:38:06,040 --> 00:38:09,560
Like they're all cocky and, and
now Damon's around meeting for
830
00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:11,800
the first time.
It changes the whole, it changed
831
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:14,080
the whole, you know, the whole
body language.
832
00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:15,080
It was pretty cool.
Absolutely.
833
00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:19,040
That's crazy, who won the the
pitch off last year?
834
00:38:19,480 --> 00:38:22,360
So we had five products, I don't
know if I remember all of them,
835
00:38:22,360 --> 00:38:24,280
but there was a rake called
Rako.
836
00:38:24,280 --> 00:38:26,840
It was kind of a a three or four
in one rake.
837
00:38:26,840 --> 00:38:31,160
So it had a rake that adjust in
size, gets wider and narrow, has
838
00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:32,880
a little hole in the back for
digging.
839
00:38:33,600 --> 00:38:39,080
It had a a a bag for poopers
scooping, literally.
840
00:38:39,080 --> 00:38:41,040
All in one.
Like, yeah, and it had like a
841
00:38:41,360 --> 00:38:43,400
opener to open up a bottle.
That's pretty good.
842
00:38:43,400 --> 00:38:44,640
Oh, no, it's real.
I use it all the time.
843
00:38:45,000 --> 00:38:47,040
It's a great product.
They just got into Ace.
844
00:38:47,400 --> 00:38:50,680
Really good product.
They want paintbrush Fellow 1.
845
00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:54,480
He had this ergonomic paintbrush
that doesn't take No, when you
846
00:38:54,480 --> 00:38:56,560
paint, you get like tension and
tendonitis.
847
00:38:57,080 --> 00:38:59,360
It's really different configured
funny.
848
00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:01,360
He was one of the pitch offs.
He won.
849
00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:06,880
It was this this like crazy lawn
chair and and this is again for
850
00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:10,400
pitching.
She was really nervous and I can
851
00:39:10,400 --> 00:39:12,360
see nobody was understanding
what her product was.
852
00:39:12,360 --> 00:39:14,280
So I kind of stepped in and
said, I don't understand this
853
00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:15,800
product.
Is it just a chair?
854
00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:18,560
I knew what it was or just it
opened up and then it kind of
855
00:39:18,560 --> 00:39:21,880
like it opened her up.
She was like literally shaking.
856
00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:25,480
Then I so let all this opens up,
let's show it.
857
00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:29,040
And then she can see it clicked.
She took it on the ground.
858
00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:31,960
She opened it up, showed the
compartments how you sit on it.
859
00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:35,160
And it was really cool product.
It was really genius product.
860
00:39:35,160 --> 00:39:40,560
And and it just for me, just
just pushing her a little bit to
861
00:39:40,560 --> 00:39:43,120
show the value of it.
It opened her up, gave her a
862
00:39:43,120 --> 00:39:43,680
little more.
Yeah.
863
00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:46,520
I mean, she was so nervous.
I mean she your hands were
864
00:39:46,520 --> 00:39:48,160
shaking.
What was your first product?
865
00:39:49,560 --> 00:39:53,000
Oh, boy.
My first product was like, this
866
00:39:53,000 --> 00:39:54,800
goes way back to the design
school.
867
00:39:55,240 --> 00:39:58,680
I I had this task of coming up
with this like little jet model
868
00:39:58,680 --> 00:40:01,360
plane that you can sell and
build.
869
00:40:01,720 --> 00:40:02,800
I don't remember back in the
day.
870
00:40:02,800 --> 00:40:04,040
Again, I'm showing my model
planes.
871
00:40:04,440 --> 00:40:07,040
Yeah, but you had to paint it
and it came up with this fancy
872
00:40:07,040 --> 00:40:11,640
design and and it had to be
like, so I had to design it from
873
00:40:11,640 --> 00:40:15,280
scratch.
Like label it, market it, do the
874
00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:16,840
drawings, the whole design,
everything.
875
00:40:16,840 --> 00:40:18,720
That was really my my first big
one.
876
00:40:18,720 --> 00:40:21,240
I got a A+ on it.
