Every kid loves ice cream, even many like-minded adults feel the same affinity. Ice cream is a perpetual symbol of innocence and youth that has Grove City students line up in the cafeteria and is even stored in the freezers of content Grovers. While only in the fifth grade, two middle school students, Sam Nassif and Oliver Greenwald noticed a toddler drenched in ice cream. As the mother was cleaning the ice cream, they almost instantaneously knew what needed to be done. They invented the Drip Drop, which is a ring that slides onto cones and is able to catch any ice cream that may drip or even drop. In 2012, the two then took the Drip Drop and entered it in a contest for entrepreneurs. The Drip Drop garnered second place, which was enough to pay for a patent on the design of their work.
Nassif and Greenwald’s idea seemed to be so interesting that it appeared on the television show, Shark Tank. Not only this, but it was an impressive showing to say the least. While the Drip Drop did not currently have any sales, the two landed a deal with Barbara Corcoran that was $50,000 for 33% equity. In addition to this, at the time, the two were the youngest to ever appear on Shark Tank without an adult present.
Currently, the business is not in commission, as the two have moved on to collegiate life and have internships to keep up with. The business is very impressive, however. Nassif and Greenwald took a problem that they observed in broad daylight, without much introspective research, and knew what they had to do. This is an example of taking a problem that has been around for decades, and creating a practical solution for it. Their entrepreneurial drive inspires me, before they got off the ground with their product, they knew what needed to be done, which was seen through obtaining a patent, crowdsourcing, etc.
To read more about this inspiring story, click here.
Wow, this is an interesting idea! I most definitely could have used this when I was younger. They definitely have the entrepreneurial trait of looking for trouble and trying to solve it in some way. It was smart of them to enter it in a competition, since with new products publicity is always important. Great post!
This is soo simple but soo good! Its these innovations that people love and interact with the most but that are so uncommon. While some may have a pride issue with using this Drip Drop the idea is amazing and is certainly perfect or kids that tend to be a lot sloppier with their food and make more messes. This allows both the kids to be content with the ice cream and the parents to be content knowing that the ice cream won’t get all over their kids or anything else.
The Drip Drop is definitely an interesting new take on a small inconvenience and I think it’s quite clever. It also seems as though it was quite successful, especially if they received a deal on Shark Tank. That’s an amazing accomplishment to be the youngest group without adult supervision, at the time, to appear on the show with a new, successful innovation. I also really enjoy the idea of not only helping out the kids but also creating a product that releases some stress from the parents as well. Quite a clever, yet simple idea, that honestly surprised me that no one else had done.