Grip Mat Shark Tank

Grip Mat Shark Tank – Cyndi introduced her product as a tool to safely handle hot items from the microwave, but as customers got their hands on them it became clear that the product had several other uses. Since it’s already in your hands when you grab your plate from the microwave, you can use it to carry your plate to the table, where it makes a convenient placemat that protects surfaces from rings, heat and spills.

Safe Grabs are made from food grade silicone so they’re safe to eat off of and you don’t need to worry about off-gassing when heated. They’re BPA free, non-stick, antimicrobial, and dishwasher safe. One side of the Safe Grabs mat is smooth and the other has a series of concentric circle ridges that serve two purposes. The ridges face down when in the microwave, so that when you fold it up to grab your bowl the ridges are the only surface in contact with your hands. This means you touch very little surface area that could transfer heat, and natural air flow cools the mat quickly. The ridges also create a non-skid texture that will grip surfaces like tables or counters without leaving scratches. Its edge has a slightly upturned lip that makes it easy to lift, so you won’t need to clumsily pry it up with your fingertips.

Grip Mat Shark Tank

Cyndi first introduced the product in 2015 as the Micro Easy Grab. She later rebranded it as Safe Grabs to reflect the product’s many other uses. Cyndi’s product debuted on QVC Sprouts, a program that brings up and coming products from small companies to market. The product was well received on the show and she sold out quickly, moving 1700 units in a matter of minutes. Her product was subsequently selected as a winner in QVC’s Search for a Better Tomorrow contest. Her initial success with the network earned her an invitation to return to QVC and she reappeared with her product in January 2016. In March 2016 Cyndi took her product on the Steve Harvey Show where she competed in a contest called Passion Projects against two other inventors, and won the $5,000 grand prize.

Before Shark Tank

Buoyed by that success, Burden went home, and sold his house, raising a total of $17,000 (after repaying his mortgage) to fund the nascent business. “I was couch-surfing,” he says, with a laugh. But things took off.

Mark elaborates further, saying that there needs to be a brand built and since the pad inevitably wears out, there isn’t the loyalty and credibility being developed that would keep customers coming back, but Robert insists that Mark is wrong. However, despite aiming for the crossfit community, Ashley is totally open to moving onto other segments where people are having their hands ripped, but for the time being, she wants to focus on the crossfit market. Kevin is blown away, conceding that Ashley is totally motivated and “isn’t wasting her time in the Shark Tank” – this just seems to be loaded speak that if Ashley were to leave without an investment, she will do totally fine with her business.

He was in college at the University of Toledo studying mechanical engineering at the time, and as he grew frustrated with going up and down the ladder to get his tools, he believed there had to be a better way. “I was like, ‘I want to solve this problem,’” he says. “People were telling me, ‘This is part of the job, you have to deal with it.’ I was really resistant to that.”

Robert claims that he is the “sporty Shark,” and he admires Ashley; every business he has invested in on Shark Tank with an operator, like Ashley, has succeeded. So, Robert makes an offer of $100,000 for 30% equity. However, Daymond says that he feels Ashley needs more than just the money investment, and he makes an offer of $100,000 in exchange for 40% but brings with him more fashion expertise and knowledge. Daymond also claims that he is the only Shark who could put the Reebok logo on the Natural Grip boxes.

The Natural Grip Before Shark Tank

As an air force jet mechanic, Tom Burden encountered a problem he needed a solution for. He didn’t have a way to prevent his tools from falling off planes, which led to the creation of the Grypmat, a flexible, non-slip tool tray. How did this mechanic’s tool hold up in the tank? Let’s see in this Shark Tank Grypmat update.

Ashley Drake, the founder of the Natural Grip, has just stepped into the Shark Tank. She tells the Sharks right away that they need to get a grip – a Natural Grip! She is seeking $100,000 in exchange for 20% equity in her company.

In the end, Ashley accepts Robert’s offer, claiming that Robert has a little bit more to offer her in terms of expansion and receiving some return; Ashley claims that she has been sleeping less than 4 hours a night during her time investing in Natural Grip.

In 2017, he raised $113,000 on Kickstarter, and then got on the hit television show Shark Tank, raising the company’s visibility dramatically. He also gained funding there from Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner and Richard Branson, a guest shark on the episode, who invested $360,000 for a 30% stake in the business, valuing Grypmat at $1.2 million. Burden continues to own the remaining 70% of the company.

