'Shark Tank' judges are impressed by teen contestant's pitch but express concern about his future
"Shark Tank" has unlocked an avenue for entrepreneurs to make it big irrespective of age, and has featured teenagers pitching their innovation. But, while young founders get much-deserved attention, they don’t always end up walking away with a deal. One such teenager was Ethan Kamat, who had come to the show with his dad, Vinay. Even though all the sharks loved watching him pitch his venture, none of them were convinced enough to invest in it.
The father-son duo sought $75,000 for a 10% stake in their company, Solemender. As the name suggests, the company’s product is designed to relieve any discomfort one may feel on the soles of their feet. Ethan’s parents were both in the medical field and served as excellent guides and mentors. The teenager delivered the pitch in an entertaining yet professional manner.
The Solemender is basically a portable roller that one needs to roll their foot on for pain relief. “So, what Plantar Fasciitis is is where you get microtears in the tendons that run along the bottom of your foot, and unfortunately, two million people per year get this condition, and my mom was one of those two million,” Ethan said confidently.
“Doctors recommend freezing a water bottle and rolling your foot on it, but if you’ve ever frozen a water bottle, you know it has the tendency to explode every once in a while. So I figured, there’s got to be a better way to help people alleviate their foot pain but also be simple and easy to use,” he said.
His father then revealed that he had been an internal medicine physician for a couple of decades and had worked with patients with Plantar Fasciitis in the past. The company had sales of $25,000 in a year at the time of the taping. Things were going well until Ethan was asked about his future.
The teenager said that he was just entering senior year in high school, but would drop any plans of going to college if he got a deal on the show that day. What he thought would be proof of commitment turned out to be an obstacle, as the sharks believed that it was a bad idea. Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez said no to making a deal partly because they wanted Ethan to have a college degree.
Kevin O’Leary did not see any plan for customer acquisition, and so he opted out as well. Lori Greiner did not believe it was the right product for her, and Barbara Corcoran simply did not believe that the product had any “sex appeal.” In the end, the impressive teenager left with nothing.
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