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This quirky 'Shark Tank' alum makes ugly Christmas sweaters you'll actually want to wear

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

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  • If you need an ugly Christmas sweater that will speak volumes at your next holiday party, consider shopping at Tipsy Elves
  • The "Shark Tank" alum responded to the growing demand for ugly sweaters by making it easy to shop funny designs and comfortable fabrics online. 
  • The celebrity-favorite brand has hit the jackpot in this niche clothing category, selling over two million products and making over $70 million in sales to date. 

You can't go a weekend in December without being invited to at least one ugly Christmas sweater-themed function. Once a tacky piece of apparel that you might've been a little embarrassed to wear in public, the ugly Christmas sweater is now fully embraced as an essential part of the holiday season. The uglier and more outrageous, the better. 

Surprisingly, one of the most popular places to find a fun sweater for your holiday party wasn't born out of Santa's workshop. Instead, it's the brainchild of a former corporate lawyer, Evan Mendelsohn, and a former dentist, Nick Morton.

With an interest in internet marketing and a good eye for growing trends, Mendelsohn noticed one holiday season that it was difficult to find new Christmas sweaters online. He thought he could fill the void. He was joined by his former college roommate and then-endodontist, Morton, and in 2011 they began selling holiday sweaters online. 

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They sold just over 5,000 sweaters during their first year and quit their jobs in 2012 to pursue their company Tipsy Elves full time. The last six years have shown that the risk was worth it. 

In December 2013, they appeared on an episode of "Shark Tank," during a season that saw fellow memorable pitches like Doorbot (later, Ring), Freshly Picked, Kodiak Cakes, Plated, and The Bouqs Co. While a number of these now-successful companies didn't receive funding, Tipsy Elves did, from judge Robert Herjavec. 

The orders, partnerships, and celebrity exposure moments have continued to roll in since. Tipsy Elves has now done over $70 million in sales and sold over two million products.

While its operations and growth plans are streamlined and strategic, its products are far, far from serious. The whimsical and oftentimes downright crude designs strike a chord with younger audiences and cut straight through the formal stuffiness of the holidays.

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If you want to be amused, entertained, or faced with the struggle of picking out only one sweater to buy, scroll through its online shop. Rather than sugar-plums, you'll find visions of Santa riding a unicorn and angels with beer bongs dance through the designers' heads. You can show off your knowledge of pop culture with a Kardashian-inspired sweater, or sit yourself under the tree as a wrapped present. Hanukkah celebrants, you're not left out.

Sweaters range from $40 to $60, but you're not simply paying for the novelty, then putting up with the uncomfortable itchiness. They're actually soft and substantial, made from high-quality acrylic that won't shrink. 

Dc Hanukkah Apparel 180817

We can't guarantee that your Tipsy Elves sweater won't offend anyone, so consider your audience as you put one on in the upcoming weeks. We would take the risk, though, in the name of unadulterated holiday fun. 

Shop Tipsy Elves sweaters at Amazon here

Check out more ways to prepare for the holidays:

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The founders of a Mark Cuban-backed startup think they can help lawyers do more good for the world

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Kristen Sonday, cofounder and chief operating officer of Paladin, talking at Business Insider's IGNITION conference on Monday, December 3, 2018.

  • One of Mark Cuban's latest investments is in Paladin, a startup in the legal technology area, a company he and its founders touted at Business Insider's IGNITION conference on Monday.
  • Paladin's service is designed to pair up lawyers looking to fulfill their pro-bono obligations with those who can't afford legal aid.
  • The company's founders argue that Paladin is in the right place at the right time — those in need are facing a growing number of legal crises, while there's a growing focus on the social consciousness of attorneys and firms.

 

Mark Cuban made a name for himself and made lots of money entertaining people, whether through his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team or as the host of the show "Shark Tank."

Now the billionaire businessman is hoping to use some of his wealth to help those far less fortunate than him. 

Cuban is backing a company called Paladin that has designed a system designed to pair up lawyers wanting to fulfill their obligations to do pro-bono work with those who need but can't afford legal services. On Monday, he joined Paladin founders Felicity Conrad and Kristen Sonday at Business Insider's IGNITION conference to explain and tout the new service.

"I'm looking for companies that have an impact," Cuban said. He continued: "What Paladin is doing is important."

The American Bar Association, the professional association for lawyers, recommends that attorneys provide at least 50 hours of work for free each year to non-profit groups or to people unable to afford a lawyer. Many lawyers don't meet that goal. Meanwhile, Paladin estimates that some 86% of the people who need legal services don't get it because they can't afford a lawyer. 

Paladin attempts to match up the two sides. It works with law firms, law schools, and corporate legal departments that are looking for pro-bono work for their attorneys and pairs them up with legal-aid organizations that help those in need. 

Read this:IGNITION 2018: Hear from billionaire investor Mark Cuban and 2 cofounders who scored a deal with him

Paladin may be in the right place at the right time

The three think they are founded Paladin at just the right time. There have been a growing number of legal-access crises in recent years, most notably those faced by immigrants due to the policies of the Trump administration, they noted. So there's a growing need for legal aid among those who can least afford it, they say.

Mark Cuban speaking at Business Insider's IGNITION conference on December 3, 2018.At the same time, social consciousness is becoming ever more important in American culture and business, they said. Recent law school graduates want to know what kind of pro-bono work is being done by the firms they're considering joining, Cuban said. Tech and other companies are similarly going to be scrutinizing the pro-bono work of the firms they hire, he said. 

"It's going become part of the criteria for selecting a law firm," he said. 

That Conrad and Sonday are the founders of Paladin is unusual not just for the tech industry in general, but for the legal technology sector in particular. Even today, women founders represent a small portion of all startup teams and get only a small fraction of the funding of their male counterparts.

But women and people of color are needed for companies in this sector, Sonday argued. Women and people of color are much more likely to be in the group that Paladin is seeking to help than white males. To be able to help them, it needs to have people who can empathize with their plight, she said.

"I think it's really important that the people building these solutions are the ones that are closest to the problem," she said.

SEE ALSO: The business school prof who predicted Amazon would buy Whole Foods now says an AWS spinoff is inevitable — and the standalone company could be worth $600B

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NOW WATCH: Why NASA blasts half a million gallons of water during rocket launches

WATCH LIVE: Chris Hayes, Barbara Corcoran, and more speak at IGNITION right now

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IGNITION is Business Insider's flagship conference featuring the biggest names in business, tech, and media, and it's happening right now. Tune in below!

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MtrVTZPjvrg" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The agenda and who to expect for Tuesday, December 4 from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm:

INTERVIEW: Hans Vestberg, CEO, Verizon, speaks with Nicholas Carlson, global editor-in-chief, Business Insider, INSIDER; chief content officer, Insider Inc.

