Tree T Pee is a device that is placed around the base of a tree to prevent frost damage and save water in the process. The product is made from plastic and is shaped like a tepee.
The product is placed around the tree in the fall and removed in the spring. Tree T Pee is a product that helps farmers save money and water while tending to their crops. The product is made from plastic and is shaped like a tepee.
Tree T Pee was created by Johnny Georges and his father Rick Georges. The two of them worked in the citrus and irrigation industries for over two decades. In 1984, Johnny and his father created a plastic device to put around tree roots to prevent frost damage and save water in the process.
Over the years, a few farmers used the Tree T Pee, which was limited to a local region. In 2008, Johnny re-introduced the Tree T Pee to a wider audience. He had a product that farmers could use to see an immediate effect on the way they do business.
Johnny entered the Shark Tank to see if he could get some capital and support to expand the Tree T Pee to help farmers across the country.
Tree T Pee is an effective method of conserving water through the irrigation process, reducing the amount of water used per tree from 25,000 gallons annually to just 800 gallons a year.
Johnny is asking for $150,000 in exchange for a 20% share of Tree T Pee. Johnny knows his business and his product. He has seen it in action and understands how it can help the farmers he has worked with for years.
However, he is not a public speaker, and being unused to the big lights and cameras, as well as the panel of successful entrepreneurs he is pitching his business to. As he began his pitch, Johnny felt the pressure of the moment and he froze, unable to remember the details he knew and had memorized.
Guest Shark John Paul DeJoria lets Johnny off the hook and asks how the Tree T Pee system works. The plastic container wraps around the base of the tree to collect up to three inches of rainwater within an hour. Similar products have tried to more efficiently get water to tree roots, but the wind would hamper those efforts.
Johnny has a utility patent on the Tree T Pee, which is currently only in a small five-county area in California. The Tree T Pee costs $3.59 to manufacture. Johnny has made over 125,000 units but sells them for only $4.50 each, a very low-profit margin. The Tree T Pee is designed to last for five years, but the oldest one has been in use since 1984.
Johnny told the Sharks that his father, Rick, was a pioneer and innovator in the irrigation industry. He explained that when the weather turned cold and a freeze was on the way, he and his father would place dirt over their trees to protect them. One day, the pair constructed a makeshift tee-pee with a piece of plastic and placed it around the base of a tree. The idea for the Tree T Pee was born.
Mark wants to know about Johnny’s distribution efforts. Johnny explains that he has not been able to investigate worldwide distribution The Tree T Pee has been sold to a handful of commercial nurseries in Florida, but that is about the extent of his network. Johnny shared a tale with the Sharks about trying to sell the Tree T Pee to a farmer and being kicked off the property by the farmer’s wife. He tried to explain to her that he had a way to save them water and money and keep their trees from freezing overnight. Before leaving, Johnny left the woman his business card and a few samples of the Tree T Pee for them to try.
A week later, the woman called Johnny to pay him for the Tree T Pees and place an order for almost 5,000 more. Mark wondered why he was only selling them for $5 when he could probably get at least double that amount. Johnny countered that when he is dealing with farmers, he tries to be as honest as possible and give them the best deal he can. He is selling them in bulk, thousands at a time. Kevin explains to Johnny that there is not enough of a profit margin to make it worth the efforts of a large distributor.
He said it would take a large operation to seek out farmers and that the profit margins would not make those efforts cost-efficient. Kevin bows out. John Paul is clearly impressed with Johnny’s efforts and feels he is sincere in wanted to help farmers save money and help water conservation efforts. He says that American farmers are the foundation of the country. He thinks farmers would be willing to pay up to $7 for the tremendous benefits of the Tree T Pee.
John-Paul thinks Johnny is doing a lot of good for the farmers of this country and wants to partner with him to do a whole more. Without any further hesitation, John Paul says that he will give Johnny everything he’s asking for – the entire $150,000 in exchange for 20% of Tree T Pee. Johnny accepts and makes a deal they both hope will have a positive impact on farmers across the country.
After Shark Tank
Since appearing at Shark Tank, Johnny has worked with John Paul to give presentations at major companies. The Tree T Pee is priced at $9.97 at the Home Depot in Florida in hopes of entering the mall. Pee is available on their website, their wealth on social media is increasing, and there are over 36,000 likes on Facebook.
Johnny’s father, Rick, died more than a decade ago, and although he certainly is proud of his son’s work on behalf of Agora, with financial and business support from John Paul. Johnny helped farmers to the TPee Tree to save crops, water, and money.
America’s Reaction
Tree T Pee got some major coverage after being featured on Shark Tank. There was overwhelming and support from his fellow Americans. People like a hard working blue collar success story because this is what built America.
ABC News had an interview with Kevin O’Leary after the show. Here is a direct quote from the interview:
“There wasn’t a dry eye in the room that day,” O’Leary told ABC News
ABC News
George delighted to have 56,000 emails hit his inbox a day after the show was aired. He said that he sold thousands Tree T Pees that night!
With such an original product, no wonder! Here is what a successful Insuratech founder said about the originality of Tree T Pee’s product:
This product is brilliant! It’s simplicity meeting functionality and it completely original. Good products sell themselves.
Darren Nix, Steadily, Landlord Insurance
Overall, everyone was really impresse
