Another metro Atlanta entrepreneur scored money on ABC’s hit show Shark Tank, but Patrick Whaley described the the experience pitching his Sandy Springs-based business Titin as “gruesome.”
Whaley, who lives in Cumming, appeared on the air Friday to pitch his line of weighted training apparel. On TV, he eventually agreed to take $500,000 in return for giving up 20 percent of his company to Daymond John, a member of the show’s panel of wealthy investors.
The show was taped long before it aired, and Whaley told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Monday that the ultimate deal improved significantly after the taping.
Johns agreed to put in more than twice as much money as he did on the show, Whaley said, and helped Titin get financing. Whaley declined to say what ownership percentage John gets under the final deal.
Before the airing, Whaley told the AJC his time in the tank was “gruesome.” But he said, “I’m glad I went through it. It allowed us to come out much stronger as a company.”
As Whaley made his pitch on the show, investor Mark Cuban said “my b.s. meter is going through the roof.” Another investor, Kevin O’Leary, made a bid, though he told Whaley “your style fits into the arrogant ass” factor.
Whaley said his online sales have increased “drastically” since the airing.
He's been in the news before. The former Georgia Tech engineering student was shot by robbers in an off-campus Midtown parking deck and was featured in an Atlanta Journal-Constitution Personal Journey feature last year.
A string of Georgians — from an Atlanta pediatric doctor to a former pro wrestler and two Macon moms — have survived appearances on Shark Tank over its six-season run so far. Some of the 11 local businesses enjoyed — and struggled with — rocketing sales from the exposure.
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