Aaron Krause
Founder & CEO, Scrub Daddy. On 1 show, 1 appearance. The Shows tab opens the full record on each.
founderexecutiveengineer
Krause is best known for inventing and launching Scrub Daddy, a texture-changing cleaning sponge that became one of the most successful consumer products in Shark Tank history. Before founding Scrub Daddy, he patented specialized foam buffing pads.
1shows
1appearances
24statements
6resolved
3supported
2contradicted
50%fully supported
Everything Aaron Krause said on any show that made the record, most notable first. Each card names its show and opens the statement there.
Krause: Scrub Daddy will only sell to major CPG or IPO
“Selling this to, like, XYZ private equity firm doesn't tick it for me, and I have no interest in that. This needs to go to the right home at some point, and that needs to be one of the largest companies in the world in the CPG space. That needs to be a Procter…”
3M excluded the Scrub Daddy prototype from its acquisition of Krause's business
“They went through and carved out five items and said, not interested in any of them.”
Krause: 3M acquired his business for double-digit millions
“We're talking, it's double-digit millions.”
Krause: Circular sponges are better suited for kitchenware than rectangular ones
“What I'm noticing now is Is that everything is round. Pots, pans, plates, coffee pots, muffin tins, casserole dishes, they're all round. Why are we using a rectangular sponge with edges? Because this is getting all the way to the sides of all these things, and…”
Krause pivoted Scrub Daddy from an industrial cleaner to a kitchen sponge
“This has nothing to do with you cleaning your dirty hands in a body shop. This is the greatest kitchen scrubbing tool in the world. I just need to market this differently.”
Krause: QVC-Only Sales Model Would Inevitably Hit Saturation and Fail
“It would have been a spike, and then a saturation point, and then they would, the minute that you had a bad show, you would have been kicked off.”
Scrub Daddy generated $1M in sales the night Shark Tank aired
“We did a million dollars the night the show aired.”
Krause: Dedication to Detail reached $1M-$1.5M in sales by 1998
“By 98, we were doing over a million, million and a half, but I could see the writing on the wall. This was become multimillion dollars.”
Krause: Original Scrub Daddy Hand Scrubber Was Priced at $4.50
“It's a really, we call it a highly engineered polymer, and it was made in Germany, so we had to ship it across the ocean, and then we had to cut it and shape it, and it was four and a half dollars.”
Krause signed a perpetual worldwide exclusive license with low minimums
“I signed a worldwide exclusivity for this technology for very, very low minimum quantities.”
Krause bought out 50% partner in Innovative Accessory Products for Scrub Daddy
“Well, I had the right to make the final decisions on everything as the CEO of the company, and I pulled out the shareholder agreement, and I said, here's the deal. You're a 50% shareholder, and I'm a 50% shareholder, but I have the right to make the decision o…”
Krause: Scrub Daddy secured exclusive supply rights to German sponge material
“I negotiate with the company and get a, an exclusivity on the material. They can't sell it to anyone else but me. And it turns out for some very specific reasons, no one else can make it. It's literally locked into this one particular facility in Germany.”
Krause: Spent $150,000 on initial Scrub Daddy packaging and branding
“I spent, you know, 150,000 dollars on packaging and logos, and I created this beautiful product in a bright orange box called Scrub Daddy, and I started calling all of the retailers.”
Walmart and Bed Bath & Beyond picked up Scrub Daddy post-Shark Tank
“And the Bed Bath & Beyond person that wouldn't talk to us before called us, and Walmart called us, and Lori was really gracious,
and, you know, she joined a bunch of the calls and brought star power, and they were, like, blown away and instantly took the produ…”
Krause: Scrub Mommy outsells Scrub Daddy by about 10% in every retailer
“And to this day, Scrub Mommy outsells Scrub Daddy by about 10% in every retailer.”
Krause: Scrub Daddy has nearly 5M TikTok and 1M Instagram followers
“I mean, we have almost five million followers on TikTok now, almost a million on Instagram, and some of our videos get twenty million views.”
Krause: I would step down as CEO if Scrub Daddy goes public
“I would consider going public, and at that point, I would step down. I'm not, I don't want to run a public company. It's far too much red tape for me”
Krause: Next venture Tovi produces NHL-approved hockey stick
“I'm in the middle of a brand new startup making this really unique hockey stick called Tovi, T-O-V-I. It's a revolutionary hockey stick that we have NHL approval for”
Krause's Father Loaned Him $8,000 at 9% Interest to Lease Detailing Shop
“And I saved up the 8000 dollars in a bank account at the end of the summer. I showed it to my dad, and he loaned me 8000 dollars I think it was at nine percent interest at the time, and that was enough money to get a lease on a very small garage in Ardmore, Pe…”
Krause Lived With His Parents Until Age 29 While Growing Business
“I lived at home until I was 29. But it really gave me the opportunity to spend all my focus on growing the business and not worrying about where I was living or where I was getting food.”
Krause: Worn wool buffing pads turn into grinding wheels that ruin paint
“And when it gets caked up with chemicals and it wears down, it doesn't become a buffing pad. It becomes a grinding wheel. And if you're not an absolute expert, it's very easy to burn the paint off the car.”
Krause: Edge buffing pads cost $1+ to make and sold for $3 to $4
“Pad cost to make a dollar something, and we were selling them for three or four dollars.”
One line per show, most statements first. The link opens Aaron's full record on that show: the calibration, argument clarity, speaking style and every statement made there.
| Show | Role there | Eps | Statements | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 HOW I BUILT THISLEDGER | Founder & CEO, Scrub Daddy | 1 | 24 | 50% 3/6 | full record on How I Built This → |