Ryan Naylor must have felt like an early Christian in the Colosseum rather than a budding entrepreneur on a TV show. His product was Esso Watches that were made in Europe. Ryan’s business was selling them in the US; he had already sold thousands. The main selling point about the watches was that they were infused with negative ions that counteract the harmful positive ions that come from electronic devices.
Some NBA players had hopped on the negative ion bandwagon, so Mark knew all about it. He hollered out, “It’s a scam!” as soon as Ryan began his pitch, and kept making comments. He later refused a watch in Maverick blue. Kevin hollered at Ryan because he couldn’t get the watch to work. Daymond uncharacteristically called Ryan a liar for claiming some of the designs were his, when they were actually stolen from Daymond’s company, Rumba Time.
Ryan left the Tank with Mark still ranting about the negative ion scam. After his episode aired, sales spiked on his website and on Amazon. Then the Exxon Mobile Corporation came calling. They have a copyright on the name “Esso.” Ryan and Exxon made a deal of some kind, and that was the end of Esso watches.
Then Ryan created LocalWork.com to help people find jobs that fit their passions and values. It continues to be very successful. He also puts his traumatic Shark Tank experience to good use. He is an occasional motivational speaker for aspiring entrepreneurs. He begins, “Are you acting like Ryan Naylor on a carpet getting attacked?” Then proceeds to tell them how to overcome any adversity they encounter.
PS: Mark continues his crusade against people advocating the benefits of negative ions and refuses to sell a similar NBA-endorsed product in the Mavericks’ arena.
Esso Watches is no longer in business.
