On a recent episode of ABC's Shark Tank, a reality competition show, entrepreneurs Tim Stansbury and Erin Whalen convinced two multimillionaire entrepreneurs to back them on Grease Monkey wipes, a degreasing and cleaning wipe designed to give frustrated cyclists an easy, portable way to clean up after getting greasy from changing a flat tire.
Calling their wipes, "the perfect solution for anyone who finds themselves in need of a heavy duty cleaning wipes that can be taken anywhere," Stansbury and Whalen founded Grease Monkey Wipes as a division of Kong Concepts two years ago and have already sold more than 7600 wipes in specialty cyclist stores in the U.S. After appearing on Shark Tank earlier this month, the company's website, www.greasemonkeywipes.com, saw a 4700% spike in traffic.
The Show
Selected from a competitive pool of applicants to present their product on national television, Stansbury and Whalen flew to Los Angeles five months ago to pitch their business to a group of five multimillionaire entrepreneurs. The pair was seeking a $40,000 investment for a 40% stake in the company.
After responding to a battery of specific questions related to the product, the concept for Grease Monkey wipes was rejected by part of the panel but two of the judges—real estate tycoon Barbara Cororan and technology baron Robert Herjavec—were impressed enough to partner in the venture.
The show aired January 15.
"It's been two days since the show, and I am still floating on air," said Whalen in a company blog post. "The response and feedback has been amazing. When Tim told me about Shark Tank, I never thought in a million years what it would mean for us. Now, we have two amazing partners that will help us create the 'Global Wipes Empire' we have always wanted."