I got extra credit on it.
877
00:40:21,280 --> 00:40:23,360
What was your first product that
you got into a commercial
878
00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:28,720
retailer?
It's probably one of our tick
879
00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:30,280
removers.
We have a tick remover called
880
00:40:30,280 --> 00:40:33,320
Ticket Off today.
It's a one handed tick remover.
881
00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:35,960
Literally it's plastic.
It has a lifetime warranty.
882
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:37,920
You can you don't have to touch
the tick.
883
00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,840
You can take it off of a dog off
of you drop it in container,
884
00:40:40,840 --> 00:40:43,320
have it checked.
We got that in in retail.
885
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:46,280
Super potty training was another
big one that was sitting around
886
00:40:46,280 --> 00:40:47,720
for a while.
Yeah.
887
00:40:47,720 --> 00:40:50,640
So I, I've been in design my
whole life, right.
888
00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:53,920
And, and in some point design
and automotive.
889
00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:56,760
Then I started getting into the
design of products and another
890
00:40:56,760 --> 00:41:01,320
big product called the the Dust
Deputy, which I took really from
891
00:41:01,320 --> 00:41:06,440
a scratch of like a metal
prototype and turned it into
892
00:41:06,440 --> 00:41:09,760
this really plastic
sophisticated product that
893
00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:12,840
cyclones material out of shop
vacs.
894
00:41:12,840 --> 00:41:15,040
So if you know anything about a
shop vac, when you're doing like
895
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:18,120
sheetrock or wood, it
immediately clogs a filter.
896
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:21,240
And in most cases, contractors
don't want to stop the work.
897
00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:24,240
They blow out the motor and then
they have to replace it.
898
00:41:24,240 --> 00:41:27,080
Well, this doesn't allow the
filter to get clogged.
899
00:41:27,360 --> 00:41:30,600
It cycles the material out,
drops into a separate bucket so
900
00:41:30,600 --> 00:41:31,760
you never have to replace the
filter.
901
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:34,920
The filter is always clean and
it segregates, especially with
902
00:41:34,920 --> 00:41:36,880
sheetrock.
Sheetrock will fill it up like
903
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:39,200
like that, right?
It's like 3 microns.
904
00:41:39,720 --> 00:41:42,240
If someone comes to you with an
idea, what does that process
905
00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:45,080
look like from idea to finally
retailer?
906
00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:47,200
Yeah.
So I, I always ask like some
907
00:41:47,200 --> 00:41:50,360
questions upfront, like if it's
an idea, then you got to get it
908
00:41:50,360 --> 00:41:53,080
on paper, right?
That's the first step.
909
00:41:53,080 --> 00:41:56,920
You got to get something that
you can show somebody, even if
910
00:41:56,920 --> 00:41:59,400
it's a, if it's a handmade
prototype, if you have a
911
00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:01,360
prototype, then I always ask
questions.
912
00:42:01,360 --> 00:42:04,520
Did you think about any type of
patents on it, whether it's a
913
00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:07,880
utility or design, you can do a
provisional which will cover you
914
00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:10,560
for a year.
Then then you got to look at
915
00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:13,800
budgets because that that's like
when you're launching products.
916
00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:18,640
It's an intense amount of work
and it's, it's, it, it, it's not
917
00:42:18,640 --> 00:42:21,840
something you can do part time.
It'll take you forever part
918
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:23,320
time.
If you truly want to do it, then
919
00:42:23,320 --> 00:42:25,400
you, you have to either get some
people that know what they're
920
00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:27,880
doing to help you, right?
You got to look at the design of
921
00:42:27,880 --> 00:42:30,640
it, the manufacturability of it.
Do you want to go in retail?
922
00:42:30,640 --> 00:42:32,800
You just want to be on Amazon.
You want to be in e-commerce.
923
00:42:33,200 --> 00:42:35,120
What type of marketing you want
to get on social media?
924
00:42:35,120 --> 00:42:36,840
Do you want to actually do a
marketing campaign?
