StepNpull to be Featured on Shark Tank

StepNpull, the Springfield, Mo.-based manufacturer of market-leading foot operated door openers, will be featured on an upcoming episode of ABC’s hit reality show, “Shark Tank.” 

The episode featuring StepNpull is scheduled to air Friday, April 2, at 7 p.m. CST. “Shark Tank” airs nationwide on ABC. 

“We are thrilled for the opportunity to appear on ‘Shark Tank,’ which will help us introduce the StepNpull device to even more potential customers,” said StepNpull Co-Founder and CEO Mike Sewell. 

Sewell entered the “Shark Tank” to demonstrate how the StepNpull device can help people open doors with their foot to avoid touching public door handles with their hands. Sewell explained to the potential investors the history of the company and how the easy-to-install device has exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

StepNpull launched in 2007 by Sewell and two of his former co-workers, Ron Ely and Kelly Coddington. Sewell had the idea for the device after watching employees at the telecommunications firm where he worked open the bathroom door using paper towels to avoid touching the door handle. 

For the first several years, StepNpull was a side hustle the partners worked on in their free time. The company expanded with purchases from major corporations like Boeing, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Google, and Walmart. Lowe’s, Amazon and other retailers started selling the device. Next came international expansion with distribution partners established in The United Kingdom, Slovenia, Australia, Hong Kong, and South Africa. 

But the real growth for the company began about a year ago with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“From the moment the pandemic began, our phone hasn’t stopped ringing,” said Sewell. “Everybody is more concerned with stopping the spread of germs. The StepNpull hands-free door opener is one of the best ways to protect the public from spreading germs because people don’t have to touch the same door handles over and over again.” 

Since the pandemic began, the company’s patented device has gained national and international media coverage. Orders have flooded in from around the world. This required additional employees at its Springfield, Missouri headquarters as well as more international distributors and manufacturing capacity. 

StepNpull sought to partner with the “Sharks” to leverage their business knowledge and experience to help expand its operations globally and support the exploding demand for its product. 

“Shark Tank” is a critically acclaimed, multi-Emmy® Award-winning reality show that gives budding entrepreneurs the chance to secure business deals. Entrepreneurs pitch their companies and ideas to a group of “Sharks,” described by ABC as “tough, self-made, multimillionaire and billionaire tycoons,” in the hope of convincing one or more of the investors to give them the funding they need to turn their dreams into million-dollar realities. 

StepNpull will appear on “Shark Tank” on Friday, April 2, at 8 p.m. ET/PT (7 p.m. CST) on ABC.