Swimming with the Sharks Two Mandeville moms land major investment on TV show Shark Tank WHEN NITA GASSEN AND JUDY SCHOTT appeared on ABC’s business reality show Shark Tank, they sent the celebrity investors into a feeding frenzy. The idea they pitched was aimed at making the mundane task of making a bed faster and simpler. The Better Bedder had three sharks trying to outbid each other, but in the end, it was Lori Greiner, better known as the “Queen of QVC,” that came out on top, with a $150,000 offer to secure an 18 percent interest in the company. “Just making it onto the show was surreal, but to end up having the Sharks fighting over us and coming away with a very hefty business investment by Lori is the biggest imaginable dream come true,” says Gassen. “It’s all been unbelievable,” Schott said. “We couldn’t believe we kept getting call backs from the TV producers at ‘Shark Tank,’ and then last summer we were stunned to get the call to go to Las Vegas and do the real show in front of the Sharks.” In 2018, Gassen and Schott were working together at a Covington insurance company when they came up with the idea. Schott, a New Orleans native and 30 Inside Northside
attorney by trade who serves as COO of the health and benefits management company Gilsbar, searched every conceivable way to revolutionize making the bed. Schott had just purchased new beds for a summer house, and the beds were exceptionally difficult to make. She realized that her son had been sleeping on the couch, rather than on the new bed, all to avoid having to wrestle with changing the sheets. Feeling determined, Schott called Gassen, a longtime friend and Luling native, and they began brainstorming. While both continued to work full-time jobs, the friends started using nights and weekends to pursue their dream. Their first stop was Home Depot, looking for inspiration. After lots of trial and error to find the perfect solution, Gassen had an idea. She bought a sewing machine, and she taught herself how to sew. Sitting in her living room, Gassen pieced together the first Better Bedder, which acts as a giant headband that wraps around the bed keeping both fitted and flat
photo: © 2020 BRAD FERRAND
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