The Grypmat doesn't just grip tools it grips the smooth contours of an aircraft and will resist any chemical in contact with the rubber surface. Tom Burden on ABC's 'Shark Tank.' (Photo courtesy of ABC) First, he raised $700,000 on Kickstarter (in just 10 hours) and then $360,000 from Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner and Richard Branson on "Shark Tank" - in exchange for a 30% stake in the venture, of course. From there, he raised more capital to produce more mats.
He did everything he could to sell his product but only sold 101 from his trade-show booth.įinally, an automotive distributor heard about the product and bought his entire stock. In 2016, he went to the EAA AirVenture trade show with a car full of Grypmats to drum up interest and spread the word. And like many entrepreneurs, he mortgaged his home and went into debt to get the idea off the ground. Burden took three years to engineer the Grypmat. Engineers tend to fiddle with things until they find the perfect solution. It was even one of Time Magazine's Best Inventions of the Year in 2018, and Burden was included on Forbes' 30 Under 30 list of the world's top young entrepreneurs. The Ohio native now has $4 million in projected revenues and a plan to take the mat into retail stores. So the airman created an orange mat, which not only gripped the wing but allowed tools to grip to the mat.Īs it turned out, Burden wasn't the only one who needed that solution. But the engineer in Burden couldn't live with that frustration.Īfter a couple of failed ideas, including a magnetic vest and tools on strings, he remembered the mat on the dashboard of his mother's car. His fellow airmen told him it was just part of the job, something he'd have to get used to.
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