Cincinnati is no stranger to reality television (cue references to Drew and Nick Lachey here), but ABC’s "Shark Tank" has been hailed by some as a holy grail for budding entrepreneurs – particularly ones looking for national exposure.
The founders who have walked the gauntlet over the past 11 seasons have had varying levels of success with the panel of investor judges, aka sharks. Some leave with cash needed to grow their business – others go empty handed.
As far as local connections are concerned, the Queen City has fared decently well on the show. Here’s a rundown on some of the most interesting appearances, and an update on where they are now:
Tom & Chee
Corey Ward and Trew Quackenbush, Cincinnati founders of the premier grilled cheese franchise Tom & Chee, made several appearances on Shark Tank over the years. Their first, in 2013, yielded a $600,000 offer, as well as a big boost in notoriety. In the months after the episode aired, Ward and Quackenbush received more than 20,000 franchise requests.
That fame, however, didn't translate to long-term sales. Ward and Quackenbush returned to Shark Tank in 2014 and 2015 to talk about their plans to add more stores. But in November 2015, Tom & Chee shuttered three restaurants in Columbus, and in 2017, it closed locations in Indianapolis, Detroit, Lexington, Louisville and St. Louis as well.
Lucky for us, Gold Star Chili purchased the brand in September 2017 for an undisclosed figure. Thus, Tom & Chee lives on. Although with a bit of a different face. Trew Quackenbush and his wife Jennifer left the business in 2017. Corey Ward is also no longer involved in the brand, said Jamie Pollard, a spokeswoman for Gold Star and Tom & Chee, but his wife and co-founder Jenny Rachford is Tom & Chee's franchise development coordinator.
Tom & Chee operates eight locations. Its flagship Anderson Township location has been piloting a new menu, look and feel. And it’s working on additional franchise locations in Pittsburgh, Binghamton, N.Y., and Oklahoma City, Okla., the first expansion since the acquisition.
Under the Weather
Under the Weather founder Rick Pescovitz wanted a more comfortable way to watch his kid’s soccer and baseball games in cold, damp weather. So he invented a solution.
Under the Weather, a line of personal pop up tents, received three offers when Pescovitz’s pitched the product on Shark Tank in April 2017. He decided Mark Cuban’s was best: $600,000 for a 15 percent stake in the company and a 12-month option to buy an additional 10 percent stake for $600,000 more.
Since the show, Under the Weather continues to expand its offerings, including a collection of family pods. The MonsterMeshPod pop-up tent ($169.99) can fit up to six people. But you’ll have to get on a wait list, because it’s currently sold out. Additionally, its IntubationPod, created to protect frontline workers interacting with Covid-19 patients, was a finalist for Fast Company’s most innovative health projects of 2020.
Wine Balloon (aka Air Cork)
In February 2012, Eric Corti, a Mason wine connoisseur, pitched his invention, the Wine Balloon, a rubber latex balloon that seals opened bottles of wine, thus its prolonging shelf life by reducing oxidation, to the sharks. He got offers – from Cuban and Lori Greiner, who wanted to buy the entire company for $400,000 – but Corti ultimately backed out of a deal.
The Wine Balloon made its rounds: it was also featured on Food Network, DIY's I Want That and America's Test Kitchen. Today, the wine preserver, now called Air Cork, comes in a few different colors, and you can buy spare balloons online, too.
VPcabs
Brad Baker pitched his business, VPcabs, a maker of virtual pinball machines, to the sharks in May 2016. At the time, it was among the most expensive retail product to appear on the show (VPcabs’ virtual pinball machines sell for as much as $9,000 apiece).
Baker ultimately made a deal with Daymond John – who offered $200,000 in exchange for 25-percent equity.
In 2017, Baker moved his business out of his garage and into a storefront in Fairfield. In June 2018, VPcabs announced its plans for a larger space — which now includes the newly opened Pinball Garage in Hamilton.
The Pinball Garage, an old-school pinball arcade that includes a bar, opened at the end of June, and Baker has plans to double in size by winter. He plans to build the business into the largest collection of publicly playable pinball machines in the U.S.
Besomebody
Kash Shaikh spent nine years at Procter & Gamble Co. before cashing out his 401K to finance Besomebody, a mobile platform for motivational content, where people could connect through mutual and shared passions.
He was looking for a $1 million investment in return for 10 percent equity in the company when he appeared on Shark Tank in November 2016. It did not go well. Shaikh received zero deals.
Since the show, Besomebody’s initial product failed to gain ground. According to its website, Shaikh sold the app to a Denver-based activity firm in 2017.
After being “knocked down, kicked to the curb and counted out,” Kash said, he came up with a pivot: a Besomebody podcast, which is now “a multimillion dollar" company; and BSB Group International, a sister company that provides Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing startups with management consulting, brand building and digital communication services.
The podcast, which covers topics like entrepreneurship, leadership and culture, is heard in over a dozen countries, including Pakistan, the Philippines, India, Mexico, South Africa and the United States.
GoSun
GoSun, a designer of solar-powered outdoor gear, never actually appeared on Shark Tank, but the team has had a couple brushes with the show.
Founder Patrick Sherwin declined a 2014 offer to pitch his company on TV, opting instead to start a crowdfunding campaign. It appears to have been a good move. GoSun has since successfully crowdfunded eight solar innovations, and its product line now includes solar ovens, solar coolers and solar phone chargers, too.
In September, GoSun pitched Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary, aka "Mr. Wonderful," during an online pitch competition hosted by StartEngine, a crowdfunding platform. It was one of five finalists chosen out of 1,300 applicants. GoSun didn’t receive the top prize – $10,000 – but it did receive the People's Choice Award, which came with a $2,500 reward.