PRESENTATION: Jessica Matthews, founder, CEO, Uncharted Power

PRESENTATION: Geoff Ramsey, chairman, cofounder, eMarketer

INTERVIEW: Randy Freer, CEO, Hulu, speaks with Nathan McAlone, media editor, Business Insider

INTERVIEW: Scott Rosenberg, General Manager, Platform Business, Roku speaks with Jason Guerrasio, Senior Entertainment Reporter, Business Insider

INTERVIEW: Chris Hayes, host, MSNBC's "All In With Chris Hayes"; host, "Why Is This Happening?" podcast; author, "Twilight of the Elites: America After Meritocracy" speaks with Henry Blodget

PRESENTATION: Cindy Robbins, president, chief people officer, Salesforce

PRESENTATION: Martin Whittaker, CEO, JUST Capital

INTERVIEW: Barbara Corcoran, ABC’s "Shark Tank"

INTERVIEW: Brad Katsuyama, CEO, cofounder, IEX, speaks with Matthew Turner, executive editor, Business Insider

CONVERSATION: Andy Main, head, Deloitte Digital, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and Lisa Hammitt, global vice president, artificial intelligence, chairwoman, AI ethicist, Visa

INTERVIEW: Josh Silverman, CEO, Etsy, speaks with Jessi Hempel, senior editor at large, LinkedIn

CONVERSATION: Joe and Anthony Russo, codirectors, "Avengers: Infinity War," cofounders, AGBO, speak with Janice Min, senior content executive, Quibi

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NOW WATCH: 'Shark Tank' star Barbara Corcoran: How I went from a 10-kid household and more than 20 jobs to become a real estate mogul

15 'Shark Tank' home products that are actually useful

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

rapid ramen cooker $7.99

Ten seasons in and hundreds of products later, the show "Shark Tank" continues to entertain us as well as the panel of celebrity investors with creative pitches. However, that doesn't always mean the products are actually good. Some end up being a little too creative or out-there and border on plain gimmicky or "Who would even use that?"

We looked through all the "Shark Tank" products available for purchase and came away with a selection of star products for the home that made us curse and ask ourselves, "Why didn't we think of this earlier?"

Many solve for the wasteful design of many common products you already use, while others address the annoying inconveniences that everyone experiences. 

Check out the "Shark Tank" home products that are worth buying below.

SEE ALSO: The 20 best gifts that got their start on ‘Shark Tank’

A spring-loaded laundry hamper

This hamper drops down as you add clothes and rises as you remove them, meaning doing laundry will no longer be that uncomfortable chore you never look forward to. It eases the strain on your lower back, so it's especially great for expecting mothers, people with bad backs, and the elderly. 

Household Essentials Lifter Hamper, $29.99, available at Amazon



A self-cleaning dog potty

If you've already tried many indoor potty training systems, your search ends here with the world's first self-cleaning dog potty. You can adjust the timer to automatically change a dirty pad one, two, or three times a day, or manually change it with a push of a button. The machine will wrap and seal the waste, keeping your home clean and odor-free. It's best for dogs under 25 pounds. 

BrilliantPad Self-Cleaning & Automatic Indoor Dog Potty + 1 Roll, $129.99, available at Amazon



A rapid ramen cooker

Granted ramen is already a pretty convenient meal to make, this tool makes the process even easier. The water line stops you from overfilling the bowl, the bowl doesn't get overly hot, and you don't need to use a pot and stove. It's perfect for anyone who doesn't have access to a kitchen, including students living in dorms and office workers. 

Rapid Ramen Cooker (Red), $6.99, available at Amazon

 



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Barbara Corcoran asks a simple question on 'Shark Tank' to quickly understand if a business partnership will succeed

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  • Barbara Corcoran says she loves business partnerships between people with different skill sets.
  • When she's trying to figure out if a partnership will work on "Shark Tank," Corcoran simply asks contestants, "What do you do?"
  • She said her most successful investments on "Shark Tank" support teams with opposite yet complementary talents.

Barbara Corcoran is known for her extroverted persona and sometimes edgy advice, but one of her most successful business partnerships was with a particularly quiet woman named Esther Kaplan.

"She's the most conservative person you ever want to meet," Corcoran said at IGNITION, Business Insider's media and technology event. "You almost couldn't even hear her talk. That’s how quiet she was in her manner and the way she demonstrated herself."

But Corcoran quickly saw that Kaplan had just about everything Corcoran needed as she built her own business.

"I was able to recognize she was my opposite," Corcoran added. "She was great at file systems, personnel systems, computers, finance, legal. Everything that I sucked at. And I was great at marketing, recruiting, brainstorming, PR, the bullcrap area of business. And she hated it. So, we were perfect partners."

Read more:'What the hell were we thinking?' Startup founders who landed a $55,000 deal on 'Shark Tank' nearly missed their big break

Opposites attract, and in Corcoran's case, they helped make for excellent business partnerships. Corcoran has taken that lesson from her real-estate mogul days as the founder of The Corcoran Group — which she sold in 2001 for $66 million — to her present role as a judge on reality-TV show "Shark Tank."

To figure out if potential investors have that ideal mix of talents, Corcoran simply asks, "What do you do?"

When she asks that deceptively simple question, Corcoran is trying to figure out whether the contestants contribute different yet complementary talents to the business.

"You can start to size up as to whether they're compatible partners with opposite skill sets," Corcoran said at IGNITION.

Ultimately, as she's said previously, Corcoran explained that her most successful Shark Tank investments have been partnerships — like Cousins Maine Lobster, in which Corcoran invested $15,000 in 2012. Today, the food-truck business has restaurants and locales nationwide.

"It's almost like two for the price of one," Corcoran said at IGNITION. "I'm paying the same money, getting the same stock, but I'm getting two great entrepreneurs instead of one. My odds of winning are much better."

SEE ALSO: 'Shark Tank' star Barbara Corcoran reveals how getting dumped for her secretary and sending 1 gutsy email helped turn her into a business mogul

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NOW WATCH: 7 things you shouldn't buy on Black Friday

Barbara Corcoran explains why she secretly 'couldn't wait' for Fridays — the day she fired people

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  • Barbara Corcoran was a real-estate mogul before she became a judge on "Shark Tank."
  • As the head of The Corcoran Group, which she sold in 2001 for $66 million, Corcoran ran a "mean and lean" business by not being scared to fire underperformers.
  • She explained at IGNITION why she relished firing 25% of her sales staff every year. 

When Barbara Corcoran headed The Corcoran Group, her New York real-estate firm, she secretly loved Fridays — but not for the reason you might think.

That was the day Corcoran fired underperforming salespeople.

"I couldn't wait to say to someone in the sales area, 'Hey do you have a few minutes for me on Friday?'" Corcoran said at Business Insider's flagship conference IGNITION. 

It might sound cruel, but Corcoran explained that getting rid of weak employees was an important way to keep her business strong. In fact, she fired a quarter of her sales staff every year. 

"I just loved Fridays," Corcoran said at IGNITION. "It was like — do you ever call in sick from work one day and stay home and clean your whole apartment really well, and how good that feels? That was every Friday of my life, that was the way it was. I started Monday fresh as a button."

