How I Made Over $220M In Sales Creating Scrub Daddy | The Ground Up

On store shelves, customers might only see a bright yellow smile waiting to add some shine to the kitchen. But, behind the iconic ridges and gleaming eye holes are years of sweat and machine grime for Aaron Krause, 54, Scrub Daddy’s Founder and CEO. Aaron’s entrepreneurial journey started when he was just a kid living in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania. At 10 years old, he created his first invention: A rope and pulley system to turn his bedroom light on and off from his bed so he didn’t have to get up and do it. From there, Aaron kept his innovative side going by washing cars in the neighborhood. After graduating from Syracuse University in 1992 with a psychology degree, he told his family that he was going to open his own car washing business. His family was shocked and upset with his career path, to say the least. But Aaron knew he could make it work. Not only by washing cars, but to start inventing new products. In 1994, he invented his first big product, which was a buffing pad for polishing cars. In 1995, Aaron sold his car washing business and turned his focus to a new venture: Dedication To Detail, a buffing pad manufacturer. A few years after creating his business, he received polyester urethane foam from German manufacturer FoamPartner, which became a key part of Scrub Daddy’s material now known as FlexTexture. However, the buffing pads he was selling with this foam at this time did not sell well and he was forced to stop selling it due to low sales in the market. On September 3, 2008, Dedication To Detail was bought out by multi-national manufacturer 3M. Aaron’s sponges ended up sitting at the back of the Detail factory for five years until March 2011 when they found a new life. That foam became the material of the sponge for the Scrub Daddy, which he pitched on Shark Tank in October 2012. As soon as the episode aired, Aaron’s life changed forever. Since then, the company moved their headquarters to Pennsauken, New Jersey in 2021. Their newest facility features a television studio, a warehouse, a koi pond, and a store for customers to buy their products. Today, Scrub Daddy has made over $220 million in sales for 2023. But, Aaron said his sponge empire is just getting started. 00:00 – This Is Scrub Daddy 00:30 – Meet The Scrub Daddy 01:24 – The Sponge Dynasty 02:22 – Aaron’s First Invention 03:07 – An Early Entrepreneur 04:05 – Creating The Buffing Pad 04:42 – Finding The Right Material & Securing A Patent 05:57 – Starting Dedication to Detail 07:07 – The New Life Of A Sponge 09:02 – Building A Company 10:12 – Spotting A Knock Off 10:22 – Pitching To His First Customers 10:39 – Leveraging The Press 10:57 – Scrub Daddy’s QVC Debut 12:07 – Feeling Inspired By Shark Tank 12:49 – The Road To Shark Tank 13:07 – Perfecting The Pitch 13:54 – Preparing To Swim With Sharks 14:25 – An Unexpected Change 14:49 – Robert Herjavec’s Herald For Retail 15:16 – Mark Cuban’s Cut And Run 15:26 – Withdrawing Mr. Wonderful 16:13 – Lori Greiner See’s A Gain 17:11 – Aaron’s Vindication 17:53 – A Deal for Scrub Daddy 18:07 – Reaching New Heights 18:46 – Aaron’s Partnership With Lori 19:51 – Scrub Daddy Moves To Pennsauken 20:11 – Aaron’s Business Vision 20:59 - Keeping Sustainability In Their Sights 22:12 - One Thing Aaron Would Change 22:42 - Scrub Daddy’s Future 23:13 - The Krause’s Family Lesson 24:19 - What Aaron’s Learned 24:39 - Outro Subscribe to Fortune - Fortune Magazine is a global leader in business journalism with 55 million monthly page views and a readership of nearly 32 million, with major franchises including the Fortune 500 and the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For. The new Fortune video channel dives into personal stories from business owners and entrepreneurs becoming successful in business and sharing their tips to help you reach your goals. Website: Facebook: Twitter: TikTok: @fortune #ScrubDaddy #Scrubdynasty #Fortune