Farming is hard work, and most farmers try to focus on getting that work done.
They don’t look for ways to make things easier on themselves, they just do what they have to do to raise their animals and crops and make a living for their families. One farmer decided that he was going to help himself and other farmers. He came up with a creative invention that could help farmers save millions of gallons of water.
He was able to secure a small market in his home state of Florida, but he wanted to be able to help more people and save more water. He decided to take his product to the “Shark Tank” in hope of finding a partner to help him make his business grow.
Of course, going on the show is hard on its own.
The panel can be pretty harsh and straight to the point. If someone doesn’t have their proposal ready, they will get eaten alive and likely not get their help. Johnny Georges was nervous but prepared for his appearance, and like many before him, he hoped he could get the support he needed to start a successful business.
Johnny is a farmer in Florida. He grew up on a farm and helped his father with their trees and crops. It is all he has ever known, and he is very proud of it. Johnny knows many other farmers and realized that they were using a lot of water for their trees. Since Florida produces a lot of oranges, there are naturally a lot of orange groves.
He created the Tree T-PEE that sits at the bottom of the tree and helps keep moisture in. This prevents the water from spraying all over the place when the trees are watered. That means farmers can use less water and save money.
His invention also works well in the winter.
It keeps the tree hydrated and protects the roots. It sounds like a winning product, but the panel wasn’t convinced. Although Johnny has done well in Florida, they told him he isn’t charging enough for the product or marketing it to enough people. They want him to charge more so he can make more.
Johnny doesn’t like the sound of this. As a farmer himself, he knows that many of them can’t afford to pay any more for the teepees than what he already charges. He wants to keep his prices low because his main goal is to help farmers. If he can make a small profit from the product, he is happy. He doesn’t want to get rich from it
He explained that his dad came up with a similar idea for his own farm and that he simply built on that idea to make it bigger and better.
It seemed like the panel just couldn’t relate to Johnny or his career as a farmer and were having a hard time understanding how useful his product could be.
After Johnny took a verbal beatdown, he defended his product and shared a personal story about how he is helping farmers in his area. The panel still wasn’t convinced that this product is something that will take off and make money.
Finally, one of the judges, John Paul DeJoria, was moved by Johnny’s stories and passion. He was also impressed by his willingness to give and help others. He told Johnny he will partner with him and give him everything he is asking for. He believes in Johnny and loves that he has a giving heart. Johnny got to mass produce his product after all.
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