Read more:Barbara Corcoran asks a simple question on 'Shark Tank' to quickly understand if a business partnership will succeed 

Along with the fact that she simply couldn't keep subpar workers on the payroll, Corcoran said keeping underperformers on staff can cause personnel issues. Top salespeople aren't likely to respect a company where underperforming salespeople are able to stick around.

To ensure that standards were high at The Corcoran Group, she told new hires that, in order to stay on the team, everyone was required to make one sale in their first three months.

"What actually happened is that people got ready to fire themselves because they knew what the requirement was," Corcoran said at IGNITION. "We ran mean and lean because of our clarity of hiring and our clarity of firing."

The Corcoran Group otherwise had high retention rates. Corcoran previously told Business Insider's Alyson Shontell that she kept company morale up by fostering a workplace culture in which employees cared for each other. 

"I did what my mother did," Corcoran said previously. "I adored my children ... I pushed them forward, got them to believing they could do a lot more than they were doing. And they did! Because people don't really know what they're capable of."

And one key way she cared for her employees was by ensuring that underperformers and "complainers" didn't stay for too long in the company.

"One negative person will take the energy out of 15 great people quietly," she said.

SEE ALSO: The creator of the 'Bloomberg for the trucking industry' reveals why being based in a city in Tennessee played such a crucial role in his company's success

DON'T MISS: A Silicon Valley CTO says the skills he'll make sure his children learn to enter the workforce have nothing to do with tech

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'Shark Tank's' Mark Cuban has shark socks and here's the photo to prove it

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  • Mark Cuban spoke at Business Insider's IGNITION conference Monday afternoon.
  • The "Shark Tank" star and Mavericks' owner wasn't there to discuss the show, instead he spoke about Paladin, a startup he backs which pairs up lawyers pro bono with those who can't afford legal aid.
  • He didn't mention the ABC show at all and he didn't need to — he let his clothes do all the talking. 
  • Cuban wore socks with sharks on them. Subtle.

Mark Cuban appeared at Business Insider's IGNITION conference Monday to discuss his latest backing, Paladin, a company designed to pair lawyers with people who can't afford legal aid. (You can read more on Paladin here.)

While he didn't come to talk about his role on the ABC show, he subtly reminded everyone he's a shark.

As Cuban sat on stage, I spied the Mavericks owner wearing quite the conversation starter. Cuban's socks fittingly had tiny sharks on them.

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Take a closer look:

mark cuban shark socks

Even if you were at the conference, you probably would have missed them if you weren't seated in one of the first rows.

You can follow along with our IGNITION coverage here

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NOW WATCH: The legendary economist who predicted the housing crisis says the US will win the trade war

Shark Tank's Barbara Corcoran says working women can have it all — but there's a catch

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  • Barbara Corcoran was a real-estate mogul before she became a judge on "Shark Tank."
  • She built up her real estate empire in her 20s, 30s, and 40s, and then she started focusing more on motherhood. 
  • She explained at IGNITION 2018 that her story is proof that women can have it all, but not at the same time.

 

Michelle Obama and Indra K. Nooyi say women can't have it all. And Sheryl Sandberg is sick of people only wondering if women can balance work and family — when, meanwhile, folks rarely ask men if they're spending enough time with their kids. 

But Barbara Corcoran — real-estate mogul turned "Shark Tank" judge — said at IGNITION 2018 that women actually can have it all. It just won't happen all at the same time. 

"You can have it all, but I don't believe it's possible to build a huge business and at the same time be a doting mother without the guilt and with the satisfaction of raising the child," Corcoran said. "I’m the most organized person I've ever met and, if I couldn't do it, I'm wondering who could do it."

Corcoran said "having it all" can happen at different parts of your life. In her case, she spent her 20s, 30s, and 40s working tirelessly.

"I had from 22 to 46 to hyperfocus on building one thing, not a family, but my business," Corcoran said. "I worked like an animal, 24-7, long hours. Nothing interfered with my thoughts of where I wanted to go."

Read more:Barbara Corcoran explains why she secretly 'couldn't wait' for Fridays — the day she fired people

At 46, Corcoran had her first baby, Tommy. Her schedule then changed drastically. She couldn't come in first thing in the morning anymore — and what's more, her priorities weren't all in The Corcoran Group anymore. 

"It wasn't because I was tired of my work," Corcoran said. "I was divided. I wanted to be a phenomenal mom and I wanted to be phenomenal at work. And they fought with each other in my heart."

She ultimately sold The Corcoran Group for a cool $66 million in 2001, and became wholly involved with her son and daughter. "The most satisfying thing I've ever done in my life, the most fulfilling thing I've done, is being a parent," Corcoran said. "And you know I love business, but it can't measure up for me."

Still, there are certain perks that come along with being a multimillionaire parent — namely the ability to afford pricey fertility services that make motherhood possible later in life. Egg freezing costsmore than $10,000 in many cases, while the average couple who goes through in-vitro fertilizationpays $19,000.

And Corcoran recognizes the role that her financial freedom played in helping her have it all.

"I had enough money to pay for five years of in-vitro," Corcoran said. "If I hadn’t had that money, I couldn't have had kids. I would have missed that."

SEE ALSO: Barbara Corcoran asks a simple question on 'Shark Tank' to quickly understand if a business partnership will succeed

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NOW WATCH: This 13-year-old scientist invented a safer way to treat pancreatic cancer, and he hasn't even started high school yet


Mark Cuban talks about running for president and investing in companies that have an impact

Barbara Corcoran on entrepreneurship, partnerships, and the advantages of being the only woman in the board room

Barbara Corcoran doesn't invest in rich kids because poor kids have one trait that makes them more likely to succeed

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Julie Zeveloff: This kind of ties into your own background, so you grew up with ten siblings in a two-bedroom apartment. Now you are raising two kids in a five-bedroom apartment, you told me two maids. How do you explain the fact that you still say you don't invest in rich kids? And would you invest in your own kids' businesses?

Barbara Corcoran: Well they'll probably hit me up, I imagine I will.

[Audience laughs]

Corcoran: My son is 24 and my daughter is 13, I'm one of the oldest moms in New York, I hold a record actually.

Zeveloff: I get that.

Corcoran: The reason, it sounds harsh: I don't invest in rich kids, which isn't really true but almost true, because rich kids on "Shark Tank" come with a couple of attributes that disturb me, okay? And then I'll go on to my own rich kids in a minute. They're not in the audience are they? Okay.

Rich kids come in with a couple of disadvantages I feel, okay? They've had the right jobs because they had the right contacts, so they had the right apprenticeships in different right companies in their summer months when they're teenagers. You know, they get the right introductions, okay? Poor kids are usually waiting tables and scrapping, dealing with customers, spilling coffee and getting shouted at, a little different, okay?

