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In their first two years of business, the founders of Nardo's Natural bootstrapped their business to $30,000 in sales. Even though the four brothers had to figure out how to make this money last to fund all of the operations of their business, they were confident that there was a massive opportunity in their coconut oil skin care line. Their customers loved their products, and they had to make it work.
In this episode Danny Mastronardo, one of the brothers and owners, tells us exactly how the team got their first distribution deal at a 5 Diamond Rated Resort Hotel, and how they quickly became the highest selling product in the whole resort. The team was able to use their family focused brand to close their initial deal, and started building relationships with more and more hotels in the area. Two years later, one of the brothers came across a then new show called Shark Tank and they decided to send an email to the producers on a whim.
Danny tells the hilarious story of how the brothers broke all the rules to get selected to pitch on the show, and why they were ultimately successful in closing a deal with Barbara Corcoran. The advisor and mentor relationship with Barbara continues to this day, and has helped them land multiple appearances on Good Morning America, ultimately growing their brand to millions of dollars. Today, the brothers have diversified their revenue streams to include private label and contract manufacturing, launching over 250 brands in the last year alone.
8:35 I'm a firm believe in luck, in that the harder I work the luckier I get. -Thomas Jefferson
9:28 8 months later we became the number one selling product in the hotel.
14:05 Danny: I always think about what Mark Cuban says which is that there are so many businesses that can succeed in this world and unfortunately, so many give up too soon.
20:58 To get on Shark Tank the first step was to submit an email. So we emailed them a picture of all of us wearing matching denim outfits saying - believe it or not, these brothers make the world's best skin care.
23:48 So I started filming my brothers getting ready to record, one was pumping iron to look bigger, the other was arguing, and we just submitted this silly video breaking all the rules.
24:32 This goes back to the Thomas Jefferson quote that the only way to get lucky is to get off your rear end.
