By Amanda Valentovic Staff Writer
Viewers who tuned into March 13th’s episode of the ABC show “Shark Tank” saw three entrepreneurs introduce their product AquaVault, a waterproof safe that can be attached to lounge and beach chairs to keep valuables secure.
The inventors of the safe are Avin Samtani, Rob Peck and Jonathan Kinas, all 2005 Hofstra graduates. They were inspired to create a product that would keep cell phones and wallets in, and water and thieves out when their friends and business partner’s valuables were stolen from their chairs at a pool in a Miami hotel.
“We live in a day and age where people like to have their belongings near them,” said Samtani. AquaVault users are able to set their own code to open it and can then attach it to almost anything – a lounge chair, a bicycle, even a baby stroller. It eliminates the problem of having to leave someone behind to watch personal belongings while everyone else can enjoy time spent by the water.
Samtani, Peck and Kinas all have different career backgrounds, so when they came up with the idea for the AquaVault they taught themselves design software and how to make their own prototypes. To grow the business, the three decided to move to Miami. “It has a lot of property, and we thought it would be a great place to start,” Kinas said. “South Beach has a global market, and is in the top three in terms of global market.”
They were successful in Florida where they sold AquaVaults to hotels and water parks in the area. “Since, the move we’ve been lucky to sell enough units to partner up with companies, so it’s paid off a lot,” said Peck.
To get to that point, the business partners advertised as much as they could. “We initially started with endless searches online with different editors to get as much free press as possible, and we were really crazy with sending emails and phone calls,” said Samtani.
They also simply walked into hotels everywhere from Miami to the Jersey shore to Long Beach and asked if they would be interested in buying AquaVaults to rent out to guests. “People appreciate our tenacity,” said Kinas. “We’ve seen a lot of positive feedback going that route.”
Trade shows were also a big help to Samtani, Peck and Kinas as they started to grow their business. Trade shows let businesses in a specific industry show products off and discover what new products are available.
“The first one we went to was a start-up, inventor type,” Samtani said. “We wanted to see what kind of market there was for it before we went full force with it. And then we got a really good response, so we went to other ones.”
As the company grew, the three decided to try to get on “Shark Tank.” The show allows contestants to make presentations in front of a panel of investors that will potentially help them to grow their product.
“When we initially thought of going on we were undecided, because we knew the odds were stacked against us,” Kinas said. “But then we said we really had nothing to lose.” They advanced through the multiple stages of the show’s process, and then found out they were going to be on the show.
“It was a daunting experience,” said Kinas. “It was a big emotional roller coaster, because we didn’t know what would come out of it. It was a fun ride.” The three managed to convince businessman and “shark” Daymond John to invest $75,000 for a 25 percent stake in the company.
Since the exposure from being on the show, the interest and business for AquaVault has grown. “We’re receiving inquiries from all over the world from that show that we probably wouldn’t have if it did not air,” Samtani said.
In the week since they were on “Shark Tank,” the company expanded outside its’ headquarters in Florida and the United States. “I couldn’t think of a better place to get more exposure in a short amount of time,” said Peck. “It’s been a lot of work in the last week following through with everybody, but it’s been a major turning point.”
As for the future, Samtani, Peck and Kinas want AquaVault to become a basic part of hotels and water parks all over the country. “We hope it’s just a standard at every hotel,” said Samtani. “You go down to the pool, and you request an AquaVault. We’re definitely really excited for where this can take us.”
“We started off as novices, but we persevered and worked for ourselves,” Peck said. “It’s been a ride, so hopefully we’ll be able to give back someday.”