When Eric Roy pitched his water filter business, Hydroviv, to investors of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” they weren’t all sold. But the D.C. chemist didn’t need them all.
He came for Mark Cuban who, after challenging the entrepreneur’s plans for a potential investment, made an offer: $400,000 for a 20% stake — the same dollar amount Roy had sought, for a bigger stake than he’d planned to part with. He took it.
“Mark’s persona is, he’s the guy who sniffs out snake oil and technical fraud… and he didn’t find any,” Roy told me in an interview Monday. “He’s very authoritative, and he’s very credible in the technical space, so if he’s like, ‘Hey, this is technically feasible,’ then that’s some great validation for us.”
The District-based scientist presented his invention on Sunday’s episode of the hit reality series, a prime-time platform that has skyrocketed sales for a growing list of local startup founders. Roy now joins that roster, thanks to his product:…
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