A Triangle entrepreneur appeared on ‘Shark Tank’ Friday. Here’s how it turned out
Morrisville entrepreneur Dinesh Tadepalli has pitched his edible cutlery startup, Incredible Eats, numerous times. But none compared to the adrenaline rush of trying to convince the investors of “Shark Tank” to buy into his company.
“It was a very challenging experience, with so many questions coming at once,” he said in an interview with The News & Observer.
But Tadepalli seemed to handle the questions well enough — landing multiple offers from the sharks, and, ultimately, accepting one. He was featured on the show Friday night.
His startup, Incredible Eats, makes edible spoons that can be eaten rather than thrown into the trash. The company is built on the idea that if you offer consumers a tasty alternative to plastic, they will take it.
Tadepalli originally got the inspiration for Incredible Eats while eating ice cream with his children. Like always, they threw away their plastic spoons after finishing their dessert.
“It suddenly hit me, why did I not think twice about using a plastic spoon?” he told The N&O earlier this year. “It disturbed me a little bit. Like, I’m an educated person, I’m aware of the plastic pollution, but why did I not think twice before using the plastic spoon or a cup?”
On “Shark Tank,” Tadepalli received an investment offer from all four sharks. But in the end, he chose an offer from Lori Greiner, an inventor who has had success in the cosmetics and jewelry industries.
Greiner offered $500,000 for a 15% share of the company.
Tadepalli said he went with Greiner’s offer because it allowed him to keep the most ownership of the company, and she seemed to appreciate the company’s environmental efforts the most.
He plans to use the money to hire two more employees and build out the company’s inventory. Incredible Eats plans to add edible sporks and chop sticks to its roster of items in the near future, Tadepalli said. It currently offers spoons in four flavors — vanilla, chocolate, oregano chilli and black pepper.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Tadepalli said of going on “Shark Tank.” “It is a big deal, especially in the U.S.”
“Shark Tank” attracts millions of viewers to its shows and re-runs every week. Tadepalli said it would act as a huge advertisement for his young company, which has only spent around $2,000 on marketing so far.
You can watch the episode online at abc.com, but you’ll need to sign in with a cable or satellite account.
This story was produced with financial support from a coalition of partners led by Innovate Raleigh as part of an independent journalism fellowship program. The N&O maintains full editorial control of the work. Learn more; go to bit.ly/newsinnovate
This story was originally published October 23, 2021 at 8:24 AM.