Rich kids, when starting businesses on "Shark Tank," the ones I see on "Shark Tank," typically have gone to the finest schools and what comes with going to the finest schools, especially business schools, what comes is a certain attitude that they know it. That's a dangerous attribute to have in anything when you're starting out in anything. But what they do know, is that they know all about business as an observer but they don't know business as a player. Whereas poor kids tend to have had hardship. They've had to be a player earlier. They've had to contribute to the family, they've seen their parents struggle. They know the power of a buck. They've never gone on a fancy vacation, so they aspire to the vacation. I'm giving you all kinds of s---, right? Okay. But I do believe in it.

And then the last is an injured poor kid is, for me, a guarantee that I'm going to make money if he's got the ego to prove somebody else wrong. I had the great advantage of my first business partner telling me I'd never succeed without him, he handed me an insurance policy for success. I would rather die than let him see me not succeed. And so I have many of my partners, Sabin never had a dad, his dad looked him up once he became half-way famous on "Shark Tank." Wanted to start up a relationship again, you know, Sabin is making a lot of money, how insulting is that? Never saw his dad.

I have injuries in a lot of my best entrepreneurs and it fills you with passion to prove something. The love of money doesn't make a good entrepreneur. Most great entrepreneurs really aren't focused on the money at all, it kinda just happens because they're focused on being phenomenally successful.

And so, wait, did I even answer your question? What did you ask? Oh, about rich kids, oh let me go on to my own rich kids. I think I lost myself over that ridge, okay? Alright, my own rich kids, I got a couple of very lucky breaks. Thank God, not that I was praying for them, but I got a couple of very lucky breaks. They're both severely dyslexic and what that does for a child, is provide a struggle. It also provides a child with self-doubt, when they don't measure up, they're not the smart kid in class, and so I have two nice, dyslexic kids that had to scrap and claw their way to even learn how to make it at school, with passing grades, you see? And so my son Tommy, I'm very proud of him because he got rejected from all the best schools and then just realized, he saw his life, you know? And he graduated at almost top of his class at Columbia. How did he do that? He clawed his way, he learned and learned, he studied and studied and studied, and studied and studied. So he's a good rich kid. He's used to scrapping.

Now I got my daughter Kate, who can't even read on a second-grade level. I don't know how I'm going to bring her up. I just want to get her to fourth grade, then she can get her driver's exam, you get it? You need fourth grade to pass a driver's exam. But what I love about Kate is that she's a struggler. She's like, I'm trying my best. So I might spoil them with too many Christmas presents but they don't spoil themselves with their struggle and that's kind of saving their a-- in my book. But will I give them money when they want to start a business? I'm sure I will. I'm a sucker like every other parent out there.

[Audience laughs]

I can't pretend I won't. And it's too bad, because God bless the child that makes his own. It's so much more satisfying, you really know, you say I did it and I did it and I did it versus, I did it, but could I have done it? Could I have done it without that help? It's a little different kind of self-confidence.

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Barbara Corcoran on Donald Trump: 'He is the best salesman I've ever met in my life'

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  • Trump is a "phenomenal salesman," according to investor Barbara Corcoran, who spoke to Business Insider about the US president at Ignition 2018.
  • Corcoran first knew Donald Trump as a salesman during his New York real estate days.
  • She explained how Trump was nearly bankrupt when he sold the land along the West Side Highway to develop what now includes Trump Place apartments and condos. 
  • Watch the video above to learn the sales techniques Trump uses that makes him the "best salesman" Corcoran has ever met. 

Julie Zeveloff: Switching gears for a moment. You knew Donald Trump way back in his New York real estate days.

Barbara Corcoran: What a charmer.

Zeveloff: You know, despite whatever you say about him, even you say he's a great salesman. What is his sales technique? Why is he so great?

Corcoran: He is a phenomenal salesman. He's not a great salesman. He's probably the best salesman I've ever been in the company of and I spent a lot of time with Donald because he's five years older than me, I think, four years and he was raising his company right parallel with me raising mine. And so, I did a lot of work with Donald and I can tell you he is the best salesman I've ever met in my life.

I watched him walk into a situation, for example, selling the Plaza Hotel to the Chinese out of Hong Kong, it wasn't Taiwan. Group of Asians, wealthiest families in Hong Kong. And they were there because they were interested in the Plaza Hotel. I was a broker. All my brokers, we were all at the table. We were really hungry to make this deal and I watched him totally not pitch the Plaza Hotel. Bury it and talk about the land masses on the Hudson River and the buildings that would be there. They were not the least bit interested. They just wanted to buy the Plaza Hotel. A customer, I wanna buy it and Donald was near bankruptcy, really needed the money to bail out.  And I watched him... I thought he was so off. He wasn't. They bought the land and built all those towers on the west river as we know it today. You know, all those Trump Towers along the river, that was the deal. How did he do that?

I'll tell you what his masterful mind does. He is a genius at picking out the vulnerability of someone's personality. He can smell it. Sense it and trust it. So, for example, if you were to walk into a business meeting with Donald and you were saying, whatever you're saying. I've seen it time-and-time again. He could see what your weakness is and not physically reach over and put his finger on it, but he just could see what your weakness is and play into it. Not the nicest thing in the world but it's a certain gift I've never seen on anyone else. That's exactly what he did in the election. I think he put his finger on what the weakness was, the vulnerability of people and he knows how to touch it. Just so. And people go along for the ride.

He is a phenomenal salesman, I have to say. Really. He could sell anything. And he did.

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Barbara Corcoran reveals how to successfully ask for a raise — and what you should never say to your boss

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  • We asked real estate mogul and "Shark Tank" host Barbara Corcoran to share her advice on how to successfully ask your boss for a raise.
  • Corcoran also talked about what you should do if you receive an offer from another company.
  • Senior Video Correspondent Graham Flanagan spoke to Corcoran at IGNITION, Business Insider's media and technology event. 

Barbara Corcoran: Do you really want a raise, or this is for example?

Graham Flanagan: We all want to make more money.

Corcoran: Yes, of course. And I could tell looking at you, you're underpaid.

Flanagan: Why?

Corcoran: Because you would afford a much nicer shirt and trousers if you were making enough money.

Flanagan: Wow.

Corcoran: If you want to get a raise, and particularly if you're a woman who wants to get a raise, women don't ask for raises I can tell you. I've employed thousands of women over my life. They do not ask for raises unless they absolutely must, and men ask all the time. And so, what the smartest thing to do is, first of all, make an appointment to ask for a raise, even if your expectation isn't that you're gonna get it. At least ask for it, because that sets you up for the next meeting where you'll likely get it.

And the smartest thing to do is to walk in with a list of your responsibilities when you started at the company, and then also the list of things you've taken on since you started. And simply make the boss aware that you have a lot more responsibility. You're delighted to take it on, give me more, but I'd like to be compensated and to name a number you'd like.

Most women, when they work up to the point where they'll ask for a raise, they won't give a number. "I'd like to get a raise." Men will walk in and say, "I'd like to get a raise. I'd like it to be around 10, 15 percent."

