For the past 10 months, I have been carrying around an enormous secret (no, I am not pregnant!). My husband, Brian, and I auditioned for Shark Tank last May and went out to LA to tape in September. We were not allowed to tell anyone about any aspect of the process, nor could my parents or my kids, who all also appear on the episode. If you want to read a bit more about the whole process, check out the post I wrote for the CertifiKID website here, as well as the adorable post from my kids and my mom! This was a true family affair!
Finally, this past Friday afternoon, as I was about to have 12 giggling, 10-year-old girls at my house for a sleepover scavenger hunt birthday party for my daughter, I got official word that our taping will air on ABC on April 7, 2019. I am a pretty mellow person, but when I got this email that I had been anticipating for weeks, I screamed so loud that my daughter and her friend came running into my office thinking I was hurt! It was just so much emotion built up inside me that all came spilling out. Keep in mind that, until that moment, I had no idea when we left LA in September when, or even if, our episode would appear on TV. I have spent these past six months in one sense trying to forget it even happened in case our episode never aired, and on the other hand, doing everything in my power to make sure I took full advantage of the opportunity if it did.
So, now that it has, we have three weeks to get an incredible amount of stuff done! I am so lucky that I have an AMAZING team around me. My Marketing Director (Kim), CTO (Bien), VP of Sales/Advertising (Leslie), COO (Amie) and I have literally been up for the past 24 hours putting together checklists, crossing items off, and then putting together more checklists. We have to make sure our site is ready for the increase in traffic; ensure we have the best possible deals lined up nationwide so our current and new subscribers love what they see when they come to our site; plan a huge watch party for our team, family, friends and business partners; deal with press and so much more — and this is all on top of running business as usual AND taking my kids to soccer practice, mitzvahs, and all of the other daily commitments that come with raising two kids! But to be honest, I absolutely love the pressure and challenge of it all and feel totally alive! I will try to keep you all posted over these coming weeks about how our family handles it all. I’m so grateful for everyone’s support!
During the past 24 hours, I have felt a sense of excitement, anxiety, sleeplessness, fatigue, crankiness, happiness, worry, and nervousness. How will Brian and I appear on the show and did we represent ourselves and CertifiKID well? I am thrilled for this opportunity, but also anxious for all that could or could not unfold from this journey. I have built this up for months and months in my head. I am assuming people are going to go bonkers when they find out and we are going to have so many new families sign up and be thrilled to learn about CertifiKID. But maybe my hopes are not grounded in reality. Will all this time, mental exhaustion, focus, and effort really make a huge difference to our business?
I have reassured myself that, just like CertifiKID’s focus is all about the family experience, in the end, that is what is most important about our Shark Tank journey — it has been the most incredible experience for our family. No matter how things play out, the memories I’ve made with Brian, my kids, my parents, and our incredible team will always be ones I cherish.
