Shark Tank Appearance: Feb. 3, 2015
Investor: Robert Herjavec with Deal: $110,000 for 10% stake
Results: $500,000 in sales with deals in place at Home Depot and Lowe's.
It started more like an episode of The Amazing Race than Shark Tank. In April 2014, Naushad Ali's business partner ended a late-night phone call by casually asking if he was going to the Shark Tank casting call on Saturday.
Ali had invented DrainStrain, a bathroom sink stopper that prevents clogged drains. He was convinced it was a game-changer that could save homeowners hundreds in plumbing bills and make chemical drain cleaners obsolete. But funding efforts had stalled: an Indiegogo campaign aiming for $25,000 raised just $2,000, and his online Shark Tank application went unanswered. Distracted by real estate work, he nearly missed the open casting call at Seattle's Pan Pacific Hotel.
"It was almost midnight Thursday, the open call was Saturday at 8 a.m., and I didn't have a working prototype," Ali recalls. The next morning, he called his Midwest design firm, requesting a prototype built, assembled, and shipped to the hotel in time. It would cost $1,500—a steep price after his family lost everything, including their home, in the 2008 market crash. With his wife's support, he committed.
Related: 4 Reasons You Should Risk Rejection
Saturday morning, Ali clutched a wristband for 289th place in line, praying for the FedEx truck. Reception had turned it away, unfamiliar with his name. After an hour of pleading, a helpful FedEx rep sent the driver back. Just 10 minutes before his two-minute audition, Ali dashed through the lobby with the prototype in hand.
After multiple auditions and months of waiting, Ali sent 3D prototypes to the Shark Tank investors. In a twist, Robert Herjavec offered the $110,000 Ali sought—but for 10% equity, not the 15% asked. Like the other Sharks, Herjavec saw licensing potential and positioned his investment as a key introduction to a plumbing manufacturer's CEO.
That path fizzled, however. "Faucet makers were interested, but we couldn't close," Ali says. "One negotiation stalled because their production cycle was two years out."
Meanwhile, Ali pivoted to direct-to-consumer sales. "Retail margins as an aftermarket product beat licensing ninefold," he explains. "Robert's team drilled into supply chain economics, which was invaluable."
Related: 5 Tips for the New Entrepreneur
Home Depot embraced DrainStrain, connecting Ali with Taiwan and China suppliers. Scaling from prototype revealed challenges: fitting all pipes, including 50-75-year-old ones. "We iterated for months on a flexible basket design," Ali says. Tooling issues, funded out-of-pocket to the tune of $150,000, compounded by language barriers and shipping delays from China.
In August 2015, Ali flew to the factory. "I wasn't leaving until it was perfect," he says. "We worked nonstop for five days."
By early 2017, DrainStrain hit 1,200 Home Depot and 500 Lowe's stores, plus online sales and hotel chains. Shower and tub versions launch soon. Ali still works real estate to cover bills. "Profitability is a year away, but we'll become the standard for every drain," he predicts.
Herjavec, who recalls few Shark Tank prototypes reaching retail, praises DrainStrain: "Ali solved a universal problem simply. It scales to homes, hotels, cruise ships, and hospitals. Great idea plus great entrepreneur equals success."
Related: 7 Ways to Stay Motivated for Entrepreneurial Success
This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of SUCCESS magazine.