No qualms. So, if you're a timid woman, I think the smart thing to do is ask, "What would a man do?" And walk in thinking like a man. If you don't get the raise, you have to ask, "What would merit a raise?" So that when you come back the next time, you could say, "Hey, this is what I've done,""I'd like to get that raise."

When someone has come to me and said they got another offer for a lot more money from somewhere else, and it's not followed up with, "So, goodbye," they're looking for something from me. I never try to buy their loyalty because I haven't earned their loyalty, obviously, and they're on their way out the door, I'm not gonna stop them with more money. They're already off my list. I can't wait for them to go out that door.

It's perfectly acceptable to go to your boss and say, "You know, I'm a little surprised. I got an offer for a lot more money, but I'm not taking it because I love this business. But I'm really wondering, could you level with me as to my future prospects here?"

That's a great opener. And it's not insulting and it's not threatening. And guess what? You'll get the best out of that boss. Very, very different than saying, "You want to pay up?" The tone is entirely different. One, the boss wants to measure up. The other style, the boss wants to boot you out that door. I think the piece you have to put in is, "I got a great offer, I love working here and I plan to stay, but it brings on the table my question, what do you think my prospects here in the future might be?"

That's pretty fair. If I were a boss, I would go out of my way to think of how I could push you ahead, if I value you. And if my response instead was, "Well I'm happy to hear about it, but you know, we pay you fairly and you have good responsibilities and we're pretty happy, so do what you want," or something like that, I would know I am not valued, and I would take the other job because the one thing you must be in any position you are, male, female, whatever level you are, is you must be valued and appreciated to be promoted.

It's a great way to go in and take a litmus test as to how you are valued in that boss' eyes, and your boss has more to do with your future than the company you're working for, your responsibilities and everything else. If they love you, they will push you ahead. I had so many people come and ask for raises over the years. Of course, mostly men.

My theory as a boss is, you get ahead of your valued employees and you raise them before they ever get to ask. Because employees will kill for you, if you can treat them with that kind of reverence and respect and prove it by paying them more. They'll kill for you. They're loyal forever.

And I've always been very lucky to be surrounded by people that are enormously loyal, and it's no accident. Because I make sure I push money, recognition, whatever I have, opportunity, more valuable than raises. Bonuses, whatever it takes to make them feel "I am loved."

That's what everybody wants.

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The founders of a cookie startup used a rehearsal trick from Beyoncé to conquer their nerves before going on 'Shark Tank' — and won $300,000 from Alex Rodriguez

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nui on shark tank

  • Before going on "Shark Tank," the founders of the Nui cookie company used almost the same technique as Beyoncé: boosting their heart rate while rehearsing their pitch.
  • They also handed out cookies to ingratiate themselves with casting agents.
  • Ultimately, Nui landed a $300,000 deal with a guest shark, Alex Rodriguez.

Kristoffer Quiaoit and Victor Macias arrived early to the casting call for "Shark Tank."

Unfortunately, so did everyone else.

About 1,000 people stood in line in front of them — and the entrepreneurs knew they had to find some way to stand out among the crowd.

Quiaoit and Macias are the founders of Nui, which makes cookies that are low in sugar and carbohydrates, originally geared toward people on the ketogenic diet. They'd arrived at the casting call in spring 2018 armed with samples — and standing in line, they knew what they had to do.

The Nui founders started walking up to casting agents, Quiaoit remembered. They'd say, "Hey, I'm not trying to bribe you or anything, but I know it's going to be a very long day and you all are going to be hungry. So here are some cookies."

"We thought they would at least have a say in who's going to move on to whatever the next step of the process was," Quiaoit said. "If we go in there cold, we're just going to be like everybody else."

Whether because of their impeccable pitch or their free treats (or both), the Nui founders made the cut and were invited to pitch the Sharks a few months later.

The Nui founders refused to leave anything to chance

In that time, they committed themselves to an intense preparation regimen. "Our goal," Macias said, was "don't leave anything to chance"— including how nervous they'd feel while standing on the "Shark Tank" stage.

While rehearsing, they'd try to make themselves feel as anxious and as out-of-breath as possible. Specifically, they borrowed a strategy from Beyoncé, whose former trainer told INSIDER that he made her run and sing at the same time until the songs sounded exactly the way they did on the album.

The Nui founders tweaked that technique slightly: To get their heart rates up, they'd drink coffee and do push-ups, then practice delivering their pitch. "We felt like we were ready for anything," Quiaoit said. (Perhaps not coincidentally, the founders of Cousins Maine Lobster used a similar rehearsal strategy before appearing on "Shark Tank.")

When the doors to the "Shark Tank" stage flew open later that summer, they were just as nervous as they'd anticipated.

"My heart was beating so hard," Quiaoit said. "I've never felt that much adrenaline going through my body before."

But he said that once they got on stage, "I felt very comfortable because this is what we expected: We expected to be nervous, we expected to be anxious, and we had prepared for it."

The episode, which aired in November, was dramatic. After requesting $300,000 for 10% of the company, the Nui founders received offers from Kevin O'Leary and Barbara Corcoran — but both involved royalties.

Read more:An entrepreneur who landed a $250,000 offer on 'Shark Tank' was thrilled when a Shark said her company 'sucks' and questioned its valuation

Then a guest shark, the former MLB player Alex Rodriguez, chimed in, saying Jennifer Lopez — now his fiancée — absolutely loves cookies. He offered the founders $300,000 in exchange for 25% of the company. After some discussion, during which Rodriguez nearly rescinded his offer, the Nui founders accepted the deal.

Ultimately, the deal with Rodriguez didn't pan out — but Nui hasn't suffered much. In 2018, the company brought in $1.4 million.

The Nui founders said that despite their deal falling through, they were glad they appeared on the show.

"The amount of exposure we got was great in and of itself," Quiaoit said, adding that they were pleased with the impression they made on viewers.

"After that, everything else is just a bonus."

SEE ALSO: People think startup founders go on 'Shark Tank' for big-name investors and a pile of cash, but entrepreneurs who have done it say that's not really the point

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NOW WATCH: Barbara Corcoran reveals how to successfully ask for a raise — and what you should never say to your boss

The Frywall made famous on 'Shark Tank' is a game changer that reduces the mess of cooking — here's why I like using it

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Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider, Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

frywall splatter guard

  • Making delicious fried foods and other oil-intensive dishes comes at a cost: the mess of oil splatters on your body and surrounding kitchen space. 
  • The Frywall ($17.95-$28.95), a silicone kitchen accessory that fits into your pan like a funnel, is a twist on the traditional splatter screen.
  • It does a better job of containing oil splatters, doesn't cause condensation, and lets you easily access your food, so you can enjoy your food with less danger and less clean-up. 

Crispy bacon is an indulgence as integral to homemade brunch as pancakes doused in maple syrup and mimosas with a concerning OJ-champagne ratio. What usually precludes the excitement of digging into my plate of grease, however, is pure anxiety. As I dance around my stove avoiding the splashes of oil — sometimes successfully, most of the time not — I think, maybe one day I'll be able to cook bacon without breaking a light sweat. 

