“Everyone wants to know what happened to ‘the kid,'” according to Daniela Kelly when I called to get a Ryan’s Barkery Update just before Christmas. Daniela is Ryan’s mom and a big part of the business. They both appeared in Shark Tank episode 424 and the Kellys scored a deal with Barbara Corcoran, who invested $25,000 for 25% of the business. I’d been trying to find time to do a Ryan’s Barkery update interview before Christmas, but scheduling was tight and, as Ryan put it, “I’m probably the first entrepreneur who told you what time I get off the school bus!”
I finally did catch up with the Kellys the Thursday before Christmas. When I called, Ryan told me they’d call back because “mom is on the phone with Barbara.” They were putting together some pre – holiday strategies. When they got back to me about 20 minutes later, they were both filled with praise for Barbara Corcoran.
Ryan’s Barkery Update on Barbara Corcoran
“We hear from her a lot,” Ryan explains, “she makes us feel like we’re her only company. Daniela said “she helped us with packaging labels. We went from selling the treats in ziplock bags to SKU packaging overnight. We hear from Mike in her office a lot, but we can get her on the phone at any time. “We had a blast at Fire Island with Barbara and her group,” Ryan continues, “I love those guys.”
“The deal with Barbara didn’t take too long to finalize,” Daniela adds. “We didn’t have a ton of numbers to sift through. We had $800 in sales when we taped; we’re approaching six figures now.”
Once again, Shark Tank entrepreneurs have high praise for Barbara Corcoran! The people she funds have a great admiration and respect for her. All the entrepreneurs she’s funded have nothing but praise about her accessibility and her honest and forthright advice.
Ryan and Daniela have praise for Peter Ferreira from Nuts n More too. They’re the peanut butter guys who scored a deal with Robert and Mark in episode 420. “Peter’s dad owns a bakery,” says Ryan, “they don’t live too far from us, so he met us at the bakery and we spent a whole day making dog treats there. He really helped us catch up with orders!”
The Life of a 12-year-old Entrepreneur
“I always loved business,” Ryan says, “I had lemonade stands, sold Halloween candy on the bus, I even rented my sneakers to my brother once! I got the idea for the dog treats when we got our dog, Barkley.” I asked Ryan how Barkley was, he answered, “He’s FAT.”
We brought him to vet recently,” Daniela interjects, “he was fawning all over him – it was the same vet who gave us the ingredients for the treats. Barkley needed shots, so the vet gives him a treat to distract his for shots. It wasn’t one of ours and Barkley wouldn’t touch it. He’s spoiled.”
Ryan is like a lot of 12-year-olds, when he isn’t out building his business. “I play hockey and lacrosse – I am trying basketball this year – but it’s tough with sports teams because we do a lot of traveling in the Northeast doing promotions,” he says. “Ryan is also part of a new program called Independent Youth,” Daniela adds, “it’s a teen entrepreneurs program affiliated with Kingonomics. We travel to a lot of their events. I’ve gone with Ryan to Atlanta and St. Louis; I still go with him because he still needs a chaperone!”