One Entrepreneur's Rocky Road to Success After 'Shark Tank' One of Shark Tank's first entrepreneurs, Tiffany Krumins, talks about dealing with cancer, giving up half of her equity, and the challenges of getting her product made in the U.S.

By Carol Tice Edited by Dan Bova

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

One Entrepreneurs Rocky Road to Success After Shark Tank
image credit: Go Girl Finance

Tiffany Krumins was a contestant on the very first episode of ABC's reality series Shark Tank. At the time, her idea for a fun kids' medicine dispenser, AVA The Elephant, was little more than a thought in her head. She had no sales. She didn't even have a finished product.

"I went in there with five clay elephant prototypes," she says.

She managed to stand up to the Sharks' fierce scrutiny and scored a $50,000 investment and a mentor in real-estate mogul Barbara Corcoran, who took a hefty 55 percent equity stake. With Corcoran's help, AVA was soon on the shelves at CVS, and more big retailers followed.

Three years later, her company, Elephant Lady LLC, has seen $1 million in sales over the past 18 months. AVA is on the shelves at more than 20 major retail chains and through Amazon and other online retailers.

Related: From Zero to 'Shark Tank' Hero in 3 Months Flat

But the road to getting there wasn't exactly smooth. Krumins recently spoke with Entrepreneur about the challenges she faced in building her business -- and what entrepreneurs should know about taking on an investor:

Q: What happened right after the show?
A: I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and was faced with dealing with that while I built the business. I had surgery and radiation, and it all happened in the thick of it, while I was trying to find a manufacturer and get into retailers. Now, I've been cancer-free for a year.

Q: Your goal was to have the product made in the U.S. What obstacles did you run into?
A: So often you can't find partners in the U.S. willing to work with you. People think you can open up a factory for one product, but that's not going to happen. Right now I've called 100 packaging companies over the past month, and if your package isn't a certain size and you don't want 500,000 packages right now, they don't want to do it. So it was made in China originally to get it off the ground, but now that we're in more stores, we're going to be making the next run in Illinois.

Q: Any advice for future Shark Tank contestants?
A: The Sharks like inventions, something that's not just a spin on something else. Mine was an actual invention.

Related: 7 Lessons Every Young Entrepreneur Can Learn From 'Shark Tank'

Q: What's next for Elephant Lady?
A: We will be introducing our second product shortly. I'm not ready to reveal the details yet, but it is in a similar vein, a medical product for children. It'll open doors for us, having a brand versus a one-off product. Target wants you to have least two items before they'll consider carrying your products.

Q: Looking back now on the equity you gave up, do you have any regrets?
A: Not really. A lot of people don't like the idea of giving up that much ownership. But I didn't have a lot to lose. I could walk out with nothing or give her 55 percent. She ended up investing more than $200,000 in it in the long run, on a product that she didn't know if it would sell. It was her first consumer product, too. We went home and learned the industry together for nine months.

Related: Angels, Equity and a Shark of One's Own

Should entrepreneurs give up more than half equity to investors? Leave a comment and give us your view.

Carol Tice

Owner of Make a Living Writing

Longtime Seattle business writer Carol Tice has written for Entrepreneur, Forbes, Delta Sky and many more. She writes the award-winning Make a Living Writing blog. Her new ebook for Oberlo is Crowdfunding for Entrepreneurs.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Career

What Is 'Task Masking'? Young Workers Retaliate Against Return-to-Office Mandates With a Viral Strategy.

Many professionals value the flexibility of remote work — and they're not reacting well to forced in-office returns.

Business News

Cameo Is Giving Its Corporate Headquarters Employees a $10,000 Raise — to Come Into the Office More Often

Other new RTO perks include free parking, a daily catered lunch, and access to an onsite gym.

Business Ideas

70 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2025

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2025.

Social Media

How To Start a Youtube Channel: Step-by-Step Guide

YouTube can be a valuable way to grow your audience. If you're ready to create content, read more about starting a business YouTube Channel.

Business News

No Meetings, Up to $30 Per Hour, Fully Remote: A College Student Training AI Says the Work Is 'Perfect' for Introverts

He works 30 hours a week without a direct boss, daily meetings, or contact with coworkers.

Side Hustle

This 31-Year-Old Spends 2 Hours Per Week On His $3,000-a-Month Passive Income Side Hustle: 'Trust Your Vision'

Hansel Moore's home office "wasn't cutting it" — so he found another place to be creative.