Nathaniel Wellen’s entrepreneurial idea came to him when he was just 8 years old. One day, Nathaniel’s dad was walking him to school in the rain through their southern Los Angeles hometown. Nathaniel tried to stay under an umbrella, but he still got soaked trying to walk next to his dad. This could have been remedied by Nathaniel holding the umbrella, but he was much shorter than his dad, so they couldn’t have both fit. This sparked Nathaniel to brainstorm a simple addition to the conventional umbrella: an extendable handle. According to Nathaniel’s mom in an ABC7 interview, Nathaniel and his dad “would be in the garage breaking umbrella after umbrella” to prototype his idea. They eventually created an umbrella with a handle that could extend down at various heights so two people could walk closely together and stay shielded from the rain. They also widened the canopy of their umbrellas. These features set The Duo umbrellas apart from other products on the market. 

This past January as a freshman in high school, Nathaniel pitched his umbrella idea on Shark Tank and gained an impressive deal with Robert Herjavec. Nathaniel pitched his idea with confidence and negotiated Herjavec receiving 18% of the company for a $100,000 investment. Nathaniel achieved this partnership while his business was still pre-revenue and he only had prototypes! 

Nathaniel was able to again such an impressive deal because he already had a partner, the weather accessories brand Shed Rain. After Nathaniel patented his umbrella, he cold called the CEO of Shed Rain to pitch his idea. This led to the successful CEO and young entrepreneur forging a relationship and a business partnership. They collaborated on prototypes, manufacturing, and distribution to create a great quality product. This is a fantastic example of putting yourself out there and having confidence in your ideas. Nathaniel benefited by putting himself into a liquid network. He connected with a successful person within his niche of expertise, and they joined forces to get his innovative idea off the ground. I encourage you to check out the last link listed below to see for yourself how Shed Rain supported Nathaniel’s entrepreneurial journey.  

I found Robert Herjavec’s reasoning for taking the deal on Shark Tank very interesting. Herjavec said, “I love deals where there’s a potential exit already built in,” he continues, “You create this product, you partner with them and it takes off … There’s no way they’re not going to buy you out.” Even though having so many partnerships cuts Nathaniel’s share of the profits, his partnerships with Shed Rain and Robert Herjavec are investments that will grow his business. Especially at such a young age, that’s a great way to do business. 

The sharks commended Nathaniel for his entrepreneurial drive and he offered this advice for other kid entrepreneurs: “Just keep moving. Keep going. Reach for your goals and maybe you [too] will make a deal with Robert.”

Sources:

ABC7 News report of Shark Tank episode: https://youtu.be/CDZm6mB33L0?si=bwU3Pot6Lt06w6lX

CNBC Article: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/22/teen-lands-shark-tank-offer-for-two-person-umbrella-the-duo.html

LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanielwellen

Shed Rain’s story with Nathaniel and product description: https://shedrain.com/pages/theduo#:~:text=SHARK%20INVESTED%20WATERS,couldn’t%20be%20more%20proud.