The Natural Grip Now In – The After Shark Tank Update

He considered a magnetic vest where the tools could hang like refrigerator magnets, and wondered about the possibility of tying tools on strings. “Then I was in my mom’s car, and I saw a non-slip mat on her dashboard,” he says. “I thought, ‘We could make these larger for tools and put them on top of the aircraft. The aircraft is made out of aluminum so you can’t have a magnet up there to hold your tools.”

Safe Grabs can also be used as a trivet for hot pots, pans and casserole dishes. It’s heat resistant up to 450 degrees so you can pull cookware right out of the regular oven or off the stovetop and set it down on the Safe Grabs mat. Since it’s flexible, it’s also is a great cover for bowls of food at cookouts, pot lucks and picnics that will keep food from drying out and shield it from bothersome flies and insects.

Tom Burden, now 29, was working as an Air Force mechanic on the F-16 fighter jet in 2013, and was frustrated by how his tools kept slipping. That meant that either he had to climb down a ladder from the wing–nearly seven feet in the air–each time he needed a new tool or have someone else act as a runner for him. “You can’t set your tools on the aircraft because they slide off, and putting them inside the jet is against regulations,” Burden recalls. “The only way to hold your tools is in your hands.”

Robert asks what specifically separates the Natural Grip from other gloves, and Ashley starts with the leather gloves; leather gloves are bulky, and nylon or cloth gloves will slip. The proprietary thing about the Natural Grip is the method of using the ring finger and middle finger in order to attach a proper grip to the gripping surface of the hand, the inside of the palm, rather than having an entire glove for just the gripping section. The Natural Grip is made of 100% cotton-adhesive material.

The Natural Grip On Shark Tank

It was a smart idea, but took Burden three years of prototyping – while simultaneously continuing to work as a mechanic and going to college – to develop a product. In 2016, he went to his first trade show, the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, an annual gathering of aircraft enthusiasts. He loaded up a trailer with more than 600 Grypmats that he intended to sell there. “Going to the show, I couldn’t see out of the passenger window, I had so many Grypmats,” he says.

Robert was eventually able to partner Natural Grip with Reebok, as the first Google search yielded a result to a shopping link of Reebok Unisex Natural Grips for CrossFit. While the Natural Grip still appears to be aimed at the CrossFit market, there has been so much appeal in the brand and such widespread acceptance that Natural Grip has been moved into stores all over the United States, including Dick’s Sporting Goods and smaller boutiques located in individual fitness gyms. The Natural Grip will also be making an appearance at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, so keep your eyes out for any competitors who might be wearing Natural Grips.

Daymond, Mark, and Robert are still in the deal. Robert mentions that the same pattern happens every time – he gets impatient and makes an offer, then Mark eventually swoops in at the 11th hour to nab the deal out from under him. Robert intends to sit patiently while the deal works itself out. Mark voices his concerns in that Ashley did not show a product that was going to be coming next – Ashley has a proven product with the Natural Grip, but Mark is an investor for the long-term and wants to keep investing. So, Mark is out of the deal next.

Ashley then passes out custom grips for each of the Sharks, and Robert jokes that Kevin would be able to perform the same athletic moves as Michelle. Each of the Sharks slide on the grips, which start by sliding on over your middle and ring fingers, and then the grips are attached with custom Natural Grip tape, which are sold for $7 per roll, or you can attach with your own wrist wraps. Michelle gives the Sharks instructions on how to best keep the Natural Grip working, which requires a little bit of give before being taped off. Robert actually stands up and heads over to the workout bench, performing a set of pull-ups as the Sharks applaud his effort.

Robert admits that the grips work amazing, and steps down to return to his seat. With Natural Grip, the Sharks can stop the pain and see the gains, which means money. Kevin starts with the valuation of $500,000, asking for sales to justify the value. Natural Grips have only existed for a year, but so far, the company has made $165,000 in sales. Robert asks what Ashley does, and Ashley says that she is actually a full-time member of the Army in active duty.

Today, the company offers small and medium size of Grypmats, all made of the same non-slip rubber, that cost $29.99 to $44.99, and Burden is focused on expanding the lineup beyond military applications. He’s introducing new, do-it-yourself Grypmats for retail (priced at $19.99 and $29.99) that can be made more cheaply because they don’t need to stand up to the chemicals used for de-icing aircraft. And Burden is looking at moving the manufacturing for the military-grade version back to the United States, and hoping to gain more sales to the commercial airlines.

