This week’s new “Shark Tank” episode will have some local blood.
The founders of D.C. startup Guard Llama, a personal device designed to connect people to emergency help faster than a 911 call, made it onto the ABC series to pitch their business to its panel of celebrity investors. The episode airs Friday.
Co-founders Joe Parisi and Nick Nevarez met early last year at startup incubator 1776’s Challenge Cup, after Parisi, based in Chicago, had created the product. Nevarez joined as an adviser and, from there, became co-founder as they developed the business.
When “Shark Tank” and D.C.-based Values Partnerships held casting calls in Greater Washington last year, Nevarez jumped at the opportunity. He pitched for casting producers in Anacostia and then “just kept hustling” until hearing whether they were interested.
They were. He and Parisi passed each step of the audition process for the prime-time reality show’s eighth season, including filming in Los Angeles. They recently…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
