20 Things You Didn’t Know about Lori Greiner
Lori Greiner is currently a host on ABC’s Shark Tank and she has a net worth of $50 million. Before Greiner made it to Shark Tank and its spin-off, she was known as the charismatic host on QVC’s network and the creator of its Clever & Unique Creations Show.
This program developed from her company that she launched in 1996 called For Your Ease Only, Inc., which focuses on developing innovative products and putting them on the consumer market. After the “Queen of QVC” gained more popularity, she went on to appear on Shark Tank and the rest is history.
During the course of her career the businesswoman has launched more than 400 products, secured over 120 patents in the U.S. and abroad, and authored a best selling book — it’s clear that Lori Greiner knows how to create success in the business world. In fact, Lori invested in what’s known as the biggest success in the history of Shark Tank — the Scrub Daddy — and she’s earned millions from that one product alone.
Here are 20 things that you probably didn’t know about Lori Greiner.
1. Entrepreneurship is in her blood
Her mother worked as a psychologist and her father is a real estate developer. Although they divorced when she was nine years old, their career choices allowed Laurie to enjoy an upper-middle-class lifestyle during her childhood in Chicago.
Her mother and father also set an example of going into business for oneself instead of opting to become an employee.
2. Her husband has been her company’s CFO for well over a decade.
Lori Greiner’s husband, Dan Greiner, worked as a controller at a manufacturing company before he started managing the finances of For Your Ease Only. Today the company makes millions per year, and Daniel has been an important part of Lori’s team for more than ten years.
3. Lori dabbled into selling jewelry while she was in college.
Given the products that she would eventually develop, it’s not surprising that Lori used to sell jewelry. In fact, it was an abundance of jewelry that led to Lori Greiner’s creation of her first product. To make extra money in college, Lori also worked for a short time as a playwright.
4. The product that made her rich was a specialized jewelry box.
Lori had a jumble of jewelry sitting in a box, was talking to a friend, and then the idea hit to create a jewelry organizer. At first, the idea was mainly to help herself get organized, however she eventually took out a $10,000 loan to make a prototype that she could sell through retail channels.
5. Lori Greiner sold over 2,500 of her earring organizers in two minutes.
This appearance began her track record of being able to quickly and easily sell products on television. In addition to selling loads of the jewelry organizers on TV, Lori was also able to successfully pitch her product to JC Penney.
6. Lori Greiner sold more than 2 million Scrub Daddy sponges in one day on QVC.
The handy tool is the most successful product ever pitched on Shark Tank, and the sponges have generated over $75 million in revenue to date. The success of the product has also spawned a new line of complementary items. Today, in addition to being available on QVC, Scrub Daddy sponges can be bought in stores nationwide and online.
7. Lori’s company has been behind a number of other winning products.
For Your Ease Only holds patents for and has successfully sold products ranging from kitchen gadgets, travel organizers, and electronics to deluxe jewelry holders, home decor, and household items. One of the company’s more popular products is Hold Your Haunches, a collection of shapewear and leggings that has generated millions of dollars in sales.
8. She first went on Shark Tank looking for items to sell on her long running QVC show.
She was supposed to appear on the first season of the program, but she opted out when her mother passed away. Lori eventually joined the cast of Shark Tank for its third season, and since then she has hit it big with a variety of products.
Lori is known as the warm blooded shark on the show because she’s sympathetic to the would-be inventors who pitch their products. As she was in the position that they’re in early in her career, she understands exactly what’s at stake and what the opportunity means for them.
9. While she’s now known as the QVC Queen, the network rejected Lori’s first product.
When QVC rejected Lori’s pitch to sell her earring organizers on their network she took the product to HSN, which is where she first experienced success selling it. It’s ironic that she went to HSN before moving over to QVC, as the two networks are long-time rivals. Today, Lori Greiner has had her own program on QVC called Clever & Unique Creations for over 18 years.
10. She found her long-time lawyer as a result of a meeting that went terribly wrong.
Lori is no stranger to the challenges presented to women in the business world, and one of the most infuriating experiences that she had was years ago while trying to find an attorney. She set up a meeting with a prospective law firm and took her husband along. Daniel Greiner made it clear to the lawyer who met with them that he was just there to listen and that Lori was the one who would make the ultimate decision on whether to hire him.
11. She believes that since she has succeeded, she should give back to society.
Lori partnered with Charitybuzz to raise over $126,000 towards some of her favorite causes such as The Trevor Project, Kind Campaign, CASA for children and Chicago Police Memorial Foundation. For Lori, it is more than just giving money; she also gave her time and mentored the auction winners who bid on the opportunity to pitch their products to Lori. She also donates to different humanitarian organizations every year including the Salvation Army and Habitat for Humanity.
12. According to Lori, there are two types of inventors:
The “Margaret Mitchells” who create one masterpiece and go on to hit the jackpot, and the serial inventors who keep coming up with new ideas and working on them to make a series of inventions. Lori is a serial inventor who has created more than 600 products.
13. We can find love anywhere, even in a hopeless place as the song goes.
For Lori, she found it in a bar; Lori and Dan, her husband, met in a bar at Kincaid’s in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago. The couple met in 1996, and a spark of romance quickly became a flame. It took the couple four years to date, and they got married in 2010. The couple is yet to welcome any children, and they live in Chicago.
14. Her businesses bring in millions of dollars every year.
Also, being on Shark Tank has had its perks, and in 2016, it was estimated that the sharks made at least $50,000 per episode, translating to $1.2 million annually, at least. For Lori, being an author also adds to her fortune.
15. Lori Greiner attended Loyola University Chicago
She majored in communications. While at the University, she also focused on film, television, journalism and also wrote plays tough for a brief period. Her activism in her college days enabled her to participate in different programs and shows that have helped shape her career.
16. Lori has an active social media profile across different platforms
On Instagram, she has around 455K followers while on Twitter, her followers are 1.8 million, a number that is only a third of her Facebook followers who are more than 4.6 million. She uses the channels to share some tidbits about entrepreneurship.
17. She goes to bed at 2 am because she gets energized at night.
The quietness enables her to think and do things that she enjoys, but before going to bed, she always exercises because it puts her to sleep. While on the treadmill, she then watches the shows she has recorded, and he favorite include “Empire,” “House of Cards” and “Bloodline.”
18. She has a routine.
Every morning, she wakes up at 9 am – she is not a morning person- and has an egg-white omelet usually with cheese and mushrooms. Her drink is coffee to which she adds Swiss mocha flavoring.
19. Lori conducts most of her business via email
Therefore every day she gets bombarded by hundreds of emails. When she is not traveling or engaged elsewhere, she spends her day at the office reading the hundreds of emails that get to her inbox overnight.
20. Lori’s first book
“Invent It, Sell It, Bank It! Make Your Million-Dollar Idea Into A Reality” is her way of advising people who want to embark on the entrepreneurship journey as she did. She, therefore, published the book in March 2014 and described it as a hands-on guide to getting a new company or product off the ground and turning it into a success. Mark Cuban agrees that the book should be on everyone’s list of reading if they want to take an idea and turn it into a business.
As Lori started asking the attorney questions he would only look to her husband when he answered. At first she thought it may be a fluke, but after eight questions and him pulling the same stunt Lori got fed up and asked to speak with a different attorney.
This is how she eventually met the lawyer — who happens to be a woman — that has been with her as a legal consultant and good friend for many years.
You can also read:
- Who Is The Richest Person On Shark Tank?
- The 20 Worst Shark Tank Deals of All-Time
- How Mark Cuban Achieved a Net Worth of $6.4 Billion
- How Daymond John Achieved a $300 Million Net Worth
