An invention is helping families across the Valley and was on display on a national stage.
A pair of Southeast Valley dads and their scorpion prevention business were put to the test this week on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’. The duo secured a deal with Lori Greiner.
Was super skeptical the whole pitch that one of these creepy crawlers would get out. I even got up to check it out. It looks like it’s working! #SharkTank #BehindTheScenes
— Lori Greiner (@LoriGreiner) January 28, 2023
The motivation behind the product involved a very close call.
Tony Gonzales says the incident happened years ago when his son and family were in the pool.
Gonzales says he took his son inside and grabbed a towel to dry off. Within seconds, Tony says, his son started screaming.
"He was three years old. He's grabbing his arm. He can't really communicate. But, he's so scared and it hurt so much that when he grabbed his elbow, I knew it had to be a scorpion,” added Gonzales.
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He found a scorpion on the floor. A sting, on his son Jaxson's elbow, put him in the hospital.
"As I was sitting there, I was thinking to myself, the scorpion got in my house somewhat or somehow,” added Gonzales.
About four years earlier, he and his friend Aaron Gonzales had a deep conversation about the familiar Valley pests.
"I had been talking to him about this idea because my family and I had been struggling with these scorpions. That's where the whole concept came from. I had gotten stung,” said Aaron.
Last May, the friends started pushing for their chance to get on ‘Shark Tank’ to showcase their product called Slick Barrier. It's a product they used to call Scorpion Repel.
"When Shark Tank hit us up, it was amazing, but it was also a lot of work,” added Aaron.
The duo did lots of paperwork, money management, and talking with the show's producers.
"On the show, they do a great job of making it all make sense and having it all nice and easy to digest. But, when you're up there, it is competitive. Those sharks are competitive with each other,” added Aaron.
The burning question might be - how does Slick Barrier work? It's a simple coating, which you paint across the foundation of your house. Once dry, it turns clear and creates a slick surface helping prevent traction which keeps scorpions from getting a grip to get inside a house.
"Our demonstration was unique. It was very lively and that is what's going to be exciting about our show,” added Gonzales.
The Shark Tank episode with the Valley friends aired Friday, Jan. 27 on ABC15 at 7 p.m.
