The Squatty Potty sounds like a product that would potty train your toddlers and make it slightly more fun (if that’s possible), but it’s much more than that, and it actually made some investment headway on Friday’s episode of ABC’s Shark Tank.
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Judy, inventor Robert Edwards’ mother, was struggling with constipation and realized that the act of squatting eased the problem.
At the time, her option was a step stool, but it was in no way ideal. As a result of this dilemma, the Edwardses made the first Squatty Potty in July of 2011 with the help of a neighbor who had a wood shop. They also did research on the benefits of squatting, as opposed to sitting, when making a bowel movement.
“We solved those problems by including the cutout for the toilet and widening the platform to allow the user to achieve a more natural squat. The U-shaped stool worked perfectly. Other improvements were made like giving the slight slant to the platform. This also gives a more effective squat than a flat platform and makes it more comfortable,” Edwards said.
At first the show wasn’t interested in adding bathroom-related products into the mix, in fact they rejected this item for an appearance in Season 5, but all it took was a slight tweak from Squatty Potty’s original pitch to be included in this season.
Edwards explained, “In our second auction tape we really nailed down that Squatty Potty is a health tool, a solution available to help people suffering from elimination issues and not just a novelty. We were told this helped us change their minds and allowed us to get on.”
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Shark Barbara Cocoran didn’t get a good vibe from Edwards. Who can trust a guy who is this enthusiastic about a Squatty Potty, really? Even though his mother Judy seemed trustworthy, for that reason, she passed.
In the end, they did take Lori Greiner’s offer. You can watch Friday’s entire episode here (unfortunately the entire pitch doesn’t appear in the clip provided).
