Mar 29, 2023
How to Get a Deal on Shark Tank w/ Tony Gonzales of Slick Barrier
BRT S04 EP13 (175) 3-26-2023
What We Learned This Week
- Have Faith: ‘You’re not on Shark Tank until you’re on Shark Tank’
- Have a Great Story: Power of a Story - PR & a great business story got them on Shark Tank
- Have a Great Product: Slick Barrier is pest control (not pesticide) applied to the base of the house
- Have a Plan: Lori Greiner / Home Shopping Queen - that was the Shark they wanted & got a deal
Guest: Tony Gonzales – Slick Barrier – Attorney – Shark Tank
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonygonzalesesq/
As Seen On Shark Tank
Now available at Bug and Weed
Mart Retail Locations!
Pro Install Available in Arizona and
Nevada! Click
Here
LinkedIn: Click Here
YouTube channel: Click Here
Shark Tank / Lori Greiner / Slick Barrier article: Click Here
Shark Tank appearance video: Click Here
Bio Article: Click Here
Notes:
Seg. 1
Partner is Aaron, they met as kids in Santa Fe New Mexico. Aaron created the Slick Barrier product. Tony is an attorney by trade. He was originally brought into the business by Aaron to work on the patent.
They went into business together in 2013 with a company called Aversion. This was the marketing company to sell slack barrier.
Tony worked in real estate business and contract law, and a grad of ASU. He had a general firm in Flagstaff AZ, then moved his office and family to Phoenix. At one point he was also doing criminal law.
Tony is from the southwest, but had not seen any scorpions. Then his 3 year old son was stung by a scorpion in his home in Chandler, AZ. It was a very traumatic experience, with an overnight stay at the hospital.
Tony joined Aaron full time in 2017, they incorporated and by 2018 they were selling, testing, and developing the product.
Seg. 2
When you start the business, you usually operate as a sole proprietor. This is risky as you are personally liable for damages. If you form a partnership with someone, there are other risks, plus you still could be liable.
Form an LLC (corporation), it’s fast and easy and can be done online. After you setup the Corp., then register with the state and now you have a legal entity.
Very scary starting a business, you take on risk so you need to know how to protect yourself, and your idea. You’re incorporated, and now the business is responsible. This provides you with a legal shield, and it protects your assets (and your family).
Shark Tank
Previously Tony had tried to get on the Trump show, The Apprentice. He got an audition, but nothing further.
Process for the Shark Tank is different. You apply to get on, and any business can apply. If approved, you go through a process which takes months to see if you will actually get on the show.
Tony referenced the book - Third Door by Alex Banayan – about a college student on a quest to meet successful people and learn from them. The main message of the book is to find another way in. Tony found a back door. They produced content about their product Slick Barrier, and sent it to the producers. They were selling their idea to the people who would decide if they get on the show.
The Producers of a show like Shark Tank need to determine, if a company will work well on TV. Is the product and business story good. They also have to consider that any company that comes on the show cannot embarrass the parent company, Disney.
The process for going on Shark Tank is similar to raising capital. The standard capital raise is: you make a pitch, have to have a good story, need to have sales of your product, and be a viable company.
When they were accepted for Shark Tank, they flew to California and filmed the episode. They did not know if it was going to air. Per Tony - ‘You’re not on Shark Tank until you’re on Shark Tank’.
They had applied to be on Shark Tank in May 2022. They were accepted in September 2022, and had 2 weeks to prepare before filming the episode that same month. The episode did not air until January 2023.
All that time, they did not know when, or if the show would air. They also could not tell people that they were on Shark Tank. The people that knew were, Tony, his partner Aaron, and a patent attorney that they took with them for the filming.
Oddly, when they were notified that they were going to be going to California to appear on Shark Tank it was via email that went to spam. Fortunately the Shark Tank Producer called also.
They were notified in early January that the show was going to air and be on Shark Tank. They had 2 weeks to do the PR prep. They had to move fast to do their own PR to get the word out.
Seg. 3
There are lots of rules from Shark Tank on how you can do your PR. They went to a whole bunch of local publications in Arizona and local TV.
They lucked out because, both Nevada New Mexico picked up the story. Tony also appeared in the Arizona Foothills, and The Phoenix Business Journal with a 150K website,
Three partners from New Mexico and some investors legitimize your business.
Did they get a deal with a Shark? Yes, they got a $500K deal with Lori Greiner. Terms were for 15% equity, part cash, part loan.
They had a plan going in, and Lori Greiner was the Shark they wanted. They did their research on Lori. They read her book, and knew what her expectations were for a potential deal. The whole time during the taping of the show they were focused on Lori, being careful to keep eye contact with her.
Now post the deal, they are in the due diligence stage (as of Q1 – 2023).
Tony has a background in law and politics, and now he is in pest control. In the past, pest control was all about pesticides. Now it’s about pest management. Stop the pest from getting into the house.
How does the pest get in the house? For example, a spider will roam the grounds near your house, finds a spot to crawl up the house, and eventually find a way in the wall.
What does Slick Barrier do? Slick Barrier is a coating that you put around the house, about 8 inches off the ground. Pests and insects can’t climb up the house anymore. It keeps out scorpions, spiders and rodents.
Slick barrier is a non-pesticide physical barrier that is EPA approved. It is not labeled as a pesticide.
Now families do not need to spray pesticides inside their house. It is safe and parent approved. It will not harm your pets or kids. Homebuilders could use it to spray on a new house.
Seg. 4
New home builds often use a Taexx System in the walls. This is a tube system built in the walls, and then pesticides are sprayed in the tubes. This is a pretty good system.
HomeTeam Pest Defense makes the Taexx System - https://pestdefense.com/
Slick barrier is better. You can do annual touchups with Slick Barrier. Then you could spray the backyard and the base of the house with pesticides if you want. You can spray the pesticides on the Slick Barrier area of the coating on the house.
Why Lori Greiner? Lori understands brand new products from her years of selling products on the home shopping channel. She knows how to get them in the hands of consumers. She understands the public.
They trust Lori, she can help. Lori has the contacts, and experience to market these types of products like Slick Barrier.
They also knew that Lori had a past interest in pest control. Mr. Wonderful had stole a deal from her in 2020 (First Saturday Lime – eco-friendly insect repellant - HERE). Tony said this looked like a pretty good product.
PR is very powerful for any business, especially when you know how to tell your story. The Power of the story is what captures customers. Matt actually found Tony as a guest on BRT, through a story on LinkedIn talking about his appearance on Shark Tank.
You start a business to solve a problem. Find your passion business. Why do you believe in your business? What’s your story? You need to have a personal connection to the business.
Just telling people my product is better, no one cares. They need to have the experience of your business. Why is your product different from other business? Why is it better?
You need to know how people connect with your product. Show people your passions, and inspire them.
Tony and his partner are working on a Good Scorpions campaign.
** Check with Tony for any links or website yet.
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