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NH entrepreneurs win backing on ABC show 'Shark Tank'
Mike Hartwick and Sarah Ponn make their pitch for Surfset Fitness, their surf-inspired exercise equipment and fitness classes, on the Friday episode of ABC's "Shark Tank." They accepted entrepreneur Mark Cuban's investment offer.
NBA team owner Mark Cuban has agreed to invest $300,000 in a New Hampshire startup company featured on the ABC-TV show “Shark Tank.”
The Dallas Mavericks owner agreed to take a 30 percent stake in Surfset Fitness, a Granite State company that is turning out exercise machines that simulate riding a surfboard in the same way that stationary bicycles can simulate miles of bike riding.
Bill Ninteau of Litchfield said the money will go to manufacturing the machines.
The national attention also has meant “heavy website activity and a pretty drastic uptick in orders,” Ninteau said.
The product, called the RipSurver X, is the brainchild of Bishop Guertin High School graduates Ninteau and Mike Hartwick. Work to develop the product started in the Litchfield basement of Ninteau's parents and grew to the point where the company had 1,500 orders but lacked the capacity to fill them. Susan Ponn later joined as director of fitness.
During the show, Cuban told Ponn and Hartwick that their company was going to make a lot of money.
► Click here to see the episode on abc.com