George Conway, right, a salesman from Chattanooga, explains the "truckUV" concept to "Sharks" Lori Greiner, left, and Robert Herjavec on the set of "Shark Tank."IF YOU WATCH
"Shark Tank," the reality TV competition where people pitch their product or business ideas to potential investors, known as "sharks," will air at 9 p.m. today on ABC.
Local entrepreneur George Conway and the BedRyder removable truck seats he is marketing with partner Carey Hyde will be included on tonight's episode of "Shark Tank," the ABC reality TV competition featuring inventors pitching their ideas to a panel of "shark" investors.
BedRyder has patented a pair of removable seats that can be securely, and legally, put into the back of a pickup truck for extra seating, transforming it into what Hyde and Conway call a "truckUV," a play on the SUV.
Hyde is the creator and majority owner of BedRyder, but because Conway's job gives him more flexibility, he took the lead in following the arduous process of getting onto "Shark Tank," though he asked himself many times over the months-long endeavor if he would see it through.
"It took over a year to make it on the show," Conway said.
It started with a drive to Atlanta in a freezing, torrential downpour on a Saturday in January 2014.
"I wanted to turn around several times and go back home, but my wife [Helen Rose] made me press on," Conway said.
The weather turned a lot of people away, Conway said, and helped move him closer to the front of the long line of applicants. He was a hit with producers in Atlanta, who told him almost immediately that he would be contacted the following week. He got the call at midnight the next Monday.
That was the good news. Little did he know the many hurdles ahead, and that the next step would mean he had to take a day off from work each week for six months to be interviewed via telephone by other show producers.
"It was like being interrogated by the FBI. I had to disclose my personal financials, stuff about BedRyder, and whether I'd ever been sued. The paperwork when I was finished was an inch thick," Conway said.
"The bad thing was, all the while there was no guarantee I would make it to LA [where the show is taped]. From a financial standpoint, I lost about 15 grand in missed sales" from his other job selling windows for homes.
Conway pushed on, he said, out of respect for Hyde and their 40-year friendship.
He got the call on June 1 saying he would be flown to Los Angeles at the show's expense for more auditions. He spent a week in June talking to the show's 45 producers -- "I had no idea there were that many," he said -- before spending two hours on camera on a Saturday morning with the "sharks," the on-camera investers who decide whether to put their money behind one of the products being pitched.
The removable BedRyder seats have been tested and approved under all applicable federal motor vehicle standards for passenger seating, according to Conway. The 65-pound, bucket-style seats feature racing-style shoulder harnesses and sell for around $750.
Conway is prohibited by the show from disclosing the results of what happens on TV tonight, but bloggers and commentors at sharktankblog.com had positive things to say about the product.
The blog states, "The seats mount securely and come complete with seat belts -- even cup holders! For people who need a pick-up truck and also need extra seating from time to time, it's practically an indispensable product."
Eric Anderson posted in the comments section of the blog, "I just purchased my seat last summer. What a game changer. I now can haul 7 passengers legally in my pickup."
For his part, Conway believes all of the aggravation, lost wages and work time will pay off.
"Absolutely," he said. "They say just making it on the show is worth over $1 million in advertising, so it's already worth it."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.