As a family of entrepreneurs, watching Shark Tank together has been a long running tradition—never in our wildest dreams did we imagine we’d actually end up on the show. But, after developing an idea, forming a business, being accepted onto the show, and landing not one but two sharks, that dream has become a reality for which we are incredibly grateful. Our Shark Tank debut occurred during the global pandemic and involved a fourteen-day quarantine in a hotel room in Las Vegas before we had the opportunity to present our business to the sharks, where Robert Herjavec and Daniel Lubetzky chose to back us. Here, our CEO’s, Alleanna and Juliette Clark, share what it was like swimming with the sharks.
What inspired you to go on Shark Tank?
Ever since the show came out, we watched it together as a family because our parents were already entrepreneurs and had their own business. It was one of those things where we’d joke, “Oh we should go on Shark Tank.” When we actually came up with an idea and were thinking about starting a business, we decided it was a good time to actually do it. It was so surreal because we’d watch and try to picture ourselves on it, but then actually being there was super cool.
–JC
What was the casting process like?
We attended open casting in Las Vegas in 2020. It was right before we were supposed to go back to school—we drove out there and put together a good pitch and brought all of our prototypes. They say you can have a business in any stage and so for us, we were in the brand new stage. We hadn’t sold anything yet, but we had had this awesome idea and a name built up in our own community. That was the first step. -AC
It’s casting for a TV show, so part of it was pitching our idea but part of it was pitching who we are as a family. I think that’s really what they saw, especially from our first pitch. That’s where we really showcased who we are as entrepreneurs, as a family, and what the business stands for, what it means to us, and the work we were willing to put in. -JC
Were you nervous heading into filming?
We had to quarantine for COVID in the hotel room, which gave us a lot of time to practice. So, when we finally got up there, it was a really great moment where it all came together and we felt so prepared and ready. We had those about to film nerves but once we were standing there as a family about to walk through the tank, we felt very at peace and knew that we were going to go kill it and go swim with the sharks. -JC
I knew if I couldn’t answer something that someone else would. That’s kind of how it goes with the whole business—if one of us needs someone else to help on something, they will. We all have different roles and had different questions that we had more expertise. That’s the best part about doing it all together. -AC
Why do you think the sharks chose to bite?
I think they really saw, not just our product, but how it connected with who we are. You can definitely tell from the way that we presented and the product in itself that it really speaks to who we are as a family. The sharks know how much work it takes to start a business—I think they saw that we’re willing to work together and to work hard because we really care about the product that we’re making. So far we’ve been having a lot of fun and who doesn’t want to work with people who are fun? -JC
Was landing two sharks a goal of yours?
Typically people will get one shark but every so often, there will be multiple sharks in one deal if they feel like they could compliment each other. We had seen episodes where there’d be two or three sharks and we knew because we’re tandem, we wanted two sharks. -JC
A lot of times the sharks will fight each other over who gets it. Our business is not about competing and fighting for something but about working together to catch a wave, so we wanted to bring that in when we asked both of them. And it was Robert and Daniel’s first deal together so that was pretty cool. -AC
Were you hoping Robert and Daniel would be your sharks?
Robert is a regular shark, so we knew he would be a shark that we would want to work with. But we didn’t find out that Daniel was a shark until we already started quarantining. But we had watched episodes where he was a guest shark, so we were familiar with him. Once we found out that he was the guest shark, we were really excited because we thought that his values and his businesses were really in line with our vision. Daniel has really good branding experience and Robert has experience with similar industries, so we thought that it would be a good match.
-JC
What’s your hope for the business?
We are really close as a family and this business brought us closer together, especially at a time when things were really isolating because we were able to work on it together. Hopefully our business also brings joy to people and helps with how they feel about going in the ocean, riding boat wakes together or even riding down hills in the snow together. And also just allows them to spend time with their families. -AC
