Plucky 14-year-old schoolboy Daniel Baise says that when the Sharks turned down funding his interactive computer screen GTouch, his initial reaction was disappointment.
But after Steve Baxter and John McGrath offered to send Daniel and his mum to a trade show in Las Vegas, he very quickly bounced back.
“We went in January and it was really exciting,” he says. “I wasn’t expecting to be able to go at all. It was great fun and a good way to prepare me for getting into the (tech) industry.”
Daniel’s mum Linda says that while she had been concerned Daniel would leave the show disappointed, the experience was a wonderful one for her son.
“I was very grateful (to Shark Tank) and so proud of Daniel,” she says.
“Going to the trade fair was fantastic. He had printed up business cards and was able to talk to the exhibitors there about their ideas. He had so many questions for them that they couldn’t believe he was only 14. Watching how confident and knowledgeable he is was great for me to watch.”
And while the Sharks may have turned down the offer to invest in GTouch, Daniel says his dream of making his revolutionary product a reality is far from over.
“I’m starting a crowd-funding project on indiegogo.com,” he reveals.
“And while I didn’t get the funding on Shark Tank, I did get other things. I got contacts which was great. I’m in contact with Naomi Simson and Steve Baxter and they’ve also given me contacts for people in different areas which will help once I’ve got the funds to get GTouch going.”
For his part, Steve Baxter says he’s happy he was able to help Daniel on the road to making his dreams come true.
“As long as Daniel knows that there’s nothing he can’t do, it’s only himself that’s going to stop anything from happening he’ll have a bright future ahead,” he says.
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