Tate Stock created an amazing back pain relief wheel called the Chirp Wheel+. He first developed the Plexus Wheel, a yoga wheel, out of $400 of sewer pipe and $50 of yoga mat. He then listed these wheels on Amazon and sold $12,000 worth in two weeks! After achieving $150,000 in sales the first year, Stock found a need for a similar device that provided back pain relief. This led to his development of the Plexus Wheel+, now known as the Chirp Wheel+, a back pain relief device with a patent pending Spinal Canal™ and Compression Sensitive Padding. During 2018, Stock launched a kickstarter to crowdfund the Plexus Wheel+. The kickstarter became the top kickstarter in the category of Pain Management, and the 3rd highest impact kickstarter in the state of Utah. Chirp quickly began to grow and by 2020 had sold over one million Chirp Wheels, helping so many people with drug-free pain relief. In 2020, Stock was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 for manufacturing. He will appear on Shark Tank in just a few short days!
Watch Tate Stock with the Chirp Wheel+ on “Shark Tank” on Friday October 30, 2020, 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT on ABC. To watch the show, go to this link: https://abc.com/shows/
Here is my firsthand interview with Tate Stock about his experience with Shark Tank:
Tell us about your audition for the show.
The audition for Shark Tank was very straightforward and simple. This is probably because they reached out to us and asked me to apply. There were several people that encouraged me not to apply since our business was on the bigger side. Even though they reached out, I had to go through the entire application process . . . make a video, interview several times, convince them that we would make good TV and fill out a LOT of paperwork.
What was your first reaction when you learned you were going to appear on the show?
There are several times throughout the Shark Tank process that are very exciting. First, when they reached out to me and asked me to apply. I felt like this was a good sign. This is how making the Forbes 30 Under 30 list worked for me as well, and it's always nice to be on the top of the pile, since you don't get lost in the 60k+ applications. Another excited moment was when they notified us that we were going to film and sent me my plane ticket. Then when they emailed, letting me know Chirp had an air date, was the most exciting. It was late Friday afternoon and I immediately set up an emergency call with the entire team and let them know. I was filled with relief and excitement that we were actually going to air, and it was perfect timing for our business.
Did you target any Sharks to receive a deal from (if so, why did you think they would be a good choice?) or were you open to all of them?
I was open to all of the Sharks, but I was targeting to make a deal with Lori. The Chirp Wheel is a simple product that is very demonstrable, and I knew Lori had the best chance of helping us get it out to the entire world. She's also had incredible success with other similar brands she's invested in. Over 60% of the Chirp team is female and adding her to the team seemed like a natural fit as well. Because we had a lot of females on the team, I think we get a unique trust and perspective in the team.
How did you feel when you were on the set?
Being on set was incredibly intense. We came into the show with the highest sales numbers ever reported on Shark Tank and the highest company valuation, based on our ask. This made me feel nervous, because I knew I would have to walk the line of being fair to the Sharks, appropriately valuing their potential investment, and fair to Chirp and all the hard work we have done.