925
00:42:37,360 --> 00:42:40,400
If you, if you get it in retail,
then you have to be ready for
926
00:42:40,800 --> 00:42:42,600
the, the, you know, the
wholesale price.
927
00:42:42,600 --> 00:42:44,600
If it's a $20 unit, they'll
probably sell it to them for
928
00:42:44,600 --> 00:42:45,880
11:00.
You got to pay for shipping.
929
00:42:45,880 --> 00:42:48,600
You got to have a, a
distribution center that
930
00:42:48,600 --> 00:42:50,880
actually can fulfill it.
They that's what we call these
931
00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:53,480
three PLS or a warehouse that
can ship it.
932
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:56,960
You got to have a place for a 18
Wheeler to pull up or you're
933
00:42:56,960 --> 00:42:59,320
going to do it.
A lot of the, the, the postal
934
00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:01,280
services.
I mean, there's a lot that goes
935
00:43:01,280 --> 00:43:06,640
into it and it's a lot of money.
And I, for me, I love the fact
936
00:43:06,640 --> 00:43:10,240
that I'm on TV because I get a
big audience all at once.
937
00:43:10,240 --> 00:43:12,880
Where if you don't have that,
then you got to market it to
938
00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:17,040
social media or you got to be on
TikTok or Instagram or e-mail
939
00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:18,880
blast.
And then it's not as fast.
940
00:43:19,200 --> 00:43:21,960
I mean, you do get some that go
viral, but typically when you
941
00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:23,760
stand in front of a camera and
there's 2 million people
942
00:43:23,760 --> 00:43:26,600
watching, you get an immediate
hit and you got to be ready for
943
00:43:26,600 --> 00:43:27,760
that.
Your websites got to be ready.
944
00:43:28,160 --> 00:43:30,000
Some people say they have a
website ready and I look at it
945
00:43:30,000 --> 00:43:32,400
and go, it's not ready.
Looks like your kid did it.
946
00:43:34,080 --> 00:43:36,640
So you talked about earlier
about doing American made
947
00:43:36,640 --> 00:43:38,440
products for all of your
products American?
948
00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:40,320
Made.
No, I, I did not.
949
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:43,200
Everything's made for the US
Like things that I can injection
950
00:43:43,200 --> 00:43:47,000
mold and eliminate the waste I
do a really good job of and I
951
00:43:47,000 --> 00:43:49,960
can be really competitive and
fastest to market.
952
00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:53,480
But if you're doing clothing,
it's just not, it's not, not not
953
00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:54,960
made.
Or if you're doing a lot of
954
00:43:54,960 --> 00:43:58,240
assembly, not good for US
because labor's so high.
955
00:43:58,760 --> 00:44:01,000
But you have to look at when
you're doing it outside of the
956
00:44:01,000 --> 00:44:05,360
country, what are the shipping
costs and what are the handling
957
00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:08,440
costs when you get it to the US?
Because a lot of people think,
958
00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:10,240
oh, I'm making that $0.50
cheaper.
959
00:44:10,800 --> 00:44:13,080
But when you're done, you're
really not because shipping
960
00:44:13,080 --> 00:44:16,920
costs, logistics costs is a cost
and it goes to the bottom line.
961
00:44:17,280 --> 00:44:19,480
So you might be getting the
peace price a little bit
962
00:44:19,480 --> 00:44:22,800
cheaper, but getting it to a
point where you get it
963
00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:25,160
delivered, it's not.
So always ask for that delivered
964
00:44:25,160 --> 00:44:27,160
price.
When people have an idea and
965
00:44:27,160 --> 00:44:29,160
they want to get it launched,
what are some of the biggest
966
00:44:29,160 --> 00:44:31,200
mistakes that they make?
They spend the money in the
967
00:44:31,200 --> 00:44:33,000
wrong places.
Not everything needs a patent
968
00:44:33,000 --> 00:44:34,720
right away either, right?
First of all, you got to really
969
00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:36,520
spend some time and see if there
is there a market.
970
00:44:36,960 --> 00:44:39,320
Are there consumers that want to
buy your product?
