Interview with David Glickman of Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company who pitched on Shark Tank

David Glickman of Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company appeared on Shark Tank to pitch his business.  The episode he appeared in originally aired May 2013.  Here is the  recap of David Glickman’s original appearance.  In short, David Glickman of Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company did not strike a deal with the sharks on the show.  As it turned out for David Glickman, he seems to be better off maintaining full control Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company.

On to the Q&A.  This is summarized from a conversation with David Glickman.

JE: How long do you estimate you spent on the set of Shark Tank pitching Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company to the Sharks?

David Glickman: Approximately an hour and a half.  At least an hour and 20 minutes.

JE: Obviously the Shark Tank segments that air are typically 6 to 8 minutes.  Do you feel that there are some important points that did not make the final edit of your segment?

David Glickman: Here are a couple of things.  I had five separate back and forths with Kevin O’Leary that ended with Kevin acknowledging my position and stance.  Mark Cuban cheered me on each time.  Only one of those exchanges with Kevin O’Leary made the final edit.  So the audience missed out on four other back and forth exchanges.  Also, Lori Greiner raised questions regarding anti microbial safety issues.  The discussion was lengthy and involved.  I quoted Cooks Illustrated, a well read publication, regarding the anti microbial issue for cutting boards and blocks.  Lori Greiner did not have any answers to what I quoted.  The answer that aired was not the entire discussion regarding the anti microbial questions, I had pointed answers that she had no reply to.  The audience could have benefitted from hearing more of that discussion.  Overall, I am pleased with the edit, it was fair to me and my company.

JE: How well prepared were you for the initial airing of the episode in terms of the website being ready for the spike in traffic?

David Glickman: We went from averaging 400 daily hits on the Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company website to 87,000 hits when the episode aired.  I consulted with my hosting company in advance to prepare for the spike in traffic, which worked out.   A challenge that popped up was with the merchant services company that I had been using.  We had to switch service providers two weeks before the episode aired.  We switched to Shopify, which has worked out.  Daymond John is a spokesperson for Shopify by the way.

JE: How has appearing on Shark Tank helped you?

David Glickman: It helped to turn us into a national company from a local company.  We also found an investment that was to our liking and is allowing us to expand production, which has been my goal for two years.  It has also increased our credibility with vendors, customers and investors.

JE: Other entrepreneurs, such as Steven Sashen of Xero Shoes, have mentioned that after they appeared on the show, they have gotten a significant amount of calls from investors looking to invest.  Did you have a similar experience?

David Glickman: Yes, for sure.  We were flooded with calls.  Only very few of them were worthwhile calls, but I did find an appropriate investor from the calls.

JE: How about the Tie Dye Suit?

David Glickman: I normally wear a tie dye t shirt and khaki shorts, so as I spoke to casting, we came up with the idea to expand that into a full blown tie dye Suit.  Having personality and a unique draw is important to casting.

JE: Any key takeaways for you from your experience with Shark Tank?

David Glickman: Yes, all five sharks said that I was on the right track and that I did not need their investment.  Their validation of what the company had become to that point and where the company is headed was a great for my confidence with the business..

Curious about what you can do to increase the value of your business, read and/or watch the video in this post for what we have come across in marketing businesses for sale.

Want to read recaps of previous Shark Tank episodes? Click here to see the entire collection episode recaps, all of them with business lessons you can take away from each pitch.

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