I know splatter screens exist but a few problems run common with traditional designs. They're made from the wrong materials and aren't heat-resistant enough, they cause condensation to form and weaken the frying intensity, or they block your pan so you can't check on or otherwise access your food. 

A new approach to the splatter screen, made famous by the show "Shark Tank" in 2018, is a better way to protect yourself and your kitchen from oil splatters. More appropriately described as a splatter guard, the Frywall is a BPA-free silicone funnel that fits into your pan and forms a protective wall around it. 

frywall splatter guard 2

Founder Yair Reiner created the Frywall in his kitchen after a "particularly splattersome duck breast" proved to be the last straw. His innovative solution provides protection from splatters while allowing steam to escape and you to access your food at all times. 

The Frywall works in all types of cookware (pans, sauciers, skillets, etc.) and materials (cast iron, stainless steel, ceramic, etc.), and there are three main sizes (8", 10" and 12"). It can withstand temperatures up to 450°F, meaning you can use it in the oven (as long as it's kept away from the open flame), and it's also safe to clean in the dishwasher. 

Read more: 18 "Shark Tank" home products that are actually useful

frywall splatter guard 3

I tried the Frywall in my own kitchen and can confirm it's a game-changer that reduces the mess of cooking. 

I used more oil than normal to see just how much the Frywall could handle. To my relief, most of the splatters that would normally hit me or the adjacent wall, which has received its fair share of greasy oil stains, stayed within the Frywall. It's not a completely perfect catch-all, but it worked better than splatter screens I've tried in the past to do its job. 

In general, it was larger than I expected. The walls are tall, obviously to catch the splatters, though that did make reaching tongs or a spoon into the pan a little difficult. But I could still see and access everything I needed in the end, and the overall cooking experience was easier because I didn't have to keep lifting up a screen to check on my progress. 

frywall splatter guard 4

Other than preventing splatters and bubbling oil spillage, the Frywall is great for keeping your food contained. I sometimes underestimate the number of ingredients I put in the pan, so I'm left with an overflow of vegetables or diced meat threatening to escape. With the Frywall, my inability to select the correct-sized pan wasn't as crucial because my food had extra vertical surface area to bump up against. 

All in all, I'm glad to have this $20 accessory in my kitchen now because I'm less nervous about cooking foods with a lot of oil. It saves the time and frustration spent cleaning up my stove and countertop after I cook, plus the Frywall itself is easy to clean. I don't have a dishwasher, but the silicone can be hand-washed, and the flexible shape makes it easy to roll or fold up for storage. 

Shop the Small 8" Frywall (4 colors) for $17.95 at Amazon here

Shop the Medium 10" Frywall (3 colors) for $21.95 at Amazon here

Shop the Large 12" Frywall (4 colors) for $28.95 at Amazon here

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11 'Shark Tank' cleaning products that are actually useful

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Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider, Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

shark tank cleaning products 10

  • "Shark Tank" features the entrepreneurial solutions to problems people face, from poor posture and back pain to how to "shower" when you don't have time to after your workout. 
  • There's almost no everyday problem people hate more than cleaning. The show has offered many products to help you clean your house and belongings, and keep them clean. 
  • These 11 creative products from "Shark Tank" will reduce the time, effort, and even the environmental impact of your cleaning chores. 

Making your home is hard enough, but cleaning it and keeping it clean is arguably the more difficult part. This chore is never discussed with much excitement, probably because no one truly enjoys cleaning.

If you watch "Shark Tank," however, there have been a number of product pitches that could convince you otherwise and motivate you to clean your room and belongings more often.

Some address the pain of washing your dishes and water bottles and will save your arms from intense scrubbing sessions. Others are safe, eco-friendly alternatives to traditional cleaning products. You'll also see ways to include your pets and tech devices in the cleaning party. 

These 11 products from "Shark Tank" will help you keep your entire house clean. 

SEE ALSO: The Frywall made famous on 'Shark Tank' is a game changer that reduces the mess of cooking — here's why I like using it

DON'T MISS: 17 top-rated products to clean every room in your house

A sanitary place for your dog to relieve itself — that cleans itself

BrilliantPad Self-Cleaning & Automatic Indoor Dog Potty + 1 Roll, $149.99, available at Chewy

The world's first self-cleaning dog potty, best for dogs under 25 pounds, takes care of a dirty and frequent chore. You can adjust the timer to automatically change a dirty pad one, two, or three times a day, or manually change it with a push of a button. The machine will wrap and seal the waste, keeping your home clean and odor-free. 

 



A thorough detail brush that doesn't make a mess

Brush Hero Wheel Brush Starter Set, $29.99, available at Amazon

Read our review of the Brush Hero here

From your car wheels to patio furniture to BBQ grills, the Brush Hero detail brush can clean all the hard-to-reach areas. With its steady torque and powerful scrub, it's more reliable and less messy than screwing a brush onto a power drill. The set comes with one soft and one stiff brush head. 



The original 'Shark Tank' wunderkind

Original Scrub Daddy (4-count), $13.33, available at Amazon

The biggest success from the show is undoubtedly the Scrub Daddy. So what makes this smiley scrubber so renowned? The foam adjusts to the temperature (firm in cold water, soft in warm water) so you can switch between tough scrubbing and light cleaning, and it won't scratch even delicate surfaces like glass, ceramic, and leather. You can use them anywhere, not just for dishes. 



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Mark Cuban is worth $4.1 billion — and he says going 7 years without a vacation helped him get there

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Mark Cuban

  • Mark Cuban has an estimated net worth of $4.1 billion.
  • He's earned his fortune through a lifetime of business deals, including the $5.7 billion sale of Broadcast.com, his ownership of the Dallas Mavericks, and investments made on ABC's "Shark Tank."
  • Cuban has spent millions on private airplanes, a yacht, and a luxurious Dallas home, not to mention $2 million in fines from the NBA.
  • Cuban said his rise to wealth didn't come easy while speaking during the Dallas Startup Week conference. The mogul said he lived in a "dumpy" apartment with numerous roommates, stole towels from the Holiday Inn, and didn't take a vacation in seven years.


Mark Cuban is one of the wealthiest people in America, with an estimated net worth of $4.1 billion, according to Forbes— but getting there wasn't easy.

Cuban's journey to becoming a billionaire included living in a "dumpy" apartment, where he stayed up late eating chicken wings and teaching himself to code. The mogul told attendees at the Dallas Startup Week conference of the unglamorous life of an aspiring entrepreneur — one that includes no vacation time for seven years and stealing towels from the Holiday Inn, according to a report from Dallas News.

The late nights ended up paying off: the businessman and investor earned his fortune with a series of shrewd business deals starting in the 1990s, most notably the sale of his streaming site Broadcast.com for $5.7 billion in stocks.

He bought the NBA's Dallas Mavericks in 2000 and helped transform them into a championship team.

