Here's What Went Down With Solemender After Shark Tank

Ehan Kamat was only 12 years old when he got the business bug and founded Solemender. Ehan watched his mom freeze a toy and roll it under her foot to stop the pain associated with plantar fasciitis and felt inspired. The pre-teen discovered a market gap for a product accessible to the masses and designed to be used underfoot. Two years later, at 14, he patented the Solemender device and created his first business. "I made a little prototype using cardboards and eventually a 3D printer. My mom tried it out and thought it was the greatest thing in the world. We started talking to patients about the product, and they were all super excited," he told Berkley Haas in 2022. "Eventually, I started building more prototypes and letting customers and patients test it out, realizing that we might have something that actually is valuable to a lot of people," he added.

But, being so young and inexperienced in business, a lot of doors closed when Ehan attempted to get the word out about Solmender and start production on a big scale. "I started the company relatively young, and no one in my family had business expertise. Thus, I was really on my own," he recalled. Cue an appearance on "Shark Tank" that changed everything.

Ehan Kamat and his dad, Vinay Kamat, took Solemender in front of Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Mark Cuban, and guest Shark Alex Rodriguez during "Shark Tank" Season 9, which aired in 2017. The Kamats wanted $75,000 for 10% of the company. Ehan explained that Solemender, not to be confused with fellow "Shark Tank" business SoleMates, had brought in around $25,000 in lifetime sales and had medical benefits. 

After Ehan explained he was considering not attending college to focus on the business, Cuban shut him down and offered invaluable life advice. "That is a bad idea," the longtime Shark told the teen entrepreneur (via CNBC). "Learning accounting, learning finance, learning marketing, the more you can pull together, the quicker you can make decisions, the more competitive you can be, the greater advantage," Cuban added. He encouraged Ehan to work on the business while studying, but wouldn't invest. 

Corcoran shared she wouldn't join the company after claiming it didn't have "sex appeal" (via Inc) and O'Leary also dropped out. Greiner and Rodriguez — who teamed up to invest in "Shark Tank" foot company SneakERASERS — weren't convinced either, but Rodriguez did offer the young businessman a lifeline. "I'll give you my card, when you get out of college, please come and let me know what is next," the baseball star said.

Despite suggesting college may not be for him, Ehan Kamat took Mark Cuban's advice. He enrolled at the University of California Berkeley post-"Shark Tank" and studied business and French while continuing to grow Solemender. "Solemender was doing mediocre, it wasn't doing great [when I took it to "Shark Tank"], obviously, but it was something I was passionate about," Ehan said on Summerfuel in 2020. But that changed thanks to the ABC show, as he shared Solemender saw the "Shark Tank" effect take hold the night it aired. "To see your numbers on Shopify just exponentially growing is just insane," he said, revealing sales grew from $25,000 in one year to $500,000 in one night.

Ehan didn't regret his time on the show, despite not getting an investment, and used the opportunity to make important connections. "One thing I valued the most from 'Shark Tank' was being able to exchange thoughts with so many entrepreneurs," he told Berkley Haas. Ehan and Vinay Kamat stayed active members of the "Shark Tank" family and attended the show's reunion meetups in 2019 and 2022, where they liaised with other success stories from the series. Ehan also gave a Ted Talk that year and discussed the hurdles he'd faced as a young entrepreneur.

Solemender is still in business as of October 2024. The company predominantly sells through its website, where it offers the original Solemender massager fans saw on "Shark Tank," as well as a jade version, and replacement rollers. The company also sells via its Amazon storefront, which stocks several products, including the Natural Jade Foot Massager and the Cooling Foot Massager. Ehan worked hard to get Solemender on QVC after the show, but at the time of writing, the products are listed as sold out with no indication of when they'll be back in stock.

Solemender never quite mastered social media sales though, as its pages haven't provided regular content. On Instagram, the brand has just over 2,300 followers, but customers haven't been updated on the company since 2020. Solemender has a further 1,000 followers on Facebook sharing more regular posts, though the business hasn't updated customers on its footcare products since 2023.

Ehan Kamat still has big ideas for Solemender. He explained to Berkley Haas he planned to focus on marketing, as well as expanding the number of products available. "We've been ... working on different types of rollers, massagers, and other pieces that we can add onto the existing products," he shared. "We're also working on new things like lidocaine. New opportunities in over-the-counter treatments present a great opportunity to bring value to our customers," Ehan added.

But Solemender isn't Ehan's only focus anymore. The businessman teamed up with Vinay Kamat in 2023 to create Domaine Kamat, an alcohol-free wine brand that could help bring a more mindful approach to customers' drinking habits. Ehan gained an interest in the market while in California for college and was influenced by his parents' sober lifestyles. "I recently acquired a lot of knowledge and experience in Napa, where we will be planting vines and working on a novel wine venture," Ehan said. Vinay also spoke about the family business in 2023. He told Dry Atlas, "When Ehan told us he wanted to buy a vineyard property in Napa, we thought of the old saying about making a small fortune in the wine business. He then pitched us the idea of the non-alc Napa Cab, and we were all in!"