971
00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:43,480
So those, those spend a lot of
money on tooling unnecessarily,
972
00:44:43,480 --> 00:44:46,440
a lot of money on patents
unnecessarily without even
973
00:44:46,440 --> 00:44:47,680
knowing if they have a market
yet.
974
00:44:48,120 --> 00:44:50,400
And then when it's time to
market, they say I don't have a
975
00:44:50,400 --> 00:44:52,800
budget for it.
That's the most important part
976
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:55,280
of it because I always say you
have the greatest product in the
977
00:44:55,280 --> 00:44:57,800
world.
If no one knows about it, it's
978
00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:01,600
not going to sell.
And that that's why I see so
979
00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:03,840
many mistakes, so many common
mistakes.
980
00:45:03,840 --> 00:45:06,320
When you look back on your
career, I mean you started in
981
00:45:06,320 --> 00:45:09,000
the corporate and then quickly
took off and where do your own
982
00:45:09,000 --> 00:45:11,440
thing entrepreneurship, What
were some of the obstacles that
983
00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:13,240
you had to overcome?
I think the same thing.
984
00:45:13,240 --> 00:45:15,080
It's it's how you're going to
fund it, right?
985
00:45:15,080 --> 00:45:17,680
It's always like it is a risk.
I can't remember Brandy always
986
00:45:17,680 --> 00:45:20,320
saying to me, you're really
going to put 100 grand into that
987
00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,240
product.
I'm like, I have a good feeling
988
00:45:23,240 --> 00:45:24,800
like, and you can't do with
every product.
989
00:45:24,800 --> 00:45:28,680
And not that you even having a
good feeling means anything, but
990
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:30,000
there's, I've been good with
that.
991
00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:31,520
There's been an instinct, like
there's something I'm really
992
00:45:31,520 --> 00:45:33,200
good at.
There's some things like buying
993
00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:37,160
stocks I'm not so good at
because you don't have control
994
00:45:37,160 --> 00:45:39,480
over that, right?
But things that I can do, I have
995
00:45:39,480 --> 00:45:41,600
control over.
I think that's, that's been a
996
00:45:41,600 --> 00:45:42,840
big thing.
But there's, there's a, you
997
00:45:43,440 --> 00:45:46,160
know, there's a moment of, of,
of coming to Jesus when you're
998
00:45:46,360 --> 00:45:49,240
dropping 100 grand on a product,
Are you going to get that back?
999
00:45:49,600 --> 00:45:52,520
Because it's like, it's, I
always say like when you, when
1000
00:45:52,520 --> 00:45:55,520
you're in manufacturing, you can
make a mistake and build too
1001
00:45:55,520 --> 00:45:58,760
much inventory and if it sells,
slowly get it back.
1002
00:45:58,760 --> 00:46:00,200
So you just slow your cash flow
down.
1003
00:46:00,520 --> 00:46:03,720
But if you mess up labor and you
pay too much for labor, you're
1004
00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:07,080
never getting it back ever.
That's a waste you can't ever
1005
00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,200
recover.
So I always say that that's why
1006
00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:13,680
to me, process is so important
to cost because it's, it's, it's
1007
00:46:13,680 --> 00:46:16,560
a, it's a, it's a, a dollar
amount that you can't recoup.
1008
00:46:16,920 --> 00:46:18,520
Yep.
OK, I make too much inventory.
1009
00:46:18,520 --> 00:46:21,240
As long as you're not buying
stupid inventory, I see people
1010
00:46:21,240 --> 00:46:23,960
buy $300,000 with inventory and
they'll never get their money
1011
00:46:23,960 --> 00:46:26,160
back because it's not going to
sell then you then you're
1012
00:46:26,160 --> 00:46:28,400
selling it, you know, for
clearance items.
1013
00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:30,960
But if it's, if it's a
reasonable amount of inventory
1014
00:46:30,960 --> 00:46:33,920
where you need it to sell it,
you'll get it back even if it's
1015
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:37,040
a longer period of time.
So that that's really important
1016
00:46:37,040 --> 00:46:39,480
early on and marketing is again,
it's such a it's.
