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Kids who lost their firefighter dad to cancer win over Sharks with innovative product — and bag $100K deal

The Sharks commit to donating the business profits to charities supporting firefighters affected by illness

‘Shark Tank’ is the home of the latest inventions designed to change the world. However, the show has never seen a product with a backstory so legendary that it was not only the investors who were quite impressed by it but also the viewers. Back in 2018, the reality business show featured the product, Cup Board Pro. It was brought in front of the Sharks by Kiera, Christian, and Kaley, three children of a late firefighter—Keith Young—who passed away in March of that year. The former New York City firefighter was battling with a rare form of cancer, which he had allegedly gotten in his system after his 9/11 cleanup efforts. 

Sadly, the legend did not live to see his product make it on air. The children had pitched the invention that scored a $100,000 investment, which was evenly split between all five Sharks, for 20 percent of the company. Another interesting move that the Sharks made was to invest the profits from the business to a charity that benefits firefighters suffering from illnesses related to the 9/11 cleanup, as per Inc. The reason why Sharks developed their interest in the product was because the three siblings had sold 300 of the $40 cutting boards, right within three weeks. 

Another reason that the Sharks impressed was the tremendous amount of strength that they had shown after losing both their parents. Six years before Keith passed away, the children had lost their mother to breast cancer. After their pitch, the Sharks asked the contestants to step out of the room to discuss the matter privately. Their story had particularly gripped guest Shark Matt Higgins, who happens to be a co-founder of venture capital firm RSE Ventures. The guest Shark was also the press secretary for New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani on September 11, 2001. Higgins was at Ground Zero right after the first plane had crashed into the World Trade Center. Talking to the outlet, he mentioned, “When I saw these beautiful kids talk about their firefighter father, my mind went back to all the rescue and recovery workers I met, and people who lost their lives.”

The product is a tilted cutting board that has grooves to direct liquids into an attachable plastic dish. The dish even collects waste, which makes cleaning the surface easier. Keith had invented the product in question after years of working as a cook in his local firehouse. The late legend had also published a book titled ‘Cooking With the Firehouse Chef.’ As per Food Republic, the product received over 100,000 emails from customers, who wanted to place their orders within minutes from when the episode aired.

The Sharks had also introduced the young to a kitchenware brand, ‘Williams Sonoma,’ that helped them redesign the product, giving it a sleek look. ‘Williams Sonoma’ also helped them with manufacturing and distribution across its stores. In Season 14, Cup Board Pro appeared on ‘Shark Tank’ again with an update. According to Techie + Gamers, the net worth of Cup Board Pro after 'Shark Tank' reached $15 million in 2023. The product became one of the best-selling products of 'Williams Sonoma'