From the shower to 'Shark Tank.' How Brick-based Sorsoap landed in front of tycoons
BRICK − David Restiano returned home from physical therapy for an injured hip flexor, hopped in the shower, grabbed the bar of Irish Spring, and began scraping it against his hip, then against his calf, then against his Achilles tendon.
It brought him the same relief he felt when his doctor, Daniel Staats, scraped his hip with a metal tool − all from the comfort of his own shower. The only drawback? The soap got mushy and slipped out of his hand.
"Eureka moment," Restiano said. "I said, if I could make a hard bar of soap, with all natural ingredients, with a handle? I wonder if anybody's done it before."
No one had. Restiano and Staats have teamed up to develop Sorsoap, a handle-barred soap used to ease aches and pains, and are about to find themselves in the limelight. They are scheduled to appear Friday, April 12 on the ABC show "Shark Tank," hoping to convince one of the celebrity panelists to invest in their start-up.
No spoiler alert is needed; the business partners wouldn't disclose whether any of the sharks bit. But win or lose, their appearance on the show is a sign that their business − and their story − will connect with the public, one observer said.
Sorsoap is a crescent-shaped soap made with a mix of natural ingredients, including flower oil, citric acid and Shea butter, and it is sold mainly online. A two-pack, along with a suction cup to hang the soap in the shower, costs $22. The company's revenue has grown to $130,000 a year with the help of a robust social media presence. Its TikTok page has 78,400 followers.
Customers speak highly of the soap. Among them are Maged Fattah, 38, and his sister, Marwa Fattah, 35, Point Pleasant residents who own Local Urban Kitchen in Wall. They said they were happy to try it out when Restiano offered it to them in the early days.
Maged said the soap provided relief for tendonitis in his arms after his jiu-jitsu practices. Marwa, who sounded like she tries to turn her showers into spa-like treatments, said she was drawn to the natural ingredients.
"It elevates your shower," Marwa Fattah said.
From the soccer field to the shower
Restiano, 49, lives in Brick with his wife, Heather, and their three children: Lily, 20; Andrew, 18; and Lilah, 11. Staats, 47, lives in Point Pleasant with his wife, Ann, and their three children: a son, Kelley, 15; and daughters Sage, 14, and Kirra, 12.
Restiano grew up in Brick and attended Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York, where he played soccer and majored in art. He eventually landed a corporate job as a graphic artist, but he always had an entrepreneurial streak, once helping create an app that made it easier to book parties at bars in Manhattan.
The start-up found early success, but Restiano said he grew tired of the long drives and late nights, particularly with a young family at home. His partner bought him out, he said, and the start-up didn't survive.
Restiano continued to work as a graphic artist, coach soccer at St. Rose High School in Belmar and play soccer in adult leagues. And he began to go to physical therapy sessions with Staats to help with his mounting aches and pains.
With the pandemic lingering and activities shutting down, he began to run, but he developed a hip injury that sent him once again to Staats, who loosened the tightness by scraping his skin with a stainless steel Graston tool. When Restiano learned he could have a similar feeling with a hardier soap, he called Staats to see if he would be interested in developing the product.
"He came to me and said, 'What do you think of this idea,' and I said, 'Yeah, I think you're onto something,'" Staats said. "I think the beauty of the product is that you're turning your showers into therapeutic sessions to improve your muscle flexibility, which is going to take strain off your joints. And the beauty is that it doesn't really add anything to your day."
Developed in the laundry room
Staats took over the research. He bought a soap-making book and watched videos. He donned protective gear. He turned his laundry room into a laboratory. And he kept tinkering, adding essential oils and menthol, until he had the right formula.
Staats and Restiano found a small production plant in Omaha, Nebraska, that could make the bars. And they began building a buzz. They conducted a test on 30 Jersey Mike's employees and found those who used the soap improved their hand strength and wrist motion. They handed it out to athletes, physical therapists and locals like the Fattah siblings.
And Restiano built a social media following, occasionally featuring himself standing in the shower to demonstrate the product.
Restiano said they attracted attention from investors, but they wanted to be sure any potential partners shared a vision: If they focus on helping people with Sorsoap, the money will follow. It hasn't been easy; they have walked away from some deals.
Last summer, one of the TikTok videos caught the attention of "Shark Tank." The show, now in its 15th season, features a panel of no-nonsense tycoons who pepper entrepreneurs with questions and decide whether to invest in the business. A producer wondered if Restiano and Staats would be interested in making a pitch.
Restiano and Staats knew it was a long shot − last season, the show received 14,000 applications and accepted 130, according to People magazine − but deep down, they thought they had a could make the cut. They jumped at chance.
They studied the shows. They prepared for the sharks' questions. They flew to Los Angeles. They waited nervously in a trailer at Sony studios. And then it was their turn to stand under the bright lights to see if Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O'Leary or Robert Herjavec would want to go in on it with them.
Sorsoap's journey is a familiar one. Plenty of Americans used the time during the pandemic to start businesses and earn extra money, taking advantage of social media to market themselves, said Alison Gilbert, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at Monmouth University in West Long Branch,
It would make sense that Shark Tank would be drawn to Sorsoap. "I think people love to see success stories," Gilbert said. "I think they love to see people do something with limited resources. It's also tapping into what our country's culture is built on, the American dream."
Sorsoap's owners say they want to figure out how to lower the price of the soap, expand into retail stores and develop more products. Coming soon: a container made of recycled ocean plastic that can be used to scrape the muscles with a liquid form of the soap.
How soon depends on the outcome of the show.
"It doesn't matter if you get a deal or no deal," Restiano said. "I am committed to this. I've proven to myself that there's a market for this. (The company's goals) will be much more attainable, quicker, with the help of one of those sharks."
Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Can Brick-based Sorsoap win over the 'Shark Tank' tycoons?