And he's added to his empire with investments like the ones he makes each week on ABC's "Shark Tank," where he's been a regular for eight years.

But $10 million isn't the fortune it sounds like to the billionaire. Over the years, he's spent his money on private planes, a 24,000-square-foot house, an $110,000 bar tab, and millions of dollars of fines from the NBA. 

Read on to see how Cuban has earned — and spent — his fortune.

SEE ALSO: A look inside the daily routine of billionaire investor Mark Cuban, who starts working the minute he wakes up and falls asleep to 'Law & Order'

Mark Cuban is worth an estimated $4.1 billion, according to Forbes. That ranks him among the 500 richest people in America.

Source: Forbes



Cuban made his fortune over a lifetime of shrewd business deals. He's the owner of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks …

Source: Forbes



… he's the co-founder of 2929 Entertainment, which owns the production companies behind films like "Akeelah and the Bee" and "Good Night and Good Luck"…

Source: Biography



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A year after selling to Amazon for $1 billion, the chief inventor of the Ring video doorbell explains how he’s bringing his entrepreneurial spirit to the online retailer (AMZN)

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Ring Jamie Siminoff

  • Amazon acquired smart doorbell startup Ring one year ago as of April 12 for a reported $1 billion.
  • Ring founder Jamie Siminoff discusses how his company fits into Amazon more broadly in an interview with Business Insider.
  • Siminoff says he's often tapped to sit in on meetings for projects and upcoming products, including the development of Alexa Guard, Amazon's home security feature for its Echo smart speakers. 
  • In general, though, he says that Ring is still running exactly as before — but with the added bonus that he has access to the company's vast resources whenever it needs anything. “I almost feel like I’m kind of like brought into the Amazon shopping mall," he says. 

Jamie Siminoff has built his career on founding startups and inking deals with large companies.

Unsubscribe Inc., a company he co-founded in 2010 that made a tool for easily un-registering from email lists, sold to TrustedID in 2011. Before that, in 2009, Siminoff struck a partnership with Ditech Networks that gave the firm exclusive rights to sell his speech-to-text voicemail subscription service to other companies. Ditech Networks has, in turn, since been acquired by speech recognition software maker Nuance.

But Siminoff’s biggest exit wouldn’t come until nearly a decade later when he would sell Ring, the home security startup he founded in 2013 — famously, after he got rejected on Shark Tank— to Amazon for a reported $1 billion in 2018. Ring, which initially gained attention with its line of video doorbells and has since expanded to other security products, will officially have been part of the retail juggernaut for a full year as of April 12.

For Siminoff, the experience isn’t all that different from his startup days.

“We’re this huge company with hundreds of thousands of team members, and yet [Amazon] still has nimbleness,” Siminoff said of his experience with Amazon after a year. “It’s just got a very entrepreneurial foundation to it.”

Making a splash at Amazon

Siminoff still considers himself Chief Inventor at Ring, a title he’s long preferred over Chief Executive Officer, and says much of his time is spent running the company he built.

But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t had an impact on Amazon’s broader product portfolio. Siminoff reports to Dave Limp, Amazon’s senior vice president of services and devices, and says he’s frequently sought out for his input on projects.

“[At Amazon] they are inventing and looking at a lot of different things all the time in different areas,” he said. “So I’ll be brought into a call or a session where they’re going to look at XYZ product in a totally new category.”

What exactly those products and categories are, Siminoff cannot say. But he did contribute to Alexa Guard, the feature Amazon announced in 2018 that makes it possible for Amazon’s digital helper to send alerts about the sound of breaking glass and activity from smoke detectors. Alexa Guard can also integrate with security systems from Ring and third parties like ADT.

“I definitely had a lot of insight and amazing meetings and things that were going on with [Alexa Guard] before it was launched that were very fun to help [with] and sort of be part of the team,” he says. “And that was really more of an Alexa thing, which Alexa to me was always this amazing product that I used. Now I get to see and maybe even shape some pieces around the edge of it.”

Siminoff was also able to leverage his expertise when it came to the company’s acquisition of Wi-Fi mesh networking startup Eero. That deal valued Eero at $97 million in a fire sale, according to documents obtained by Business Insider.

Read: Amazon paid $97 million to acquire Eero in a fire-sale deal that left some shareholders with practically nothing, according to leaked documents

“We were involved a little bit as a division of Amazon that relies heavily on great Wi-Fi,” Siminoff said. “Eero had always been the best in class that we had been able to use and recommend to our customers...I wouldn’t say at all [that] we did the deal... But I do think we were certainly a part of it because we are a product that requires great Wi-Fi connectivity. We use a lot of bandwidth so we were certainly very sensitive to Wi-Fi networks.”

'They’re not telling us what to do'

Ring, for the most part, is run exactly how it was before becoming part of Amazon, he says. Siminoff even says “you almost kind of forget” that Ring is now owned by one of the most valuable companies in the world. That is, until it’s time to break out the checkbook.

“I almost feel like I’m kind of like brought into the Amazon shopping mall,” Siminoff said. “It's like I was given a credit card and it’s like, ‘Go to whichever stores you need and buy whatever you need for yourself.’ They’re not telling us what to do, we get to ask.”

It’s not just financial support that Ring has benefited from over the past year. Being part of such a large company also means Ring has the advantage of working with Amazon’s security team and being held to the company’s security standards. That’s critical as ever for a company like Ring that creates devices capable of recording video and audio.

In February, for example, researchers discovered a vulnerability Ring had patched that could have let intrudersinject fake images into the Ring Video Doorbell’s video feed, or snoop on its recordings.

“One thing with security that’s important for everyone to understand is that the world continues to change and evolve,” Siminoff said. “There’s no such thing as something that’s secure and stays secure forever. You're going to need to have that continued watching over it.”

Behind the curtain 

Siminoff’s team also has the benefit of being able to learn about Amazon’s product development process, and applying those insights to their own projects. Ring also has access to the resources of Lab126, Amazon’s San Francisco-based outfit responsible for developing its consumer electronics gadgets like the Echo, which they can consult when facing issues. If Ring is having difficulties with the Wi-Fi antenna on a product, for example, they can contact Lab126 for guidance.

“The next thing you know, you have a team that’s immediate that can step in,” he said.

Today, Siminoff is in a position many startup founders would likely hope to find themselves in. He’s still running the company he founded more than six years ago with the support of an industry giant like Amazon. But he wasn’t always in such a favorable situation. When he presented his idea for a smart doorbell on the ABC reality show Shark Tank in 2013 — then called DoorBot— each judge passed on his idea. To Siminoff, that kind of struggle and rejection is necessary for achieving success.

“It should be really hard and it should be something that you have to fight for, and it should be something that is a lot of risk,” he said. “Because if you actually make it, the rewards outweigh the work that you put in.”

