High School freshmen Oliver Greenwald and Sam Nassif pitch Drip Drop, their solution for messy ice cream cones, to the Sharks in Shark Tank episode 723. The two boys first got into business in 2011 when they entered the Gates Invention & Innovations competition while in the fifth grade. Their advisers told them to try and solve an everyday problem. When they noticed two messy kids eating ice cream at a neighborhood ice cream parlor, they came up with Drip Drop. They won the competition and the first prize was a free patent attorney. By 2015, they were granted a design patent and had two more patents pending.
The Drip Drop is a simple solution to a messy problem. Essentially, it’s a ring of ice cream cone material that slides up a cone and catches all the drips. It’s edible, neat, and delicious. There are two flavors: original and chocolate. The product isn’t for sale; the boys are looking to license it to an ice cream cone manufacturer. They claim it will save ice cream shops a fortune on napkins. Because the mess made from dripping ice cream is edible, it’s green too. If you want to show your love for Drip Drop, they are selling tee shirts on their website.
Oliver and Sam likely need a Shark to help them navigate the wild world of licensing. Will a Shark think this is a tasty investment?
Drip Drop Shark Tank Recap
Sam and Oliver come to the Sharks seeking an investment of $50,000 in return for 20% of Drip Drop.
The Sharks are impressed with the boys’ presentation, especially with Oliver’s announcement that “we might not have driver’s licenses, but we have a patent. This baby’s a chick magnet.”
The pair hand out ice cream cones to soften the Sharks up a bit while they hear the rest of the pitch. The Sharks clarify that they have a design patent to protect their idea. They’ve already been advised to license the Drip Drop to an ice cream manufacturer. They’d like a Shark deal to gain the power and influence to make a pitch to an ice cream manufacturer.
Kevin O’Leary wants to know about costs and sales. Sam explains that they estimate that the Drip Drop will cost ice cream manufacturers about $.03 cents to make, and they’ll be able to sell them to ice cream parlors for about $.10. Robert Herjavec wants to know about the cost of ice cream cones for comparison. Sam responds that cones cost about $.05.
Mark Cuban questions whether doubling the price of the cone is a problem. Sam explains that they believe parents will pay an extra $.25 to make their kids’ cones less sloppy.
Barbara Corcoran points out that the remaining cones are dripping over the edges of the Drip Drops. Oliver responds that part of the money will be used to hire a food engineer to perfect the design before it’s presented to the ice cream companies.
Mark Cuban believes the pair should take their design to individual ice cream stores and begin building demand with pilot programs. He thinks there’s too much work involved, and he’s out.
Robert Herjavec disagrees. He thinks the pair need to continue with their plan to take the Drip Drop to ice cream manufacturers. He doesn’t think they need a Shark, and he feels it’s too early, so he’s out.
Kevin O’Leary is impressed that they’ve gotten a patent. He agrees with Robert about the amount of work to get the licensing deal. He’s out, but he “is going to get Barbara to give them the $50,000.”
Barbara is “not so sure about that.” She agrees with Mark Cuban, that the pair need to go out to the ice cream stores and sell to individual stores, and she doesn’t think that the design is “pretty enough” yet. She feels it’s too early to invest.
Lori Greiner disagrees. She believes that licensing is the way to go, but she thinks the boys can do it themselves. She doesn’t want to take a cut of their profits, so she’s out.
All hope seems lost for Drip Drop, but Oliver tells Barbara that, “by investing in us, you’re showing every kid in America that dreams do come true.” He thinks they can solve the design problems, and that the Drip Drop could work.
Barbara is impressed with their spunk. She makes an offer – $50,000 in return for a 33.3% stake in the company.
After a brief consultation, the boys accept her deal.
Drip Drop Shark Tank Update
The deal with Barbara fell through. Since their airing in April 2016, Sam and Oliver are working hard to perfect their design and to bring their licensing deal to a manufacturer. Time will tell whether this sweet deal will make these two young entrepreneurs a cold pile of cash.
In early 2018, Oliver Greenwald stepped away from the business. At that time, they had product in just three Denver area ice cream stores. Although Nassif, who started AlternaCare Health Inc., still lists Drip Drop as “open” on his Linkedin profile, the website is down and the last Facebook post was June 5, 2019. Greenwald developed an app called Make Shit Happen that gives people 5 minute social change tasks for when they are on the toilet.
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