An Austinite was featured on ABC's Friday night staple, “Shark Tank.”
If you watched last week's episode, you may remember Doug Foreman swimming with the sharks and getting a bite from the QVC queen, Lori Greiner.
Foreman said he practiced his pitch more than a hundred times, but still called the experience nerve-racking. He said the whole thing was a blur, and he only remembers bits and pieces of it.
“Mr. Wonderful usually says something like, ‘if you screw up, don’t worry, it’s only the most important pitch of your life!’ So it rattles you even more,” he said.
His device featured on the reality show, “Beim,” is a handy kitchen gadget that turns a stick of butter into a spray.
Foreman said the whole vetting process to prepare and make it onto the show took four months. His pitch to the sharks was $500,000 for 5 percent stake of his company.
“So that was the most nervous I was, just about getting it right and nailing it,” he said, “but then, after that, it was just, I’m just having a conversation.”
Despite some drama with the sharks, he was able to strike up a deal in the end with the Queen of QVC. The final deal was negotiated to $500,000 for 15 percent stake in the company.
“The channels that she’s talked about already on TV and retail, we’ll be following probably that path,” he said.
Currently, the Beim retails for $129. However, Foreman said he plans to make it more affordable in the future and lower the price. He admits the response from consumers have been mixed.
“There’s people who say it’s the best thing they’ve ever seen, best thing since sliced bread, all these different uses that we didn’t think about, and then there’s other people who say, 'I know how to butter my own bread,'” he said.
However, at the end of the day, Foreman said his product is about convenience.
“For me, it’s using it as a non-stick cooking spray in the morning with eggs,” he said, “I’m also a popcorn addict, so it works good with that too.”
Despite the long journey, Foreman said the hard work was worth it.
While there may be other cooking sprays in the market, he said his spray is the only one that uses just a stick of butter and no other ingredients or preservatives.
He said interest in his product has skyrocketed, and he has raked in more than $600,000, since his appearance on the show.