SHARK TANK - “1514” - Impassioned entrepreneurs enter the Tank to score an investment deal on products, including a damage-free wall light, an umbrella with two handles, a silicone placemat with an edge and a gluten-free alternative to popcorn. FRIDAY, JAN. 19 (8:00-9:01 p.m. EST), on ABC. (Disney/Christopher Willard) BERYLN HAUGHTON

A Central Valley native is enjoying some national attention after appearing on the most popular television pitch program.

Berlyn Haughton appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank Friday to sell a piece of her company, The Table Tyke, to the celebrity investors on the program, referred to as “sharks.”

Haughton launched The Table Tyke, a baby-safe placement mat that helps prevent children from hitting their faces on the edge of tables, from Fresno at the end of 2020.

She was seeking $100,000 for a 10% stake in The Table Tyke, valuing her business at $1 million. It is currently available online and some boutiques.

The sharks declined to invest, stating they didn’t believe they could bring any more value to the company. But they were impressed by the product and the pitch. They said more social media exposure would definitely help her business.

The episode’s investors were Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, and Robert Herjavec.

Haughton said that since the episode aired on Friday, she has placed two emergency orders from her manufacturer. She has also received hundreds of messages of support and more clicks for the product.

In 2023, the business generated $100,000 in sales. This year, she expects to hit $200,000.

The Table Tyke is in 80 boutique stores across the country. It landed in retail stores less than a year ago.

“What I was really hoping for with a Shark was just someone to give me a roadmap to what to focus on, how to pitch to retailers, and how to get distributors—whatever the advice may be to give me a path,” Haughton said.

The Table Tyke really took off after she created a TikTok video about the product, and she got orders over night—a big leap for her at the time.

A Hanford native, Haughton was most recently living in Fresno until her husband’s job had him transfer to Nashville, Tennessee, last year, where they currently reside.

She maintains local connections however, with her entire family still in Hanford and Fresno. She also works with local public relations firm PREM PR & Social. Haughton said that Marilyn Cowley, CEO of PREM, was the person who originally suggested she should make the viral TikTok video that brought the product so much attention.

She said she is still working with AMARQUEZ, a local web design and management company based in Fresno. The team there just redid their website before she went on the show.

Corcoran, a New York real estate investor and one of the original sharks, recommended that Haughton continue running the business as she is and to try and make more viral videos.

“What we have here right now is a business that doesn’t have room for a shark. I think you are on the verge of doing a lot of sales and the answer is social media,” Corcoran said.

Haughton said it’s a dream for any entrepreneur to get to that stage of the show and appreciated the opportunity.

“I want to keep this momentum going and Shark Tank has been such a big boost. For my business I’m trying to figure out the best way to keep the momentum going and really turn it into something else—expand products is on my list,” Haughton said.

She said she will be packing orders for a long time to get caught up, which she is excited about.