1017
00:46:39,600 --> 00:46:40,960
Insightful way.
I don't realize how important
1018
00:46:40,960 --> 00:46:42,120
marketing was, but it makes
sense.
1019
00:46:42,120 --> 00:46:43,720
I mean, you have a great
product, no one knows about it.
1020
00:46:43,720 --> 00:46:45,480
You can't.
I can remember going to a
1021
00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:47,440
corporate America company and
they had a great product.
1022
00:46:47,480 --> 00:46:48,640
I took it on Good Morning
America.
1023
00:46:48,640 --> 00:46:50,120
They were selling 1000 units a
month.
1024
00:46:50,720 --> 00:46:53,680
Literally the best product on
the market that no one knew
1025
00:46:53,680 --> 00:46:55,840
about.
We got on Good Morning America.
1026
00:46:56,040 --> 00:46:59,600
We went from 1000 a month to
10,000 a month. 10,000 over over
1027
00:46:59,600 --> 00:47:01,760
about a year.
No, this is even before this is
1028
00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:04,280
before TikTok.
I got to keep aging myself, do.
1029
00:47:05,840 --> 00:47:08,000
You use TikTok pretty heavily.
Yeah, I I use it.
1030
00:47:08,000 --> 00:47:09,760
I use it for fun really.
Does that does that have a good
1031
00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:13,320
turn out?
It just pens like you like for
1032
00:47:13,320 --> 00:47:15,440
TikTok.
To me, you have to be on there
1033
00:47:15,440 --> 00:47:19,520
alive and spend a lot of time on
live to really pick up followers
1034
00:47:19,520 --> 00:47:22,360
and have it go viral.
It's kind of like the the, the
1035
00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:24,600
way they have it set up.
Instagram's a little bit
1036
00:47:24,600 --> 00:47:27,480
different, Facebook's different,
Linkedin's different TikTok to
1037
00:47:27,480 --> 00:47:31,760
me, if you're on there live on a
regular basis, you can get a lot
1038
00:47:31,760 --> 00:47:33,600
of volume.
I'm I'm just not doing TikTok
1039
00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:34,560
that live.
Yeah.
1040
00:47:34,560 --> 00:47:36,720
Anyways, I'm doing more of the
TV stuff.
1041
00:47:37,120 --> 00:47:39,000
But I think we'll, with the
radio show, we'll probably start
1042
00:47:39,000 --> 00:47:40,240
doing that a little bit more
live.
1043
00:47:40,240 --> 00:47:41,480
Nice.
Yeah, I'd love to dive into your
1044
00:47:41,480 --> 00:47:43,520
radio show a little bit.
When does that expected?
1045
00:47:43,520 --> 00:47:46,920
To April 8th is the first show.
This will be out before then or.
1046
00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:47,960
After then I should Yeah.
OK.
1047
00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:51,120
April 8th, it's it's me and and
Justin Williams.
1048
00:47:51,120 --> 00:47:53,240
He's the director of the Hall of
Fame.
1049
00:47:53,640 --> 00:47:56,120
So we we did a big Hall of Fame
show last year.
1050
00:47:56,280 --> 00:47:58,040
We had what, over 2000 in the
audience.
1051
00:47:58,480 --> 00:48:00,200
Josh Turner was there, a lot of
big names.
1052
00:48:00,600 --> 00:48:03,200
It was all the media was there.
It was pretty cool.
1053
00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:06,480
I got a chance to speak, tell
everybody how I Can't Sing.
1054
00:48:08,160 --> 00:48:10,640
Although I met, I met Stephen
Tyler.
1055
00:48:10,640 --> 00:48:13,400
That's another good story.
So I met Steve, he's from New
1056
00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:16,440
Hampshire.
I was at an event he was at and
1057
00:48:16,440 --> 00:48:18,600
you know, everyone's going up to
him and that's the last thing I
1058
00:48:18,600 --> 00:48:19,680
want to do is go up and bother
him.
1059
00:48:19,680 --> 00:48:20,440
So I wait.
