Inventors dream of pitching their products to business tycoons on the hit TV show “Shark Tank.” Kyle Allen, of Lafayette, knows the reality of doing so, and he tells The Daily Advertiser the show lives up to its name.
“For the 10 minutes they edit it down to on TV, when you go in the tank, you’re in there for about an hour,” said Allen. “It’s literally like you’re in combat.
“You’re dealing with very smart people that have made a lot of money. They know how to hold onto their money. It was a very tough experience.”
Viewers across the country can witness Allen’s experience when “Shark Tank” airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC. Allen and business partner Nick Palermo pitched their patented product, Ski-Z by Ski Junk, to a panel of celebrity business moguls, like Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team, and Lori Greiner, aka “The Queen of QVC.” Winning inventors land investment deals from the panelists.
Rules of the competition prevent Allen from revealing his fate. But his appearance is mission accomplished for an idea he hatched in 2011.
A married father with three daughters, Allen was often responsible for carrying his family’s skis up the snowy slopes of Colorado, so Allen invented Ski-Z, a caddy with a wheel that snaps on the front of skis.
