A Greater Cincinnati teen swam with sharks Friday night and came out on top.
Carson Grill, 15, a freshman at Bishop Fenwick High School, appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank” to pitch his paint-saving product Touch Up Cup, and walked away with a six-figure investment.
Grill and his father, Jason, received two offers from sharks Blake Mycoskie and Daymond John. The popular reality show pits entrepreneurs against a panel of five judges looking to help finance their businesses.
It took some negotiating, but the Liberty Township teen accepted the deal from Mycoskie, founder of Toms shoes, for $175,000 for a 17.5% stake of the company.
Grill’s original ask was $150,000 for a 10% stake.
“It feels amazing,” Grill said afterward. “With Blake on our team, the sky’s the limit, and we can reach any level of success. We won't stop until Touch Up Cup is in every home, store and workshop around the world."
The Touch Up Cup is a 13-ounce polypropylene container optimized for storing paint. It has a stainless-steel rapid mixing blending sphere – which means less mess – and an extra-tight silicone seal. The Grills said the product has been lab tested and will keep paint fresh for more than 10 years.
Carson Grill came up with the idea a few years ago, he said, when he was doing touch-up painting with his dad around the house. When they opened some leftover paint cans, the product inside was rusty, clumpy and smelled.
“I thought we needed to find a better way,” Grill said in an interview this week with the Courier.
The Touch Up Cup retails for $6.99 or $14.99 for a three-pack online. The product is available through the company’s website on Shopify, and at retailers like Home Depot, Lowes, Amazon, Houzz, Do It Best and Meijer. Jason Grill said they have a private label partner, FrogTape, which sells the cup under its own moniker. Carson told me they’re also starting a 2,000-store test with Walmart.
The Grills were the first entrepreneurs to enter the tank during the show’s Season 12 premiere. Their appearance on "Shark Tank" was taped in August at the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas.
Cincinnati is no stranger to "Shark Tank." No fewer than six local companies have made pitches on the show.
