Wired Waffles: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank

In October 2012, Wired Waffles appeared on an early season of the popular reality competition show "Shark Tank," with a pitch seeking funding for a new kind of waffle infused with caffeine — in fact, enough caffeine to equal three cups of coffee. The idea was that Wired Waffles would allow busy people to get a hearty breakfast and their early morning buzz in one easy-to-make product. 

It was the idea of Roger Sullivan, an entrepreneur that has started many different ventures throughout his life. According to Sullivan's LinkedIn page, he has been a "serial entrepreneur" since the age of 12 when he was selling candy to make profits. In later years, he launched a coffee business called The Espresso Shopper, described as a "ground up wholesale delivery business to the specialty coffee Industry in the Seattle area." It ran from 2006-2009, which may have provided early inspiration for his business.

In 2010, Sullivan officially launched Wired Waffles, a "100% all-natural caffeinated snack food" he called the "Red Bull of breakfast food" and, in trying to expand the exposure outside of the Seattle coffee mecca, he appeared on Season 4, Episode 5 of "Shark Tank" where he sought $75,000 for 25% equity of the company.

In a "Shark Tank" audition video, Wired Waffles founder Roger Sullivan and then director of marketing Richard Boas said they were looking for a $75,000 investment to help develop a gluten-free line of the waffles, update the company website, and develop a complementary caffeinated maple syrup.

But, when Sullivan provided the panel of sharks with a sample of Wired Waffles, he was met with sharp reactions — none of them good. All of them found the food distasteful, claiming it was too dry. In fact, shark Robert Herjavec immediately asked Sullivan if there was something to put on the waffles to "make them taste better." Sullivan later blamed the poor taste on the studio lights and the fact that the waffles had been opened 30 minutes before the show began.

There were other concerns posed as well. Shark Lori Greiner took issue with the caffeine content in the waffles, given that one has 200 milligrams of caffeine, equivalent to 2.5 cans of Red Bull, believing that children might confuse the food for traditional waffles. "Mr. Wonderful" Kevin O'Leary also thought that the product was not as unique as Sullivan thought and without a proprietary design, Wired Waffles would soon be faced with competitors.

Sales also proved to be a sticking point when Sullivan revealed that Wired Waffles had only generated $1,000 in revenue, even though he was working on a $140,000 deal with distributors to get his product on the market. Ultimately, Sullivan left the show without a deal, but he was still determined to get his product off the ground.

After the show, Roger Sullivan heeded the sharks' advice to make Wired Waffles taste better and reportedly changed the recipe for a sweeter result and to ensure the waffles stayed softer and more pliable for a longer period of time. According to his LinkedIn page, Sullivan also did move forward with developing a caffeinated maple syrup to pour over Wired Waffles or any other breakfast food.

Although Sullivan didn't reach a deal with any of the billionaire investors after his 2012 appearance on "Shark Tank," the national attention that the episode brought to his product did allegedly entice another investor though their identity has not been revealed. It's said the private investor provided funding in exchange for 5% of the company, but the exact dollar amount they invested is unknown. 

Sadly for Sullivan, his product never fully took off, and in 2015, he discontinued operations altogether. But this wasn't the last time Sullivan would try to make a name for himself in the business world.

Roger Sullivan never public disclosed why he discontinued Wired Waffles and his caffeine-infused maple syrup products in 2015, however he soon moved on. Around the same time he appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2012, Sullivan had launched a new company, Eve's Moonshine, which he reportedly started due to a "rich family history of moonshining and bootlegging." Only one product ever launched, Eve's Apple Pie Moonshine, which came to market in 2013 and had 22.3% alcohol and apple concentrates from the Washington state region, creating a unique drink.

Sullivan managed both Wired Waffles and Eve's Moonshine concurrently from 2012 through 2015, but seemed to focus on the latter after Wired Waffles was discontinued. Although Sullivan's LinkedIn suggests that other products were supposed to launch, it appears it never came to fruition. In 2018, Sullivan discontinued Eve's Moonshine for non-disclosed reasons, but his entrepreneurial career wasn't over yet.

After Eve's Moonshine was discontinued, Sullivan decided to move forward in his entrepreneurial career by getting into real estate. Sullivan became a broker as well as a consultant for other entrepreneurs and businesses in 2019 working with firms Keller Williams Realty and Realty ONE Group as recently as February 2023. Currently, Sullivan is a field underwriter for Symmetry Financial Group, a life insurance company based in North Carolina, but he does still help advise other aspiring entrepreneurs and people struggling in commercial real estate. He also appears to be a travel writer for Let's Vagabond.

Although it's unclear if Sullivan plans on starting any new business ventures, his LinkedIn seems to tease he's always thinking about it. As founder of his own Kokopelli Holdings LLC since 2006, his talents are listed as delving into "new product development," "business implementation," and being an overall "problem solver." As his business profile says, he's "not afraid to dive in and get dirty," so maybe his next great idea will have us seeing him again on a future season of "Shark Tank."