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: Watch Google's Stadia video-game-platform event in 5 minutes

I tried the $300 3D printer that was backed on 'Shark Tank' — my 5-year-old son and I both enjoy making toys with it

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Insider Picks writes about products and services to help you navigate when shopping online. Insider Inc. receives a commission from our affiliate partners when you buy through our links, but our reporting and recommendations are always independent and objective.

Toybox 3D printer

  • The Toybox 3D Printer ($299) was designed with young makers in mind; its app and website are kid-friendly and the hardware only takes a few minutes of parental setup.
  • Dozens of pre-designed models are ready to print with one button and original designs are also easy to create, upload, and print.
  • The printer and its accessories are reasonably priced considering the cutting-edge technology, but it's definitely not cheap by any standards.

For reasons beyond my understanding, my five-year-old son Ben is fascinated with 3D printers. I'm not even sure where the young man first learned of the technology, but for more than a year now, it's captivated him. He has dreamt of using the 3D printer at our local library and counted the days until he'd be able to use one at his school. Sadly, the school's unit is relegated to older elementary grades and Ben's only in prekindergarten.

Then my wife and I discovered California-based Toybox, a cool brand that received an investment from "Shark Tank" and makes a 3D printer for just $299. It's a reasonable price to pay for an innovative item, but definitely not a "cheap" purchase that should be taken lightly. My wife and I felt it was affordable for us and we especially liked that it was easy for our five-year-old to use on his own. 

Within a few minutes after we got the colorful "Printer Food" PLA filament in place on the back of the printing unit and threaded it into the extruder, Ben had already created a custom design he wanted to print. And with the tap of a button, that's what he did.

Read more: The best STEM toys you can buy for kids

Toybox 3D Printer

3D printing has been around since the 1980s, but it wasn't common or meant for household use until well into the first decade of this century. Today, while the technology is hardly new, it's still not mainstream and that's largely because of the high prices. Many legitimate, full-sized 3D printers can cost more than a thousand dollars, and even those that are smaller and more affordable are still too complex and fragile for young kids.

The Toybox printer, on the other hand, was designed expressly for kids. Its remarkable ease of use knocks down barriers to one of the most exciting types of hardware while the well-designed app and website encourages deep exploration into design. Also, it's awesome to play with a toy you made yourself. I mean, for your kid to play with a toy he or she made.

Creating one of the pre-designed "toys"— and I'm using that term loosely because there are rings and bracelets, figurines, race cars, cups, planters, and so much more — available on the site or app requires about as much effort as sending a text message. Once the printer is switched on and warm enough, you just tap through to the item you want to make, hit the print button, and the machine will create the object right before your eyes.

Read more: The best 3D printers you can buy

Toybox 3D Printer

Naturally, custom designs take a bit longer because you have to create them first in the Creator Space. You can also upload models you found on other sites or created using computer-aided design platforms. With a bit of time spent learning how to use the system, you can essentially create anything you can imagine, even complicated pieces with multiple colors and moving parts that you can assemble after multiple printing sessions.

And if you have questions or issues, you're in luck — Toybox customer service works every bit as well as its printer. We had an issue with the printing nozzle grinding the pad on which it was supposed to print and being that the unit was brand new, I was annoyed initially. I mean, the printer is affordable by our standards, but not cheap so I expected it to work well out of the box. Not only did a brand rep get on the phone quickly with me, but he actually started a FaceTime call so he could walk me through the fix — which turned out to be about a single turn of a calibration screw.

The best thing about getting your kid a Toybox 3D Printer? When they think of some new toy they want, they can make it right then and there. Okay, maybe they can start then and there, because large objects can take hours to print, but you can at least have a ring with bunny ears in about three minutes.

Buy the Toybox 3D Printer Starter Bundle for $299 from Toybox

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This beach towel company has done $20 million in sales after an appearance on 'Shark Tank' — and donates 10% of profits to help save marine life

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sand cloud beach towel 4

  • Sand Cloud, best known for its colorful beach towels and appearance on "Shark Tank," is more than just a summer accessory brand — though its cozy towels are a personal favorite. 
  • It also donates 10% of profits to non-profit partner organizations like the Marine Conservation Institute, Surfrider Foundation, and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center to clean up beaches, rehabilitate ocean animals, improve environmental education, and more. 
  • While its summer-ready products are what initially draw people in, Sand Cloud's mission is what has ultimately propelled it to $20 million in sales to date. 
  • The soft, lightweight, and sand-resistant towels cost $39 to $65. While not as thick or absorbent as heavy-duty beach towels, they're still durable and comfortable. 

As a native southern Californian who, surprise surprise, loves the beach, I can assure you that a nice and comfortable towel is instrumental to enjoying a long summer afternoon spent lounging lazily on the sand. 

Founded in 2014 by three friends, Sand Cloud is an online company that's making the soft, eye-catching beach towels you'll see everyone enjoying by the shores this summer — including me. More importantly, though, is its mission to support the conservation of marine life.

Founders Brandon Leibel, Bruno Aschidamini, and Steven Ford met while working at an insurance call center in San Diego, and bonded over their love of the beach and marine conservation. They decided to combine these passions into a product that helps people enjoy the beach right now and for years to come. 

With a mission to "save marine life," Sand Cloud donates 10% of profits to non-profit partner organizations like the Marine Conservation Institute, Surfrider Foundation, and the Pacific Marine Mammal Center. Since its launch, the company has done $20 million in sales.

sand cloud beach towel 3

Sand Cloud actually started out making towel pillows. However, at a trade show in 2015, buyers were more interested in a mandala towel style that didn't have a pillow attached. Sand Cloud's first big break was when Quiksilver bought $20,000 worth of these mandala towels, which are still a best seller today. The company went on to appear in a 2017 episode of "Shark Tank," where it received an investment and the national exposure to propel its growth. 

Though it has expanded past beach towels into apparel, other eco-friendly accessories like reusable metal straws and reef-safe sunscreen, and even a bedding collection with Bed Bath & Beyond, its original beach towels are still what I recommend shopping first. Sand Cloud sells a variety of sizes and patterns of its 100% Turkish cotton towels, as well as towels made of 45% recycled cotton, 25% recycled polyester, and 30% Turkish cotton. 

They're not very thick or heavy, so they won't weigh down your beach bag, and they easily shake out sand and other small debris. While decently absorbent, I wouldn't rely on them entirely to dry yourself off if you come back from your swim soaking wet (I'd recommend Snowe's beach towels for this task). Instead, I think they're better suited for light drying jobs and lounging. The soft feel makes it practically irresistible to wrap yourself in the towel as the sun sets and the temperatures cool down.

sand cloud beach towel 2

Ranging in price from $39 to $65, they are more expensive than your average beach towel, but they're also an easy purchase to justify if you're looking for additional ways to support marine conservation causes. Because Sand Cloud works with multiple partners, each product sold contributes to local beach cleanups, marine mammal rehabilitation, improved access to environmental education in coastal communities, and other initiatives. 

Shop Sand Cloud towels at Amazon here

Shop all towels and eco-friendly accessories at Sand Cloud here

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