YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Starting a new business can be a battle royal, with obstacles and competitors coming from all angles.
No one knows that better than the six sharks introduced Thursday during YBI’s wrestling-themed Shark Tank kickoff party at Penguin City Brewing.
“You’ve got to get back up, and you’ve got to fight,” said Tim Petrey, CEO of HD Growth Partners and one of the sharks. “It couldn’t be a better simple symbol than to be in the ring for this event, so I’m excited to be here.”
Each of the sharks took on a wrestling persona for the event that kicked off the seventh annual YBI Shark Tank.
“The YBI has supported me throughout my entrepreneurial journey, and it’s an honor to be able to give back, said Bergan Giordani, another one of this year’s sharks.
Giordani is the co-owner of Gorant Chocolates and the Dessert Bar at Gorant, as well as the owner of Sweet Marketing & Management, so of course her wrestling persona was The Sweet Tooth Slayer.
She encouraged entrepreneurs in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties to bring their startups to the table, saying she would love to see October’s pitch participants come not only from the broader region, but from the Mahoning Valley itself.
Another shark, Ken Haidaris, a concert promoter, real estate investor and owner of Sunrise Inn, said he has seen a lot during the past 50 years as a business owner in the Valley.
“From when everything closed to everything coming back, it’s because of all you folks, business people taking risks,” said Haidaris, who took on the wrestling persona The River Rock Rainmaker.
Earlier in the evening, Haidaris said it is “the ability to adapt on a dime” that helps an entrepreneur survive even through difficult times.
“I’ve been in this Valley when everybody was getting their teeth kicked in,” Haidaris said, adding it’s nice to see everything on more of an upswing now.
“The businesses that stand up and show the grit that is required to pitch in front of a giant is what this community is all about,” said Petrey, whose wrestling persona was The Bottom Line. “Youngstown is built on that. That’s what makes us special.”
Petrey said he hopes to see that grit and passion in the people who are bringing their ideas to the Shark Tank’s main event in October.
Petrey said he is honored to be a shark with other business owners who “have been punched in the face once or twice, have gotten a nasty shot off of the turnbuckle a few times.”
Brianna Komara Pridon, who joined her brother and business partner, Rob Komara, on the panel as a surprise shark last year, said it was an amazing experience and she’s excited to do it again.
“Entrepreneaurship is such an amazing talent that doesn’t come very easily, said the co-owner of Komara Jewelers, whose wrestling alter ego was The Diamond Diva.
“I have so much pride in my business,” she said, adding she thinks about entrepreneurs like her grandfather, who started Komara Jewelers, and the legacy he built. “To see these companies at the base and they’re potential and to help them grow, I think is super.”
Sterling Williams, owner of Sterling McCullough Williams Funeral Home, took on the persona of The Undertaker. He said as a shark, he would like to see pitches from someone ready to create jobs.
“The reason they put me on this show is that as an undertaker, I’m the last guy to let you down. And if you do poorly, I will bury your mistakes,” Williams said.
The final shark, Gregg Strollo, president of Strollo Architects, was unable to attend Thursday’s event. But The Sharkitect will be on the panel in October.
Donning a gold wrestling belt, Barb Ewing, CEO of YBI, announced that this year’s main event will take place Oct. 29 at Mr. Anthony’s. The grand prize for the winning pitch selected by the sharks will be $10,000, presented by Medical Mutual. The Audience Choice Award will receive $5,000, and each of the four entrepreneurs invited to pitch will receive $2,500. Additionally, the winners will get customized belts.
Ewing said the prizes could grow. So far this year, YBI has raised $150,850, which is way ahead of the $98,500 the organization raised going into last year’s launch party. By the end of last year’s event, the YBI Shark Tank had raised more than $350,000.
Pictured at top: This year’s sharks are, from left, Bergen Giordani, Ken Haidaris, Brianna Komara Pridon, Sterling Williams and Tim Petrey. Not pictured is Gregg Strollo.