Shark Tank To Bankrupt? - Andrew Hiller Chimes In
October 24 2022 – Nick Massie
Wow! Lots of support coming in from all nooks and crannies!
Today, my best friend, Tony Turski, sent me a video titled Shark Tank To Bankrupt? He asked if I had seen it and then said, "Good Job!"
The title combined with "Good Job!" was throwing me for a loop, so I watched the video and cleared up the confusion.
I don't know Andrew Hiller, but I like him. I don't know his girlfriend either, but I like her, too!
When you set out to change the landscape of food, you have a high hill to climb. To call it a mountain is not right, it's more like a stairway to heaven and focusing on heaven is the only way you can keep climbing.
There is a lot more behind my Shark Tank pitch than meets the eye. I've shared the story a few times, but have tiptoed around it for legal reasons. The gist of it is that the night before I presented IAM to The Sharks, I received a call stating that my pitch had been rejected by ABC's legal department and I could only proceed if I would use a new pitch that they had prepared for me.
The pitch they had written was as flavorless as flour, so I proposed a workaround. I would write a new, watered-down poem and prepare new blackboard drawings. If their legal team would approve, then I could proceed. They agreed and that's what I did.
Even then, they made further changes to my drawings just minutes before entering the tank. And, even at that, they cut the pitch in half. You can see proof by following drawings on the blackboard as I recite the poem. I get through the first line and a half and then it cuts to the end.
Anyhow, just wanted to shed some light on the situation. I was jaded by the situation, but didn't want to throw out the baby with the bathwater. I jacked my valuation from $2.5MM to $10MM and that made for an entertaining experience!
Not all was lost! I got to share my message (though diluted) and I got to feed The Sharks, both literally and figuratively.
I'm forever grateful for the opportunity and I learned tremendously from it.
We will keep grinding at Ice Age and if you want to support us, we would really appreciate it! We have meals ready to go and the Ninjas are still cooking for another three weeks.
Andrew, thank you for taking time to create this video. You and Alexis are picking up what we are putting down. We could have cut corners on several occasions to make things more financially attractive, but we didn't. We wanted to provide a healthy portion of healthy protein cooked in small batches with lots of love and we've been able to do so for 8 years!
Whether we get a few more months or a few more decades, we will continue to press on and fight the good fight.
I'll help you keep pressing!
Here's a picture of me with my original poem that I wrote when launching my blog in 2011. It's called "Ode To Paleo" and I'll leave you with the controversial stuff that caused the Shark Tank waters to be muddied...
Excerpt from "Ode To Real Food" that was rejected by Shark Tank
To debunk the myths you've been fed about nutrition and show you the truth about food is my mission.
Thank you for reading this. Please help us keep hope alive by ordering some meals.
Your Pal,
Paleo NickPS: With the Boston Ninjas after a day of cooking and learning together. Bookended by two of my best friends and IAM Pillars, GC Graziani and Kelsey Kiel.