In a nail-biter of an episode on ABC’s Shark Tank, aired April 16, a small company called Permaplug clinched a game-changing deal with investor Lori Greiner. The brainchild of founder Zack Elowitz, Permaplug pitched a deceptively simple gadget—a charger lock that bolts your phone charger to an outlet, thwarting thieves and clumsy kids alike. It’s the kind of idea that sounds like it shouldn’t work until you realize how many times you’ve cursed a yanked-out cable.
Elowitz, a first-time entrepreneur with a knack for solving everyday gripes, strode into the Tank with a prototype and a dream. He asked for $100,000 in exchange for 10% of his company, laying out a vision for a world where chargers stay put. The Sharks, known for sniffing out flops, leaned in. Greiner, the queen of QVC, saw dollar signs in the product’s mass-market appeal. After some haggling—because no Shark deal comes without a tussle—she offered $100,000 for 20% equity. Elowitz, sweat on his brow but steady, shook on it.
The Permaplug itself is a plastic-and-metal contraption, small enough to fit in your palm, that screws into an outlet plate and grips a charger’s prongs. It’s not rocket science, but it’s clever. Elowitz pitched it as a fix for airports, coffee shops, and homes with sticky-fingered roommates. Greiner, with her Rolodex of retail connections, called it “a hero product” on air, the kind of thing that could fly off shelves at Bed Bath & Beyond or Walmart.
The deal marks a milestone for Permaplug, which launched in 2023 and had been scraping by on small-batch sales through its website and Amazon. Elowitz, a former tech support guy who tinkered with the idea after losing one too many chargers, said the company had pulled in $50,000 in revenue pre-Tank. Greiner’s investment and know-how could catapult it into big-box stores, though no official retail partnerships have been announced yet.
Shark Tank’s 16th season, where this deal went down, has been a hotbed for scrappy inventors. Permaplug’s episode drew 3.2 million viewers, per Nielsen ratings, and the product’s website crashed from traffic within hours of airing. Elowitz and his team are now gearing up for production to meet demand, with Greiner’s team reportedly advising on packaging and distribution.
No government filings or patents were publicly cited for Permaplug’s tech at the time of the deal, but the company’s trademark was registered in 2024, according to U.S. Patent and Trademark Office records. Greiner, with over 700 products in her portfolio, has a track record of turning quirky gadgets into household names. Whether Permaplug becomes the next Scrub Daddy or fades into late-night infomercial obscurity depends on execution. For now, Elowitz is riding the high of a deal that could change everything.