I didn't.
1060
00:48:21,080 --> 00:48:22,200
So I got to meet him.
I got to meet him.
1061
00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:23,360
Great.
So he's walking out.
1062
00:48:23,720 --> 00:48:28,040
It's like me and him literally.
And I'll introduce myself.
1063
00:48:29,360 --> 00:48:31,600
And then I said let's do a
selfie.
1064
00:48:31,600 --> 00:48:33,720
Did a selfie, but actually put
his cheek on my face.
1065
00:48:35,080 --> 00:48:37,000
And I said, you know, everyone
tells me I Can't Sing.
1066
00:48:37,000 --> 00:48:39,240
I figure I'll sing you a song.
You tell me.
1067
00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:40,840
And I think it was what I'm
saying.
1068
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:43,320
It was living on the edge.
I started singing.
1069
00:48:43,320 --> 00:48:46,040
He goes, OK, take the picture.
I go, so are you telling me I
1070
00:48:46,040 --> 00:48:47,840
Can't Sing?
He said, no, I'm not saying
1071
00:48:47,840 --> 00:48:50,080
that, just take the picture.
I said, so it's a picture.
1072
00:48:50,080 --> 00:48:52,840
I really Can't Sing.
But he was great.
1073
00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:55,400
He was gracious.
We met Rob Thomas from Matchbox
1074
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:58,080
20.
That's what this is.
1075
00:48:58,200 --> 00:48:59,960
I'm actually good friends with
this photographer now.
1076
00:49:00,440 --> 00:49:01,800
But this is a good story we're
at.
1077
00:49:02,920 --> 00:49:06,240
And what's the casino in
Connecticut?
1078
00:49:06,240 --> 00:49:08,640
Not Ledger, the other.
Oh, Mohegan, Mohegan, we're
1079
00:49:08,640 --> 00:49:11,000
doing a concert there.
All right, VIP passes.
1080
00:49:11,000 --> 00:49:15,160
I even forgot I had a VIP passes
like 20 of us inside this little
1081
00:49:15,160 --> 00:49:17,360
studio.
And I got to meet his publicist
1082
00:49:17,360 --> 00:49:19,920
a little bit and say, hey, how
can we, how can we meet Rob and
1083
00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:21,440
start laughing?
He goes, how many people want to
1084
00:49:21,440 --> 00:49:23,160
meet him?
So I don't care about everybody
1085
00:49:23,160 --> 00:49:24,160
else.
How do I meet him?
1086
00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:27,120
So we just had some fun with
him.
1087
00:49:27,120 --> 00:49:29,200
He did a video of us talking to
him.
1088
00:49:29,920 --> 00:49:33,120
So we go to the concert, there's
like 1 section and there's a an
1089
00:49:33,120 --> 00:49:36,360
open aisle and we're in the
we're in the the first seats.
1090
00:49:37,520 --> 00:49:41,600
He's singing.
This is how our heart breaks.
1091
00:49:42,120 --> 00:49:44,200
He's singing and he starts
walking and we had just come
1092
00:49:44,200 --> 00:49:46,400
back from grabbing a beer.
We sat down.
1093
00:49:46,400 --> 00:49:49,200
I go Brandon, he's walking down
the stairs, he's walking.
1094
00:49:49,200 --> 00:49:51,440
He's got like the spotlight on
him and all his bodyguards
1095
00:49:51,440 --> 00:49:52,840
around him.
He's walking, he's walking
1096
00:49:52,840 --> 00:49:54,720
towards us.
And she like didn't even hear a
1097
00:49:54,720 --> 00:49:57,000
word I said.
He's walking towards as I put my
1098
00:49:57,000 --> 00:49:59,760
beard on.
I get my camera out, they circle
1099
00:49:59,760 --> 00:50:04,120
us and he gives me a high 5 and
starts singing and grabs her and
1100
00:50:04,120 --> 00:50:06,120
hugs her and sings the whole
song to her.
1101
00:50:07,320 --> 00:50:08,520
I got it on film.
Everything.
