It’s hard to get Wally Amos flustered. With more than four decades of entrepreneurial experience under his belt, the longtime Honolulu resident who got his start selling Famous Amos cookies in 1975 said he never felt intimidated in a business setting — until he stepped on set to film an episode of ABC’s “Shark Tank” in June.
“The power of that show had me nervous,” said Amos, 80. “It took me a little time to shake it. … I was intimidated, and I’m not usually intimidated by anything or anybody. But it was a great experience.”
The Emmy-winning reality series features budding entrepreneurs who pitch their products to a panel of self-made tycoons in the hope of securing financial backing. The episode with Amos airs 8 p.m. Friday on ABC.
Amos appeared before the “sharks” with his latest venture, the Cookie Kahuna, a lineup of handmade cookies “Baked With Aloha” at a facility in Seattle that follows his recipes from the 1980s. Costco signed a deal with him last summer to sell the cookies at all four of its stores on Oahu, and Amos also sells directly to customers via his website, cookiekahuna.com.
At a friend’s suggestion, Amos got in touch with “Shark Tank” producers at the beginning of 2016 and was quickly selected to participate. Despite having not watched many episodes of the show, he knew what it would mean for his business if he was chosen to appear on camera, regardless of whether he hooked one of the sharks.
“I wanted to get exposure,” Amos said. “If I get more awareness, I’m going to sell more cookies. I didn’t have a game plan.”
Amos wouldn’t disclose much about this week’s episode, citing a confidentiality agreement with ABC.
“After having met them, I think they’re all really sharp business people and they’re really nice folks,” he said of investors Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Greiner and Robert Herjavec. “They’re not there to see if they can take advantage of the entrepreneur. They want the entrepreneur to have a good experience and make money as well. And I saw that close up.”
