2022 - December - The Application

I applied back in November, and to be honest, it was an absolute moonshot. Around 40,000-60,000 Entreprenurs / Brands apply each season. Of the 40,000-60,000, about 160 -200 film in Hollywood. Of the 200, only 80 actually make it to air. Our chances were not great, probably terrible, but COLDEST in my mind, was different. Someone even said it's harder to get onto shark tank than it is to get into Harvard or Princeton. We were beyond grateful for the experience and opportunity, and luck (although it wasn't easy).

Many Rounds of Auditions

There are multiple rounds of audtions to get through, at least 10+. At no point in the process are you guaranteed to film, and even if you film, the odds of airing is twice as hard. At the time of this writing article...we haven't aired, nor do we know if we will (a state of uncertainty lol)...but if you're reading this, then we have filmed lol. We focused on one main thing. Telling our story and the purpose of COLDEST, which is, we build things to help you stay colder, longer.

Months of Mental Preparation

We knew we would never be fully ready but we tried our best to prepare. Dave and I would meet often to power through different parts of the process.

Months of Working Out

3 months leading up to possibly getting onto shark tank, we worked out EVERY DAY for months. We didn't know if we would get in, but we trained as if we were.

Set Design - Mockup v.3

Set design was one of my favorite things about the process. It's not only fun, but when this phase came up, we knew we were closer to getting on a spot to air. Designing the set that you saw on TV went through may prototypes. Some entreprenurs hire people for it, we didn't hire anyone, but it came out better than we expected. This is how it came out.

More Pitch Practicing

Dave and I are horrible at memorizing things. We always have been, we practiced the pitch a LOT. lol

Submitting Business Info

"This process is lengthy" is an understatement. From multiple applications, NDA's, submitting business LLC formations, to background checks, product checks, fact checks, trademark & patent submissions, to financials checks, business & personal social medias submissions, to even meetings with lawyers from ABC.

Planning HQ v4 COLDEST at the Same Time of Shark Tank Prep

Meanwhile, we were still running a fast growing brand. Pictured here is David designing and testing COLDEST Prototypes. The 1-Gallon & 1/2 Gallon were born this day.

Back to Work on Business

Stacking and Wrapping pallets.

Filing over 10+ Patents

For a long time, COLDEST was scrappy. We still are. Before filming for shark tank, we wanted to protect our Intellectual Property. We filed 10+ Patents, 3 months before shark tank. I learned as much about patents and law as I could as well as partnering with a lawyer. It was an insane amount of work. View our Patents here

Filing over 10+ Trademarks

To protect our trademark We also filed 10+ trademarks in the months leading up to filming for shark tank. View our trademarks here

No space to spare

We began to just expand everywhere on the 7 acre of property David owned. It was an exciting and terrifying time. COVID was just hitting. We didn't know whether to speed up or slow down.

Shipping your orders during the holdiays

The team working hard packing your orders through the holidays.

20+ Containers on property

There were 20+, 40' shipping containers stealthy hidden in Davids Backyard to store product. We were growing faster than we could imagine.

COLDEST begins to spread

From 2018-2021 were beyond some of the hardest years for COLDEST. From space constraints, to product recalls, to financial hurdles. Despite the hardship, we experienced some of the best parts of the journey. Visit the main story here.

Traveling to Hollywood

The day before we were suppose to film, our flight got cancelled. We luckily booked another flight same day, otherwise would have missed the entire film date.

Airplane = Gametime

During the flight, David and I continued to strategize what could happen in the tank, from knowing our numbers, to potential counter offers.

We Arrived in LA!

I had never been in LA. So I snapped this quick picture while waiting for the shark tank bus.

Film Day - Morning

It was the morning of, around 6am in the hotel lobby. David and I had just grabbed coffees. We felt ready. It felt like the calm before the storm.

Behind the Scenes

This footage was actually taken from Shark Tanks Instagram story the day of. When we saw it, we looked at each other and were like..."dang, this is actually happening, isn't it". We were notified our film time was at 1pm. (we weren't allowed phones on set but I thought this was a cool clip).

The 3-hour Work Out

Dave and I didn't know what to do the morning of, and we woke up so early before the pitch which was at 1pm. So we burned time by working out. For probably 3+ hours! Joe on the treadmill cooling his nerves the morning of the film date in the hotel gym. We were so nervous! It cleared out minds and made us feel good. He forgot his workout clothes lol.

Steaks after the Pitch

Deal or no deal, we were relieved the pressure was over. Win or lose, we would end up here, sitting in front of two giant steaks. We got this far, it was time to celebrate. The journey was epic. This is Dave, around 5pm, back at the hotel restauraunt. We were so wiped we didn't want to drive anywhere. This is just moments after filming on shark tank.

The Story is just Begining

The magic of COLDEST is just begining...

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2023 HQ V.3 at Max Capacity

We have maxed our our current warehouse and looking to expand.