How did I go from being a firefighter to having a Shark Tank business?

@chillnreel

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Selling · Ecom Product

Chill-N-Reelseen in 15 videos →https://chillnreel.com/ ↗

Why it worked

The video leverages the 'Shark Tank' success story arc, which provides instant social proof and credibility, combined with a relatable 'from zero to hero' entrepreneurial narrative.

Summary

The creator tells the origin story of his product, the Chill-N-Reel, from a vacation idea to a successful Shark Tank appearance. He highlights the challenges of manufacturing and scaling the business to over $1 million in sales.

Structure

1The origin story of the fishing coozy idea
2Overcoming manufacturing rejection
3Family assembly and guerilla marketing
4Scaling the business and Shark Tank success
5Current status and product value proposition

Product placement

The Chill-N-Reel is the central subject of the video, shown in various stages of development, marketing, and use.

Call to action

Original caption

It's been a while since I told this full story of how I went from being a firefighter to owning a Shark Tank business. What a roller coaster ride it's been! Hope it can inspire some of you to get out there and follow your dreams. #sharktank #entrepreneurship #fishing #startup #giftsforhim

More from @chillnreel

Their other posts in the index, biggest breakout first.

The URL chillnreel.com is displayed on screen at the end.

On-screen text

HOW DID I GO FROM BEING A FIREFIGHTER TO HAVING A SHARK TANK BUSINESS? WELL I WAS ON VACATION STANDING IN WAIST HIGH WATER HOLDING MY BEER I SAW FISH SWIMMING AROUND BUT I COULDN'T BRING A ROD OUT 'CAUSE THERE WAS TOO MANY PEOPLE SO I TIED SOME LINE ONTO MY COOZY AND I STARTED THINKING THERE'S GOTTA BE A BETTER WAY SO I SOUGHT OUT A FRIEND OF MINE WITH A 3D PRINTER AND TURNED MY FISHING COOZY IDEA INTO THE CHILL-N-REEL I TOOK MY PROTOTYPE DOWN TO FLORIDA JUST TO SEE WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT EVERYBODY WANTED TO BUY MY PROTOTYPE I HAD ONE BIG PROBLEM I GOT REJECTED BY EVERY INJECTION MOLD PLASTIC COMPANY UNTIL A FIREFIGHTER BUDDY OF MINE INTRODUCED ME TO HIS UNCLE AND HE LOVED IT HE ALSO HAD AN INJECTION MOLD PLASTIC COMPANY ME AND MY FAMILY SAT IN THE LIVING ROOM PUTTING CHILL-N-REELS TOGETHER FOR THREE WEEKS BEFORE WE WENT ON VACATION AGAIN AND THEN WENT OUT AND STARTED GUERILLA MARKETING SELLING THEM OUT OF OUR BACKPACKS ON THE BEACH NOT LONG AFTER THAT MY SON AND I STARTED GOING TO SHOWS AND FESTIVALS HE BECAME A SELLING MACHINE CATCH A FISH AND A BUZZ AT THE SAME TIME THEN IN 2020 C***D SHUT EVERYTHING DOWN HOWEVER WE GOT SOME LOCAL PRESS ONLY ON 6 THE CHILL-N-REEL BUT OUR LITTLE WEBSITE CRASHED OH MY GOSH I REALIZED WE NEEDED TO DO BETTER SELLING ONLINE SO I GOT MY BROTHER-IN-LAW INVOLVED I'LL TELL YOU THE LAST 12 MONTHS WE'VE DONE $1.34 MILLION IN SALES MY CRAZY INVENTION ALONG WITH GOOD SALES GOT THE ATTENTION OF SHARK TANK WE MADE IT ALL THE WAY ONTO THE SHOW AND HAD A GOOD TIME FISHING FOR SHARKS AFTER IT AIRED WE SENT OUT STACKS OF ORDERS AND TODAY WE CONTINUE TO SHIP ORDERS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO HAPPY ANGLERS THAT WANT TO REEL 'EM IN COLD REEL 'EM IN COLD CHILLNREEL.COM

Transcript

How did I go from being a firefighter to having a Shark Tank business? Well, I was on vacation standing in waist high water holding my beer. I saw fish swimming around, but I couldn't bring a rod out 'cause there was too many people. So I tied some line onto my coozy and I started thinking, there's gotta be a better way. So I sought out a friend of mine with a 3D printer and turned my fishing coozy idea into the Chill-N-Reel. I took my prototype down to Florida just to see what people thought. Everybody wanted to buy my prototype. I had one big problem. I got rejected by every injection mold plastic company until a firefighter buddy of mine introduced me to his uncle and he loved it. He also had an injection mold plastic company. Me and my family sat in the living room putting Chill-N-Reels together for three weeks before we went on vacation again and then went out and started guerilla marketing selling them out of our backpacks on the beach. Not long after that, my son and I started going to shows and festivals. He became a selling machine. Then in 2020, shut everything down. However, we got some local press but our little website crashed. I realized we needed to do better selling online so I got my brother-in-law involved. I'll tell you the last 12 months we've done $1.34 million in sales. My crazy invention along with good sales got the attention of Shark Tank. We made it all the way onto the show and had a good time fishing for sharks. After it aired, we sent out stacks of orders and today we continue to ship orders all across the country to happy anglers that want to reel 'em in cold.