Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Two local entrepreneurs will face the teeth of the ABC hit show "Shark Tank" judges on tonight's episode.
One is a former HR payroll specialist and the other a former professional wrestler.
I was first able to reach Erica Barnett, owner of two-year-old Atlanta food company Southern Culture Artisan Foods, who faced the judges with aplomb.
She had plenty of time to prepare. She was initially supposed to appear season four but the producers wanted her business to mature a bit more. Her strategy: watch every single past episode of "Shark Tank" to learn what each investor likes and dislikes and anticipate any and every question they may throw at her.
Barrett sells a line of specialty flavored pancake and waffle mixes (e.g. Bourbon Salted Pecan and Very Berry) as well as bacon rubs (e.g. Bourbon Pecan Praline). Her gourmet gift packs are available in T.J. Maxx, Nordstrom Whole Foods and QVC.
"I felt breakfast needed to be reinvented," she said. "We have 13 different waffle and pancake mix flavors such as Birthday Cake and Red Velvet. We're the Ben & Jerrys of pancake mix!"
Her revenues, she said, for 2013 were $150,000 when she taped in September in Culver City, Calif. and she finished the year at $250,000.
At age 31, she said she has been a Target team leader and HR expert with payroll systems expertise. But she had been cooking since nine and had always pictured herself running a food company.
"I can feel like I can do anything," Barrett said. "I'm fulfilled. I'm passionate about food. I finally found my niche!"
She has not paid herself anything yet and needs an influx of investor cash and expertise, she said, to grow her business even bigger. Her husband Andre is a software engineer. They downsized to a 765-foot square foot condo so they could live on his salary while she builds her business.
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
The other local pitch tonight is from Diamond Dallas Page, a veteran retired pro wrestler from Smyrna who performed over two decades with WCW, WWF (now WWE) and TNA.
He is promoting a yoga fitness system he created called DDPYoga. In an interview this afternoon, he said it's a different type of yoga that mixes flexibility with cardio, strengthening the core without hurting joints. "I did this for adults who wouldn't be caught dead doing yoga," he said.
He has turned DDPYoga into a multi-million dollar business. Many of his wrestling colleagues are adherents.
Page started as a wrestler at age 35, a ridiculously late age. But at age 57, he remains incredibly flexible thanks to this program, as will be shown during the episode.
He and his business partner Steven Yu will be presenting tonight.
This is an inspiration video of someone who used DDPYoga that has drawn more than 10 million views on YouTube:
Page was pushing his "Shark Tank" show on this Joe Cronin show:
"We had a great time," he said on that show. "I love the show. I won the minute they decided to air the show... When you're out there talking about your product, you are on mainstream television on prime time. Let's say we get eight minutes. Can you imagine how much it costs to get eight minutes on ABC?"
Page, who lived in Atlanta during the 1990s, returned to Atlanta from Los Angeles 18 months ago to be closer to family and friends. He can't say if he got a deal from the sharks but he clearly was doing this for the publicity as much as the chance to work with the sharks.
"I respect every one of the sharks," he said. "The show is awesome. It works because it's real. The sharks really don't know anything when we present to them."
ABC's "Shark Tank" has seen its fortunes and ratings rise steadily over five seasons, averaging more than 6 million viewers a night on Fridays, the most popular show that night. CNBC is now running repeats.
TV preview
"Shark Tank," 9 p.m., Fridays, ABC
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