How Much Has Shark Tank's Lori Greiner Made From Scrub Daddy?
Season 4 of "Shark Tank" would see the introduction of one of the hit show's biggest brands with Scrub Daddy. Created by entrepreneur Aaron Krause, the seemingly simple smiley-faced sponge blew the show's panel of celebrity investors away with its exceptional cleaning abilities, cutting through tough grease using only water. A frenzy broke out among the sharks for a piece of the pie, ending with famed investor and QVC queen Lori Greiner putting in $200,000 for a 20% equity stake.
As it turns out, the innovative cleaning product made shiny profits as easily as it did shiny surfaces. Within 18 months of airing, the business brought in $18 million. To put that in perspective, the company did $100,000 in sales in the same amount of time before appearing on the show. Over the years, the product has ranked high on lists of the most successful "Shark Tank" products.
On a "Shark Tank" Season 14 update segment, viewers got to see just how big things had gotten for the company. Since first appearing on the show a decade prior, Scrub Daddy brought in $670 million in sales with 160 products available in 257,000 retailers. Later estimates have even placed Scrub Daddy's lifetime sales to be at $926 million. To say Greiner's investment has paid off would be an understatement. If her equity stake is still at 20%, with the business having an estimated net worth of $250 to $300 million, Greiner has now made between $50 and $60 million on Scrub Daddy.
Greiner looks for four things when judging a business
Even if she didn't predict that Scrub Daddy would become one of the most successful products on "Shark Tank," it's safe to assume that Lori Greiner knew she had a winner on her hands. Since joining "Shark Tank" in Season 3, Lori Greiner has been renowned for knowing right away if a business is a "hero" or a "zero." And given her background as an avid inventor with over 100 patents under her belt, it's hard to doubt her expertise.
Picking what will make a worthwhile investment isn't especially complex for Greiner. In an interview with "The Ellen Show," Greiner shared the select qualities she seeks when judging a company's merits. "I have a gut feeling if it's gonna sell really fast, but then I have four things I look for," she commented. "I look for, is it something people need and want? Is it something that could be made at an affordable price? Does it have a broad, mass audience? ... the broader the better. And does it solve a problem? If it does those four things, and the gut goes off, then I watch the person 'cause if it's not a good partner, I'm not gonna do it."
That gut feeling has served Greiner well – in 2020, it was revealed that her many successful "Shark Tank" ventures, such as Scrub Daddy, Squatty Potty, Bantam Bagels, and Simply Fit Board, had brought in a total of $1 billion in retail sales. Even if she's not the richest shark, Greiner, with an estimated net worth of $150 million, has skills in making a business soar that are second to none.