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Local inventor swims on hit TV show ‘Shark Tank’

"For the 10 minutes they edit it down to on TV, when you go in the tank, you're in there for about an hour."
Image via Lafayette Daily Advertiser

Inventors dream of pitching their products to business tycoons on the hit TV show “Shark Tank.” But Kyle Allen of Lafayette can testify the show lives up to its name.

“For the 10 minutes they edit it down to on TV, when you go in the tank, you’re in there for about an hour,” said Allen. “It’s literally like you’re in combat.

“You’re dealing with very smart people that have made a lot of money. They know how to hold onto their money. It was a very tough experience.”

Viewers across the country can witness Allen’s experience when “Shark Tank” airs at 8 p.m. Sunday on ABC. Allen and business partner Nick Palermo pitched their patented product, Ski-Z by Ski Junk, to a panel of celebrity business moguls, like Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team, and Lori Greiner, aka “The Queen of QVC.”

Winning inventors land investment deals from the panelists.

Rules of the competition prevent Allen from revealing his fate. But his appearance is mission accomplished for an idea hatched in 2011.

A married father with three daughters, Allen was often responsible for carrying his family’s skis up the snowy slopes of Colorado. Allen invented Ski-Z, a caddy with a wheel that snaps on the front of skis. The device allowed each family member to roll their own skis on the slopes.

The device became a hit among skiers, placing 10th out of 2,000 new products at a buyers’ show in Denver. Allen and his wife Tanya were at another show in Denver last July, when they discovered “Shark Tank” auditions were underway in the city.

Allen landed a last-minute audition, but was told all spots were booked for the upcoming season. Two days later, Allen was called back to start seven rounds of auditions at Sony Studios in Culver City, California.

“Even though you go through the process, they tell you there’s still a chance that it might not air, even though you filmed,” said Allen, a partner in Global Vessel and Tank, an oil and gas company based in Lafayette. “When we sat and talked to the executive producers, they have 100,000 entries per year. They only pick 90.

“Of the 90, only about half of them get deals on TV. But of the 45, even though you close to the deal on TV, that doesn’t mean you get all the way through.”

After his “Shark Tank” experience, Allen advises entrepreneurs to never stop pursuing a dream.

“Don’t let a dream be a dream. Make it reality. Don’t wait for anybody to give it to you.

“Make it a reality. A dream is only a dream.”

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