A pair of local women went swimming with the sharks Friday night. Not the ones at the Georgia Aquarium; Brittany Hayes and Brooke Bryant went swimming with the sharks in the "Shark Tank" on ABC.
"When you walk out there, that's the first time you've seen (the sharks)," Hayes told Nelson's News on wsbtv.com. "I remember Brooke and I holding hands, standing on the rug at the end of the (stage) and I think our hands were shaking so bad."
Hayes is the entrepreneur behind Addison's Wonderland. It's a business that features bedding, headboards, drapes and accessories. The business grew out of Hayes designing the bedding for her daughter Addison's room a few years back.
Friends took notice of her work and soon after, she started a small company in July 2011. News of the company and its products spread on Facebook, and those few friends grew into several thousand customers.
About that time, Hayes brought friend and neighbor Bryant into the company. Together, the pair made a pitch to the TV show about a year ago.
"I have been obsessed with the show since season one," Hayes said. "My husband and I always watch. Even before I had this company, I thought, 'I don't know what I'm going to do, but I want to do something and go on that show.'"
After making a video pitch and getting screened by producers, the pair headed to Los Angeles for a week last July. That's when Hayes and Bryant made their presentation to the sharks.
"When we walked out there, we had to stand there, not talking, nothing, for 45 seconds," Bryant said. "That felt like an eternity. (The sharks) were staring at us, we were staring at them."
The pair made their pitch to the sharks on Friday and didn't get a deal, but didn't leave disappointed. Addison's Wonderland ended up on national television in front of several million people. If though the sharks didn't bite, they're hoping some new customers will take notice.
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