Could it get any more crazy and exciting? Four days after our ‘Shark Tank’ episode airing, we headed to NYC to be on a special episode of ‘The View’ with our new partner Kevin O’Leary and the rest of the Sharks. Unfortunately, Mark Cuban couldn’t make it at the last minute because of a health issue which Whoopi Goldberg discussed at the top of the show. We wish him well! Brian was especially sad to miss him as they are both Pittsburghers/Hoosiers.
I got the call about being on ‘The View’ only a few days after getting our ‘Shark Tank’ air date. It was like the cherry on top and I was jumping with excitement as I love the show! But then reality set in about how much work we would need to do to prepare for that appearance on top of the prep for the Shark Tank airing and our Watch Party (see my blog post from 2 weeks before airing). It was also ANOTHER secret that I (and my KIDS!) had to keep until AFTER our ‘Shark Tank’ episode aired…..
We were required to come up with a set design for our “product” for ‘The View’. Of course, CertifiKID is not a product, so we brainstormed ideas about how to present our business visually. We ended up ordering six canvases from Canvas On Demand of kids doing different activities and a big one of our logo. We also had to give a gift to the audience members, which we were happy to do, and decided on $25 gift certificates to buy anything offered on our site. On top of all of that, we also had to pull together a video b-roll and come up with a script for our 2-3 minute segment with Mr. Wonderful. And, of course, plan our trip up to New York City. Lots to do in the midst of all the other craziness.
Brian, our marketing director, Kim, and I took a train up to NYC on Wednesday. We got there in time to have a delish Italian dinner with our close friends, Stephanie and Matt (a good chance to de-stress), followed by my favorite, Baked By Melissa cupcakes for dessert. We then spent the rest of the evening prepping and rehearsing our script before passing out. We woke up super early the next day and made our way to ABC Studios.
When we walked into the green room, I instantly recognized the other ‘Shark Tank’ entrepreneurs from either filming with them back in September or seeing them on the show. It was super fun to connect with them and catch up on life after ‘Shark Tank’ (remember the inspirational Cup Board Pro family, the super fun Shower Toga couple, the cool Ski-Z guys, and the awesome Moki Door Step couple). Brian was able to do a bit more chitchatting than me, as I was starting to freak out and rehearsed my talking points over and over as this was LIVE so no second chance editing to make me look good. I got my makeup and hair done and they looked great.
We then headed into rehearsal. It was amazing how small and intimate the studio felt to me. I was able to see our set and it looked fabulous. We ran through the Q&A a couple of times with the producers and I stumbled a bit, so knew I needed to spend the next hour hard core practicing!
An hour later we were told it was time to head backstage. I immediately spotted Kevin, Daymond, Barbara, and ‘The View’ hosts Meghan, Abby and the amazing Whoopi. I was excited to be up and cozy with them all but was beyond nervous, so no time yet for pics and mingling.
We got called to our spots and everything happened super fast. We pretty much got out what we wanted to say, thought the turnaround to show the “Feelin’ Wonderful” on the back of our sweatshirts was a good note to end on, and felt so much relief when it was over. Kevin also was fantastic in our segment hitting such great points. We then got to talk to Kevin and a bit to all the other Sharks and take pictures. Whoopi was super nice and offered to do a picture with us right before she left:
We then headed to Brooklyn Diner for a quick lunch of a pastrami reuben and matzah ball soup and to watch the site traffic from the west coast viewing. We were BLOWN away by how much activity we received and were told our East Coast traffic was the highest it has ever been during the live airing of our short segment.
We are headed home now on the train and honestly feeling a HUGE sense of relief as I feel like I can finally take a breath from the past month. It was one month ago 10 minutes before Lila’s birthday party when we got the call we would air on ‘Shark Tank’. Since that day, I have barely slept and still have no idea how I have functioned and made it through this whirlwind. My bed is calling my name tonight!!
Here the video in case you missed the show:
