UPDATE: May 07, 2019 at 1:25 p.m.
Last fall, an emotional Shark Tank episode showed three siblings pitching a cutting board created by their late father, who passed away from cancer related to his work as a New York City firefighter during 9/11. The design and the family's story caught the Sharks' eyes and all five invested in the product.
After filming the show, the Young family, Williams Sonoma, and Wisconsin-based kitchen tool manufacturer Epicurean teamed up to refine the product and bring it to the masses. Today, the Cup Board Pros is available for purchase in stores and on Williams Sonoma's website. Read more about the Young's story and see their genius product below! It's made of a durable wood-fiber material and has a detachable silicone tray to gather food scraps, plus a perimeter groove to move liquid and juices into tray.
ORIGINAL POST: October 25, 2018 at 12:41 p.m.
The Sharks on Shark Tank can be pretty tough at times—there's usually a great deal of money at stake, after all. Sometimes, though, there are particularly moving pitches that cause an unusually emotional response from the investors. During a recent episode, tears were shed in the first few minutes of the pitch.
A group of three siblings, Kaley, Christian, and Keira Young, arrived to the tank ready to pitch the Cup Board Pro, a cutting board with a bowl for scraps attached, made for easy clean-up. Though the young entrepreneurs were clearly passionate about the boards, the invention was actually created by their late father, Keith Young. Keith, a New York City firefighter, passed away from a "9-11-related cancer from being a fireman there," his daughter told the Sharks. Even more heart-wrenching—he passed just three months before the taping of the program.
"Our dad invented the Cup Board Pro, and it was his dream to pitch it on Shark Tank," Kaley says in the episode. "Unfortunately, he passed away before he had that chance. We're here today to continue his legacy and make that dream a reality."
The Young family shows the Sharks Keith's audition video, during which he reveals that he was a widower. Kaley explains that their mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, and passed in 2012. In their father's audition video, it's clear the passion he had for the Cup Board Pro, and the love and dedication he had for his children.
Kaley told the Sharks that the siblings had sold 300 Cup Board Pros in just three weeks. The emotional Sharks were impressed, and Daymond John asked the siblings to step out of the room for a moment. When they came back in, an amazing offer was waiting for them.
According to USA Today, John, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Matt Higgins, and Kevin O'Leary came together to offer $100,000 for a 20 percent stake in Cup Board Pro. To top things off, they made a special promise—to donate profits to a charity which helps firefighters that were affected on 9/11, just as the siblings' father was.
John tweeted on Sunday (after the episode aired) that the Cup Board Pro had already sold out. According to Sony Pictures Television, they sold over $1 million in sales over just 18 hours, and it's still sold out on Amazon.
You can sign up to be notified when the Cup Board Pro is back in stock on the website. Also, you can join the Young kids in supporting the FDNY Foundation's Fired Up for a Cure, by donating to the GoFundMe page they created.
What a cool family! Wishing the Young siblings the upmost success with Cup Board Pro...and fingers crossed they restock soon, just in time for holiday shopping.
