Stephen Fazio and Austin Hillam hope to rope a Shark with ZipString, their device that actually pushes string, in Shark Tank episode 1409. Both young men left their respective universities in 2021 to start the business which is still operated out of the Hillam’s basement in Johns Creek, Georgia. The young men were introduced by Hillam’s bishop shortly after Fazio entered his “string shooter” in the 2021 Georgia Tech Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Competition and won.
Together, they spent a lot of time in the basement getting the invention just right. It’s a small device that spins a loop of string. The built in battery is recharged by a USB cord. Beginners start with a smaller loop and graduate to larger loops. When you’re operating it the string undulates and moves in all sorts of directions. When they posted a video of it in action on Tik Tok, it got 20 million views in one day!
Once they perfected the design, they got the business started with a successful Kickstarter campaign that raised $90,466 back in October, 2021. They shipped products to backers in February, 2022. AS of the original air date, social media views of the original video have surpassed 200 million. They likely need a Shark’s help with inventory and maybe getting out of Hillam’s basement.
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Posts about ZipString on Shark Tank Blog
ZipString Shark Tank Recap
Stephen and Austin will pitch the panel of five Sharks on the business and its prospects for growth. They’ll need to convince Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec that the company is worthy of a Shark investment. A good business plan, good financials, and sales data will impress the Sharks, but they’ll need to show them THEY are capable of running the company to “Shark standards.” A full pitch re-cap on ZipString will be available on Shark Tank Blog once this episode airs.
ZipString Shark Tank Update
The Shark Tank Blog constantly provides updates and follow-ups about entrepreneurs who have appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. Once an episode has aired, we monitor the progress of the businesses featured, whether they receive funding or not and report on their progress. The Shark Tank Blog will follow-up on ZipString & Stephen Fazio and Austin Hillam as more details become available.
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