Petrol
Petrol is a company from Cornelius, NC, and Gahanna, OH, that wants to solve the age old problem of dehydrated dogs with a new kind of vitamin water.
The "beverage" has a savory natural flavor like bone broth that dogs "prefer" four-to-one over normal water. Which is good, because the entrepreneurs behind this product see a large and growing market for pets to enjoy just like people do.
Petrol started ten years before and the entrepreneurs were "overwhelmed" by the response, including "dozens" of companies wanting to export the drink. However, in order to get the product off of the ground, they needed a small business loan and credit was tight following the 2008 recession. The idea was put on hold until eighteen months prior the the filming of the episode when it work began on it again.
Since re-launching, the company has seen $16,000 in gross sales over the past twelve months limited, the entrepreneur claims, by the lack of available product.
In terms of investment, the entrepreneurs launched a successful crowd funding campaign twelve months before. A new co-founder was brought in who invested $25,000. Previously, the entrepreneur who tried to get the business going in 2010 has funded the company with $100,000 from a 401k. Of this money, $10,000 went towards bringing the product to a trade show and the rest went to product development and testing.
When questioned whether the money invested into the company and the fairly meager sales demonstrated that there just was no market for this type of product, the entrepreneur paused long enough to make Barbara uncomfortable and drop out.
The rest of the sharks soon followed and Petrol left the tank without a deal.
This deal aired on Episode 9.21.