Rats, cockroaches and scorpions, oh my!
Aaron Gonzales and Antonio “Tony” Gonzales took a big swing on an episode of “Shark Tank,” which aired on Friday — and it paid off.
The Pojoaque High School alums were pitching the five investment “sharks” their product called Slick Barrier.
The long-running series features a panel of investors called “sharks,” who decide whether to invest as entrepreneurs make business presentations on their company or product.
The pair were asking the sharks for $500,000 and 10% of the business. In their pitch, they showed exactly how the product worked and gave the sharks studies done by Texas A&M and New Mexico State University.
With four sharks bowing out, Lori Greiner was the last shark standing.
“One thing people hate is pests,” Greiner told the duo. “I think you are in desperate need of a shark.”
She offered the pair a deal of $500,000 and 15% in their business.
“The $100,000 is up front and the rest is a loan,” she said. “People would want this product, even if it cuts down on the amount of pests that get in.”
The duo will repay the $400,000 loan over the course of two years at a standard rate.
Slick Barrier was born out of a personal need for a solution to scorpion infestations in Aaron Gonzales’ Arizona home, which was further intensified by Antonio Gonzales’ son almost dying from a scorpion sting.
This led to the development of the Slick Barrier concept, a clear coating applied to the exterior base of homes to create a glass-like surface that makes it impossible for scorpions and other crawling pests to climb and keeps them out of homes.
The pair called their time on “Shark Tank” intense.
Both said they were prepared for the situation.
“It’s definitely a long process to get there because we put in years of work,” Aaron Gonzales said. “The sharks are very competitive with each other. They try to figure out if you’re a good company to invest in and that’s pretty scary.”
