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ABC's Shark Tank is all set to air with an all-new episode on Friday, December 9, 2022, at 8 pm ET/ 7 pm CT.
Episode 9 of Shark Tank season 14 will introduce viewers to Stephen Fazio and Austin Hillam, who will be in Tank to present the sharks with their invention The ZipString, a gravity-defying string. According to their official website:
"The patent pending ZipString carefully balances several forces of gravity, lift, tension, and drag to fly the string in the air. Any movement that a Zipster (a user of a ZipString) does, the string follows."
The duo will appear on Shark Tank hoping to string one of the sharks into investing in their business that currently runs out of Austin's family home. Moreover, it was there that they tried out different methods and models in order to get the right design.
With little to no time left for the forthcoming episode of Shark Tank to air, here's everything you need to know about the product that will be showcased to the sharks on the famed reality TV show.
Austin and Stephen were 22 when they invented the ZipString that will be showcased on Shark Tank
According to their official website, the ZipString is one of Austin and Stephen's basement innovations that became a global phenomenon. The two were 22 years old when they launched their invention a little over a year ago, and it immediately went viral.
During Covid-19 pandemic, when supply chains were stressed, their family and friends helped them build and shop thousands of ZipStrings from Johns Creek, Georgia. So far, they have shipped ZipStrings to over 50 countries worldwide.
Fazio was attending Georgia Tech when he came up with the first prototype for ZipString, which he called the "string shooter" device. In the winter of 2021, his device won the advanced category in the 2021 Georgia Tech Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Competition. Although he continued to improve the technicalities of the prototype over the next summer, the product was time and money-consuming, which led Fazio to feel that he had reached a dead-end.
Meanwhile, Hillam was a student at BYU and expanding his business experience and CAD knowledge when his bishop mentioned Fazio to him. While the duo struggled to find a day when both their schedules will align, a Sunday dinner at Fazio's place proved to be an interesting point in their life.
That night, as Fazio showed Hillam his mini lab, ideas began to pour in as they brainstormed various innovative and engineering prospects. This meetup eventually led to the transformation of the "string shooter" device into the ZipString. Soon enough, Hilliam's father started mentoring the duo and helped in various modifications. Moreover, they set up the lab at his family basement.
As Fall began to approach, Fazio and Hilliam took a semester off their respective schools to dedicate their time to the development of the project. Their website also mentions:
"Amid all the energy to bring ZipString to the world, Austin and Stephen put their education on pause for a year as they launched a successful Kickstarter. Austin was attending BYU and Stephen, Georgia Tech."
Finally, on August 12, when the duo released a video of ZipString on TikTok showing their latest prototype, the video instantly became viral. By early October, ZipString surpassed the duo's initial goal and became fully funded. Since then, the product has only seen success.
Over 200,000 million people have been taken up by ZipString over all social media platforms. According to the website:
"The famous Dude Perfect team even did tricks with ZipString on stage during their Nationwide 2021 tour."
Currently, they operate from Hillam's family home basement as they're not ready to give up on their dream of scaling bigger heights. They complete orders daily and pack the products, stacking them up against the walls of the basement.
The ZipString comes in five different colors and can be bought for $24.99 on their website. If a customer buys two, they will get free shipping if they are within the USA. Along with their product, the customer will also get three string loops of different sizes and colors, along with a USB charging cable, an instruction guide, and a QR code to track library. Moreover, they will also have a 30-day money back guarantee.
Shark Tank airs every Friday night at 8 pm ET on ABC. Viewers can check their local listings for more information.
