They had already finished all of their auditions and casting for Season 12. TK: Shark Tank actually reached out to me! Late one Sunday night I got an email from one of their executive producers who had seen my Kickstarter campaign. Pretty cool – given we did it with two guys and $15 grand while the vast majority of other campaigns are done by companies with significant advertising budgets and experience.ĬOB: How did you connect with Shark Tank? What are your expectations? Do you have your eye on one of the Sharkers to “get your project” more than the others? On both total dollars raised and number of backers, we finished in the top 1% of Kickstarters of all time. We had hopes and dreams of hitting six figures, but our initial goal was 25K. Prior to kickstart, I had completely self-funded the project. Tate Koenig: This was my first Kickstarter campaign. How does that compare: have you funded anything before with KS did you get all the resources you expected (or more)? Here’s more from our entrepreneur before his big break:Ĭollege of Business: You’ve raised more than $100,000 on Kickstarter. (Students can rsvp here.) And Shark Tank is April 9 on ABC! The show airs at 9 p.m., and episodes stream here next day. Koenig’s visiting mentor office hours are scheduled for April 19 at 5 p.m. Koenig, who works with a fellow entrepreneurial beav reminisced about sitting in Bexel as an undergrad, listening to the entrepreneurship speakers, and whispering about how it was only a matter of time before it would be them giving the talks. Not only is Koenig taking the time to talk to us ahead of his big television debut, and from his wild work schedule, he is giving back to current OSU and College of Business students, serving as a mentor to current students involved with InnovationX, the OSU Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, our hub for entrepreneurial opportunities for OSU students in all majors. Buoyed by the runaway success of his cheese slicing, grating and storage device on Kickstarter, he says he’s inspired to take on “the three full-time jobs” of his own personal business pursuits. Koenig has dedicated years to developing his many business ideas and getting them to market, and he’s now ready to pursue entrepreneurship without the protection of a day job. This is when Koenig will bring hopes, dreams, entrepreneurial goals – and the Cheese Chopper – to the ABC television show, Shark Tank.

The cheese chopper