Alumna Courtney Turich and her business partner, Christie Barany, will pitch the Monkey Mat on Friday’s episode of “Shark Tank.”
Monkey Mat
A washable blanket that can fold up into a compact square
The purpose of the blanket is to provide a clean surface while at places like airports, soccer games and festivals.
It can be purchased for $29.99 at monkeymat.com
WHEN TO WATCH
“Shark Tank”
8 p.m. Friday on ABC
A Ball State alumna will appear on Friday’s episode of “Shark Tank” to pitch her product to the millionaire and billionaire “sharks.”
Courtney Turich, a 2000 Ball State graduate, and Christie Barany, her business partner, will try to sell the idea of their Monkey Mat to the self-made, multi-millionaires and billionaires on the ABC reality TV show to gain the tycoons as sponsors.
The sharks will grill the two about their product, which is a compact blanket used as a portable sitting surface at places like airports, soccer games and outdoor activities. The Monkey Mat earned Turich and Barany the Women Inventor Award in March 2013 from the Women Inventorz Network.
Turich said everyone who goes on the show hopes to gain exposure, first and foremost, and to learn from top entrepreneurs.
“Not to mention the connections they can make for you,” she said. “It’s just an unbelievable experience, whether you get a deal or not get a deal.”
Turich and Barany taped the episode in July 2013 and have known the results since then, but Turich said they have been under a contract that does not allow them to talk about the results.
She said going on the show was intimidating.
“On the show, you only see probably 10-15 minutes of a clip, but most entrepreneurs are in front of the sharks pitching for at least an hour or two,” Turich said.
She said on set, it was quiet and intense until the pitching started. She said the tycoons talk over each other, attacking them with questions.
“They really want you to … talk the whole time you’re presenting and answering questions,” Turich said. “And while you’re answering questions, sharks are pegging you from every direction.”
She said people who want to start their own business need to know the numbers inside out.
“A lot of entrepreneurs go on there and they don’t understand the numbers behind their business,” Turich said. “No one’s going to invest in your business if you don’t know your financial numbers.”
She said it was important to have a great story and an appealing product with conviction.
“They have to see that you really believe in it,” Turich said. “They want to see that they’re buying into people who are talented as well and they want to make sure they believe in the people they’re working with.”
She said part of her success came from her time at Ball State where she learned how to be social and how to work with different types of personalities.
Mike Beer, interim center coordinator at the Ball State Entrepreneurship Center, said they prepare students to start their own business by giving them practice. He said “Shark Tank” is a good representation of how a student might be asked about their product.
“Our students go through dozens of presentations,” he said. “… And we give them feedback on how to make it better, how to present something better, how to make a point better, how to build their argument better.”
To graduate with an entrepreneurial management degree at Ball State, students have to go through E-Day.
Beer said for E-Day, students go to downtown Indianapolis and pitch their business plan to a panel of successful professionals who have no relation to Ball State.
“If they get the thumbs up, they get to graduate two weeks later,” he said. “If they get the thumbs down, they fail the class because it’s A or F — pass or fail — and they do not get to graduate with the major. So our students literally put their graduation on the line.”
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