N.J. entrepreneurs win big on 'Shark Tank' with $2 million investment

The Fizzics home draft beer tap proved to be a hit with investors

Phil Petraccca and David McDonald had a simple mission in mind: Make beer from bottles and cans taste like it's been poured out of a bar tap.

The result of their tinkering, a home beer tap called Fizzics, now sells at Brookstone, Amazon and Target, and has so far generated more than $3.2 million in sales. This year their company is projected to bring in $9 million.

So why go on "Shark Tank" at all? 

That's the reasonable question investors asked the pair during the season premiere of the ABC series Friday. But their explanation was more than sufficient, since they ended up bagging $2 million from two investors. Petracca left the show with happy tears in his eyes. 

"What our product does, it improves the flavor, taste and texture of the beer," Petracca, 43, told NJ Advance Media last week. Formerly based out of Newark, Fizzics now operates in Wall Township, with Petracca, a Belleville native who went to high school in Edison, serving as CEO. The pair filmed the episode of "Shark Tank" in June.

Fizzics uses sound waves to enhance the flavor of beer, creating the creamy foam head missing from home beer pours. But Petracca says Fizzics beer can taste even better than glasses poured at breweries. 

Petracca told "Shark Tank" investors that Fizzics needs to scale its business. The tap retails for $199 (it goes for $169 and up at Target, Amazon and Brookstone) but costs $35.88 to make. He explained to the panel of would-be business partners that he wants to get the product into more stores, and was especially interested in investor Lori Greiner's existing business relationship with Bed Bath & Beyond. 

Petracca and McDonald asked the investors for $500,000 and offered 4 percent equity in the company. But Mark Cuban and Greiner got in on the product for $2 million after the tap earned raves from all six investors. Each was presented with a beer poured with Fizzics and one poured from a can or bottle to compare.

"Night and day," said investor Barbara Corcoran, an Edgewater native. "They're like two different beers." But she thought Petracca and McDonald were too "slick" in their delivery, as if there was some catch to be wary of, so she backed out. 

Several of the investors, including Greiner, matched the initial ask of $500,000, but all asked for 8 percent equity. Cuban upped the ante by offering $800,000 at 8 percent equity, saying he would bring Greiner in on his deal. 

After Petracca himself countered Cuban's offer with a higher ask, Fizzics got $2 million from Greiner and Cuban for a combined 16.67 percent equity.

This is not the Jersey duo's first brush with successful funding. Last year, Fizzics' Indiegogo campaign met its $50,000 goal in just a day, and ended up generating $253,245.

It looks like all this beer-based ingenuity, and perhaps even the buzz behind "Shark Tank," is paying off in other arenas.

On Tuesday, just a few days before "Shark Tank" aired, Fizzics launched a Kickstarter campaign seeking $50,000 for its new Waytap draft system. The tap is more portable than the original Fizzics and only works with smaller cans and bottles. The campaign has so far drawn 2,163 backers and $288,082 with 39 days to go.