TRL 067: From Serving in the Air Force to Landing a Deal on Shark Tank with Tom Burden

Today on the podcast I am joined by Tom Burden the founder and CEO of Grypmat a multi-purpose flexible tool tray that keeps your tools in place and organized while you work on cars, planes, or anywhere else that you might need tools. Tom came up with the idea for Grypmat after serving in the Air Force as a jet mechanic, and after leaving the Air Force he dove into the startup world and launched his company. The Grypmat is a favorite of mechanics and DIYers all over the country and even caught the eye of Marc Cuban, Richard Branson, and Lori Grenier who all invested in the company when Tom appeared on an episode of Shark Tank. During this episode, Tom and I discussed what it was like to start your own business after serving in the Air Force and if his military background was a pro or a con in starting a business, what he has learned from his Shark Tank investors and what appearing on the hit show was like, and we also got to talk about his experience running an eCommerce business with a partially remote team and how he plans to continue using remote work after COVID.