1102
00:50:09,240 --> 00:50:10,360
No.
Then he stood on top of the
1103
00:50:10,360 --> 00:50:12,400
chair in front of us and
finished the song and then went
1104
00:50:12,400 --> 00:50:14,760
off.
I'm like, are you kidding
1105
00:50:14,760 --> 00:50:15,880
people?
Like how did you know Rob?
1106
00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:19,680
I call, I do now.
That was a really great
1107
00:50:19,680 --> 00:50:20,400
experience.
That was it.
1108
00:50:20,400 --> 00:50:22,000
She was like, what just
happened?
1109
00:50:22,440 --> 00:50:24,560
That was pretty cool.
But we'll close it out here
1110
00:50:24,560 --> 00:50:26,040
soon.
We're getting close to an hour.
1111
00:50:26,320 --> 00:50:29,920
But when you think about the
entrepreneurial spirit and the
1112
00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:34,400
manufacturing process, if you're
speaking to a 252627 year old or
1113
00:50:34,520 --> 00:50:36,480
someone that just wants to get
started in that, what are the
1114
00:50:36,480 --> 00:50:40,240
most important characteristics
to be a successful entrepreneur?
1115
00:50:40,560 --> 00:50:44,440
You got to act on your actions.
Can't speak them to life.
1116
00:50:44,600 --> 00:50:46,440
They don't come to life by
speaking about them.
1117
00:50:46,800 --> 00:50:49,480
You have to really take action.
And I would say if you have a
1118
00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:53,320
good idea, get it on paper, lay
it out, do some, you know, some
1119
00:50:53,320 --> 00:50:57,920
cheap, inexpensive prototypes
and see how it works.
1120
00:50:57,920 --> 00:50:59,880
And then see if there's a market
for it.
1121
00:51:00,280 --> 00:51:03,040
Ask your friends, ask your
family, because you just don't
1122
00:51:03,040 --> 00:51:05,520
know until you so people look at
it and say, oh, I really like
1123
00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:06,880
that.
I mean, that's what happened
1124
00:51:06,880 --> 00:51:07,680
with me.
It was a Shark Tank.
1125
00:51:07,680 --> 00:51:10,240
I saw a product.
I saw something that I liked
1126
00:51:10,240 --> 00:51:11,240
about it.
It was pretty cool.
1127
00:51:11,240 --> 00:51:14,120
I'd been sitting in her garage
for eight years, really dead,
1128
00:51:14,880 --> 00:51:17,360
literally.
And I, I revived it and, and
1129
00:51:17,360 --> 00:51:19,360
that's what I would say like,
and then you've got to go to
1130
00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:21,760
work.
It's not going to come to life
1131
00:51:21,760 --> 00:51:24,360
by you talking about it.
I see a lot of people talking
1132
00:51:24,360 --> 00:51:27,640
about stuff, right?
We always talk about that was my
1133
00:51:27,640 --> 00:51:28,800
idea.
I had that idea.
1134
00:51:28,800 --> 00:51:30,560
No, you didn't.
You might have had that idea.
1135
00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:33,520
Somebody reacted and made it
into reality.
1136
00:51:33,520 --> 00:51:36,360
And that's what you have to do.
You have to go to work and don't
1137
00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:39,960
try to do everything yourself
because you're not a marketer,
1138
00:51:40,680 --> 00:51:41,960
right?
Or maybe you are a marketer.
1139
00:51:41,960 --> 00:51:44,160
Maybe then you're not a no, no,
I'm saying, but then you're not
1140
00:51:44,160 --> 00:51:46,880
a design person, right?
Or you're not a social media
1141
00:51:46,880 --> 00:51:49,320
influencer.
You're not a TV influencer.
1142
00:51:49,680 --> 00:51:52,480
Find people who you can trust
and build the right team.
1143
00:51:52,480 --> 00:51:56,040
That's a key point is really
finding people who see your
1144
00:51:56,040 --> 00:51:58,200
vision.
