Shark Tank Season 1 Winner, Tiffany Krumins on "Life After Shark Tank"

You can listen to this episode on all podcast channels, or watch the interview here on YouTube. Before I introduce our next guest, I wanted to send out a message to everyone listening today, as we are recording this, it’s Monday March 30th, 2020, and there is a lot of turmoil in the world. We just can’t ignore it and jump into our episode without acknowledging where things are with the impact of the Corona virus on our everyday life. Wherever you are, we hope you and your families are safe, have the food and supplies that you need, and are managing through these difficult times. More than ever, we need strategies for our mental health, and well-being. Together we are stronger, and just want to remind you to stay connected as we all figure out our new normal.

Now let’s jump into this next episode, which just happens to be EPISODE 50 with Shark Tank Season 1 Success Story (that aired back in 2009)[i] Tiffany Krumins, who was awarded $50,000 to fund her invention Ava the Elephant, a medicine dispenser that was inspired by a sweet-natured boy with Down syndrome who struggled to take his medication. As his nanny, Tiffany tried her best to sooth his anxiety. Using her creativity to invent a plastic medicine dropper, and by imbedding a recordable sound chip from a greeting card, Ava the Elephant was born, and is now one of Shark Tank's most well-known and beloved successes. Tiffany’s story immediately grabbed our hearts because as a former nanny here in Arizona, I related to Tiffany’s entrepreneurial path. We used this product with BOTH our girls in our home, improving our experience of giving the girls their medicine when they were sick, which is never an easy task, so thank you for seeing this invention through.

Tiffany's infectious spirit has attracted the attention of media heavy hitters, such as Dr. Oz, Fox Business, Entrepreneur, Forbes, and most recently the Today Show. Tiffany cruised from nanny to inventor to entrepreneur on a wave of creativity, business strategies, and ideas that tugged at her giving heart. A respected inventor, iHeartRadio host,[ii] motivational speaker, successful entrepreneur, and mother of three, Tiffany now leads the Mom Genius[iii] team of passionate entrepreneurs by her daily intention that business success and personal fulfillment are not mutually exclusive.

Tiffany, it’s awesome to speak with you after all of these years of following and supporting each other’s work. For those watching, some history for you, Tiffany filmed a video[iv] for our early character ed program with her success story to inspire young entrepreneurs) and she has been supporting and cheering on our programs for the school market, which is exciting now, Tiffany, that you have created your own course for inventors that can be used by anyone, including schools.

Welcome Tiffany and thanks so much for doing this on a day that most of us are working AND home schooling our children.

Tiffany, it’s been a whirlwind since we first spoke over 10 years ago. Can you give a quick snapshot of what’s happened in your life since your appearance on Shark Tank in 2009? I know a lot has happened to you both personally and professionally

Can you tell us about your online course[v] (who it is for, and what it covers)?

How has your vision changed since you first launched Ava the Elephant and how have you navigated through this change? How do you stay on track?

I know over here, I’ve made many mistakes with product creation and marketing. What were some of your most memorable mistakes?

Were there times you felt like giving up and if so, how did you get past that to where you are now?

I did see an article that you wrote about “facing your fears of public speaking.” Is this still what you would say sticks out as your biggest learning experience? What have you learned most about yourself[vi] the past 11 years since your appearance on Shark Tank?

How have you managed being a mompreneur, raising 3 children and handling everything that goes along with a business?

What’s your current focus and vision for where you are going in the next few years?

Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day, especially during such unusual times in the world. We look forward to following and supporting your success and spreading the word of your online courses and anything new you might think up. What’s the best way for people to learn more about you?

[i] Tiffany Krumins Season 1 “Shark Tank” https://www.sharktankblog.com/business/ava-the-elephant/

[ii] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/product-genius-with-tiffany-krumins-shark-tank-winner/id1406649018

[iii] https://www.momgenius.com/tiffany-krumins

[iv] Advice from Tiffany Krumins for Achieveit360 Students https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id38wvYbzzA&list=PLb5Z3cA_mnKiiOxLqeDi_Jd2eG15S-ALF&index=19&t=0s

[v] https://www.tiffanykrumins.com/products/new-online-course-purchase

[vi] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/face-your-fears-them-often-until-longer-tiffany-krumins/?articleId=6475550041732902912#comments-6475550041732902912&trk=public_profile_article_view