Does Daymond and the other Sharks know how demeaning it is to the participants and the other Sharks when the person chooses another Shark over them and the Shark tells them bad decision…dumb mistake, etc etc.? They have no idea how stupid they look? Like a kid who didnt get picked for playground kickball first. Grow up.

At the time of this Shark Tank Grypmat update, the company is still in business and its products can be found on the website and Amazon. Products can also be found in retail markets at Napa Auto Parts, as well as other stores that sell automotive products.

During our Grypmat update research we found that the company has sold over $1 million annually and is currently is worth around $4 million. While there are a few different variations of the product, there are not any product additions currently available like Tom was wanting to create.

Tom has a specific reason for coming into the tank: he needs help getting into retail and marketing the product for automotive mechanics as well. He also is not very business minded and wants to keep making new products and have someone else focus on the business. In the future, he also wants to add apparatuses to be add-ons to the current product.

The first day, he sold just 13 from a makeshift booth made out of a garage door with a bedsheet over it. Anxious about failure, he decided he needed to do more. “I crashed people’s after parties, and just starting selling Grypmats at the after parties,” he says. “I was out of my comfort zone. Then word started to spread.”

When Cyndi Lee burned her fingers grabbing a hot bowl from the microwave she was struck with inspiration. If you’ve ever nuked a non microwave-safe mug or bowl then you know her pain. You may have tried to grab it with a regular oven mitt, only to dip your thumb in your soup. Safe Grabs are a simple and handy tool to prevent this problem. You place it on your microwave turntable under your dish, and when your food is ready you just fold the flexible Safe Grabs mat around your dish to retrieve it.

Your Grypmat tool tray is the most flexible thing in your garage. It makes for super easy jobs when you just don’t feel like breaking your back for the hundredth time this week. Less time cursing your 10mm means more time with your buddies. Place your tools anywhere with the Grypmat during any job. These flexible tool trays hold your expensive chrome-covered babies up to a 70-degree angle on virtually any stupid surface you find yourself working on.

Grypmat is just one of the country’s more than 2.5 million veteran-owned businesses that include Black Rifle Coffee, Rumi Spice and Combat Flip Flops. All told, these businesses bring in more than $1 trillion and employ more than 5 million people, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Business Owners. “I don’t know if it’s my personality, but I see only huge advantages to being a military entrepreneur,” Burden says. “There’s such a strong community supporting the military.”

Burden grew up in the small town of Celina, Ohio, around 100 miles from Columbus, and joined the Air National Guard where he worked as an F-16 weapons mechanic at the 180th Fighter Wing in Toledo.

He sold 101 Grypmats to enthusiasts. Then a guy with a display across the hall asked if it would work for automotive. “He said, ‘I sell things to automotive, and if you’re okay with it I’d like to be a distributor and I’ll sell everything you have left,’” Burden recalls.

He recalls meeting Cuban in his Dallas office and flying to an American Airlines’ hangar to talk about how Grypmat could help make the planes’ maintenance more efficient. “It was cool,” he says. “We ended up getting a meeting with their maintenance team.”

Daymond John saw the potential in many additional markets and offered $200,000 for 25% equity. He later changed his offer to $200,000 for 20%. Tom responded to this by saying he wants more sharks, although he knows this would require him to give up more equity.

Another clever use is as a splatter guard for microwave cooking and reheating. If you’ve ever microwaved tomato sauce you know what a mess it can make. A Safe Grabs mat placed over the bowl will keep the splatter contained and your turntable clean. Any mess is easy to rinse off with warm water. The uses for this swiss army knife of a kitchen tool don’t stop there. Customers also use it to grab hot pan handles, as a utensil rest, a flexible funnel, and even to get a grip on tough to open jars.

So he developed his own solution, a bright orange sticky mat that could be placed on the wing without slipping. With help from Kickstarter and Shark Tank, and a lot of moxie, he turned the idea for the non-slip tool mat for tools, which he called Grypmat, into a business, and made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in Manufacturing and Industry last year. Today, the business expects $4 million in revenue, more than double what it brought in during 2018. And Burden is planning an expansion into retail, with a lower-priced, smaller-version of the Grypmat for home mechanics.

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