David Toledo graduated from the University of Utah in the spring of 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in Materials Science and Engineering. Since graduating David co-founded Power Practical and invented the PowerPot with friend and business partner Paul Slusser. Both David and Paul made an appearance on ABC’s hit reality show, “Shark Tank”, to present Power Practical’s PowerPot to the sharks. Lucky for David and Paul, shark Mark Cuban invested in their invention. Her Campus Utah was lucky enough to talk to David this week about Power Practical, the PowerPot, and his appearance on “Shark Tank.”
Her Campus (HC): Tell us about the PowerPot.
David Toledo (DT): The PowerPot is a backpacking pot that makes electricity as you heat water inside of it. To use it you simply add water and place ontop of a fire or stove and within 10 seconds you can plug in and start charging any USB device.
HC: What gave you the idea to invent the PowerPot?
DT: I learned about the technology inside of the PowerPot, called thermoelectics, while studying for my degree of the U of U. I’m an active campus, so I looked online to see if I could a thermoelectic charfer similar to the photovoltaic (solar) chargers that I knew existed for outdoor activities. When I couldn’t find a thermoelectric charger online, I got on eBay and started ordering parts to try and build my own.
HC: How hard was it to get your invention out there to the public?
DT: It definitely hasn’t been easy. I actually think that it’s safe to say that it is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
HC: You used Kickstarter to get Power Practical started. Was that challenging and would you recommend other startups use Kickstarter?
DT: Kickstarter presents its own challenges, but they are a great prep for the challenges you will find trying to build a business. These challenges include design, marketing, production, customer service, fulfillment, and so much more. I would definitely recommend other startups to launch a Kickstarter campaign. There are so many reasons for this, but the main one being that you can validate whether people like and will pay for your idea before you invest tons of money into production. Kickstarted is also a great marketing vehicole for people low on funding. If you manage to successfully launch and fulfull on a Kickstarter project, it will help a lot when it comes time to raise more capital from investors to grow the business.
HC: You appeared on ABC’s “Shark Tank.” How cool was that?
DT: Being on “Shark Tank” was and has been great! The experience of going to L.A. and pitching to the sharks was one of a kind, and the exposure since has really helped our business.
HC: How did you land a spot on the show?
DT: A producer from “Shark Tank” reached out to me on our website (www.powerpractical.com) saying that they had read up on us and really liked what we were doing. So, I got on a call with them to discuss what it would take to get on show, and both Paul and I decided to go ahead and apply.
HC: Were you nervous when pitching the PowerPot to Mark Cuban?
DT: Yes, it was definitely nerve racking to pitch to the sharks. The ABC clip added up to about 8 minutes, but we filmed for close to an hour. Personally I found the most stressful part of the pitch wasn’t being in front of Mark and the others, but instead was the fact that you’re in a Hollywood studio filming for national television. There aren’t any second chances while you’re filming for “Shark Tank”, so you need to make sure that everything you say is correct, at the right volume and energy, and on queue the first time, every time.
HC: When the last counter offer to Mark Cuban was made, what was going through your head?
DT: Going into “Shark Tank” we had a lot of counseling from business and investment mentors, so we had a pretty good guess at how the negotiating would go down before we ever walked onto the set. What was going through my head was, “Wow, we actually guessed right, and the deal really could happen.”
HC: When he accepted the deal, how excited were you?
DT: I was thrilled. They didn’t show it on the episode, but he actually started to say that he was out. We then sweetened the deal by giving him a board seat in our company and he took it. My first thought was that 2014 would be a good year for Power Practical.
HC: What is next for Power Practical and the PowerPot?
DT: I’m continuing to design new products at Power Practical, including new and improved PowerPots. Next month we’ll be launching a new battery we designed on Kickstarter, which we think could ultimately be even bigger than the PowerPot.
HC: Power Practical had a “Buy One Give One” promotion, where every time a product is purchased Power Practical matches the product and sends it to Africa, India, and Southeast Asia for product testing. What inspired that and how successful was it for your company and the receiving countries?
DT: From day one we felt like the biggest potential market for the PowerPot is in places where there isn’t reliable grid power in daily life. Through the promotion we have donated a few hundred powerpots, but ultimately it wasn’t sustainable to give stuff away for free. Earlier this year we hired a full time employee to work on developing markets, and how Power Practical products may be able to help. We’ve had some initial success in micro powerstations, where the owner of the PowerPot charges his/her neighbors to charge their phones. We’ve had success with the model in Madagascar, and now are trying to figure out how to reliably distribute and service people in these parts of the world.
HC: What advice would you give to entrepreneurs just starting out?
DT: Get started and take everything one step at a time. When you’re starting out, don’t worry about how you’re going to sell a million pieces at Walmart or whatever. Instead focus on making the first step on that first prototype. Once you’ve finished your first prototype, you’ll probably be making a second prototype, but this will go much easier than the first. Then will come your first production run, which will have some problems, but the second production run will be better than the first. Eventually you’ll figure out how to make and sell the million pieces you set out to do.
My other piece of advice would be to start associating with other entrepreneurs. The reason being that many of the challenges starting a business are the same for different industries and having peer mentors can save you a lot of time and money as well as give that moral support you need to keep going. The U of U has this available through the Lassonde center.
HC: Thank you David for taking the time to talk with us. You are truly inspiring!