What Happened To Tenikle Suction Tripod From Shark Tank Season 13?

Any fan of ABC's hit reality series "Shark Tank" can tell you that part of the joy in watching the show is seeing the wild range of pitched products, including everything from innovative learning apps like ReThink from Season 8 to automobile tech like Flated from Season 14. You might also know that it's just as much fun to watch the people touting said products, as there's been no shortage of quirky personalities pitching panelists like Lori Greiner, Daymond John, and outgoing shark Mark Cuban over the years.

While some entrepreneurs rely on a mix of business savvy and boisterous personalities to capture the attention of the sharks, others choose to employ props to bolster the effectiveness of their pitch. Of course, some of the more entertaining pitches use all of those aspects, which was just the case in the Season 13 episode that found Hans Dose in search of a backer for his company Tenikle, which sells his clever, Octopus-inspired phone and gadget tripod.

If you're familiar with the episode, you know Dose hilariously enters the "Shark Tank" studio wearing an eight tentacled Octopus pool floaty and scuba flippers. Apart from the orchestrated silliness, Dose soon proves his octo-inspired suction mount has the potential to be a legit moneymaker for the right investor. But it takes more than a good investment opportunity to close a deal on "Shark Tank," and Dose indeed had to work hard for his. Here's what became of Tenikle after "Shark Tank." 

Hans Dose's appearance elicited a few chuckles from the "Shark Tank" panel, whose interests were quickly piqued when Dose drops into his spiel and begins showing off his Tenikle suction tripod — which the  entrepreneur claims he conceived, designed, patented, and brought to market with the help of his wife. In his breakdown of the product's manufacturing numbers, Dose noted that each tripod costs just over $6 to produce and retails for $45.

Those profit margins are hard for any potential investor to ignore, but once the sharks start asking questions, it becomes clear that the company is in a bit of trouble, with Dose facing $270,000 in debt, holding on to a substantial inventory he's been unable to properly market and sell, and boasting a mere $39 in his own bank account. That last fact truly astonishes the "Shark Tank" panelists, who appreciate Dose's candor but are wary of fronting the $200,000 he's asking for in exchange for just 10% of the company.

He does, however, get an offer from Robert Herjavec, though even some of the "Shark Tank" panelists believe that deal — which would give the shark a whopping 60% stake in Tenikle — was not a good fit for Dose. Daymond Green then chimes in with a much more agreeable offer, agreeing to stake the money for 30% of Tenikle, and after a tense bit of attempted haggling, Dose ultimately decides to take the deal.

Jump ahead three years, and it seems Dose has made good use of both John's money and his connections, with Tenikle now apparently out of the red and thriving in the retail market. It would seem the "Shark Tank" appearance alone might've been enough to give Tenikle the market boost it so desperately needed, with the company claiming the device completely sold out its stock on Amazon within minutes of the episode's airing. The site also claims sales of Tenikle mounts were significantly boosted for an extended period thereafter, bringing in a reported $375,000 in the first six weeks after the "Shark Tank" appearance alone.

On top of the "Shark Tank" boost and the investment capital from John, this investor also put the Tenikle founder in touch with Cody Grandadam, a strategic partner whose marketing and manufacturing expertise have reportedly helped fine-tune the company's margins. So at least on paper, Tenikle has gone from financial dire straits to steady moneymaker since getting its "Shark Tank" close up. 

With the aid of Cody Grandadam, Tenikle was recently able to secure a major retail commitment worth a cool $1 million. Apart from the expansion into the retail domain, Tenikle suction tripods continue to sell well in the e-commerce arena. Unfortunately, the brand hasn't topped the list of the best car phone mounts on Amazon, and it seems the mounts are facing some of the same customer review issues Dose mentioned during his "Shark Tank" pitch, with the devices currently fronting a 3.5 in a 5-star rating on the site.

Dose is apparently taking criticisms of the octopus-inspired mount to heart, however, and continues to evolve the Tenikle tripod on the design front. It was, of course, the fourth generation model Dose was presenting to the panelists on "Shark Tank" in 2021, and it has been upgraded multiple times throughout the three years since the episode aired. The sixth generation is touted as the Tenikle Pro, and the latest model reportedly boasts significant upgrades like better suction that supports up to 42 pounds, a universal phone mount, and 360-degree motion capabilities, among others.

It is, perhaps, worth questioning just how far Dose and his team can develop such a wonderfully simple device, meaning Tenikle may need to develop additional products if it really wants to grow into a full-blown market player. Nonetheless, for now, it seems the future is looking pretty good for Dose and Team Tenikle.