Not everyone's going to see it
1145
00:51:58,200 --> 00:52:02,400
the way you see it or believe in
what how you believe in it, but
1146
00:52:02,520 --> 00:52:06,440
find somebody that you can work
with that that have that has
1147
00:52:06,440 --> 00:52:09,680
done it not I have people all
day long telling me how to get
1148
00:52:09,680 --> 00:52:11,680
on Shark Tank.
I'm gonna how would you know?
1149
00:52:11,880 --> 00:52:14,800
You've never been on Shark Tank.
You're going around selling how
1150
00:52:14,800 --> 00:52:17,000
to get on Shark Tank and you've
never been on Shark Tank.
1151
00:52:17,360 --> 00:52:20,000
So how can you tell me that?
And that's an irritation for me
1152
00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:22,520
because I know how much work it
was right to get on Shark Tank
1153
00:52:22,520 --> 00:52:24,880
or get a good get on Good
Morning America to launch a
1154
00:52:24,880 --> 00:52:26,920
product.
Don't act like you're going to
1155
00:52:26,920 --> 00:52:28,640
coach somebody and you've never
done it.
1156
00:52:29,160 --> 00:52:31,920
That's false advertisement.
Like be real about it.
1157
00:52:31,920 --> 00:52:34,400
So find the right person.
It's easy.
1158
00:52:34,400 --> 00:52:37,240
A lot of information on.
I know when you Google, there's
1159
00:52:37,240 --> 00:52:38,800
a lot of information on social
media.
1160
00:52:38,800 --> 00:52:40,160
You can check people's
background.
1161
00:52:40,400 --> 00:52:43,040
You can see, I mean, if you go
on my site, everything we talked
1162
00:52:43,040 --> 00:52:45,320
about now, you can see
credibility.
1163
00:52:45,320 --> 00:52:46,960
Yeah, it's all facts.
Yeah, I've seen some of the
1164
00:52:46,960 --> 00:52:48,080
pictures and posts on LinkedIn
and.
1165
00:52:48,080 --> 00:52:48,440
What?
Yeah.
1166
00:52:48,760 --> 00:52:50,320
And it's kind of funny.
I was at Walmart.
1167
00:52:50,320 --> 00:52:53,840
I met somebody.
Does this Make 48 program?
1168
00:52:54,280 --> 00:52:56,120
And I was telling about Good
Morning America and some of
1169
00:52:56,120 --> 00:52:57,320
those things.
I can almost feel like you
1170
00:52:57,320 --> 00:52:59,480
didn't believe me.
And I started showing the real
1171
00:52:59,480 --> 00:53:02,280
pictures of Michael Strahan and
Robin Roberts just like, Oh my
1172
00:53:02,280 --> 00:53:04,240
God, Oh my God.
Then he invited me to his next
1173
00:53:04,240 --> 00:53:05,320
event.
But that's what I'm saying.
1174
00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:08,080
I always have.
I like to tell a story, but I
1175
00:53:08,080 --> 00:53:10,400
also like to have the videos and
the photos that go with the
1176
00:53:10,400 --> 00:53:12,760
story because it just gives
credibility and it brings
1177
00:53:12,760 --> 00:53:15,320
realization to it.
So find the right people to help
1178
00:53:15,320 --> 00:53:17,080
you get it launched.
Absolutely.
1179
00:53:17,080 --> 00:53:19,360
And if someone is looking for
the right people, how can they
1180
00:53:19,360 --> 00:53:21,720
find the modern inventor?
It's really simple.
1181
00:53:21,720 --> 00:53:26,680
modern-inventor.com or
Christopher dot Guerrera.
1182
00:53:27,120 --> 00:53:28,680
I'm on all the social media
platforms.
1183
00:53:28,720 --> 00:53:30,200
There you go.
You heard it here folks.
1184
00:53:30,200 --> 00:53:31,520
So Chris, thank you for joining
me.
1185
00:53:31,520 --> 00:53:32,800
I really.
Appreciate this has been fun.
1186
00:53:32,800 --> 00:53:34,400
I I love talking about this
stuff.
1187
00:53:34,400 --> 00:53:35,760
It's been great.
Thank you.