Honest farmer humbly explains why he will never hike the price of his products on 'Shark Tank'

"Shark Tank" is one of those shows that has opened doors of opportunities for many small entrepreneurs. People come up with their start-up ideas and seek investments from the judges by impressing them with their innovative visions. Back in 2013, Johnny Georges, a humble farmer from Florida, appeared on the show and brought forth his idea in front of the "sharks," which can be deemed as a revolution in irrigation techniques for farmers.

In the episode of "Shark Tank," Georges came in with his humility and authenticity to display a simple but brilliant product called Tree T-Pee and in the following years, it changed his life for the better. While growing up in an environment surrounded by agriculture, he had seen the farmers struggling in different ways while nurturing their crops. Georges' father, Rick, was there to help him develop some micro-sprinklers that sprayed optimal amounts of water into individual trees.

In 2005, Georges took his dad's idea into the second step and created an amazing agricultural invention, which he later named "Tree T-Pee." While appearing in front of the millionaire judges, Georges started to pitch his product and the great idea behind it while being nervous at the same time. He enlightened the judges with the agricultural information they didn't have beforehand. Georges told them that on average, a farmer uses 25,000 gallons of water on a single tree each year.

However, here is where his innovation comes to the rescue. By using Tree T-Pee, the amount of water usage can be cut down from 25,000 gallons to just 800 gallons, which contributes towards saving a vast amount of water and benefits the farmers tremendously. "When good people come together with a noble cause, great things happen," he says after a long pause in front of the judges. Georges might have come up with an idea and invention he is passionate about, but when he revealed that he was only making $1 on each Tree T-Pee, the judges were taken aback.

Georges mentioned in his pitch that he was doing this to help the farmers save their money and increase their profits. The judges appeared to be impressed by this, but at the same time, most of them decided to back out from funding Georges' Tree T-Pee product and remarked on his lack of business experience. The judges were also stunned to find out that he was only selling his products to five counties in Florida. The "sharks" wondered why Georges had not increased the price of his product and decided to expand his market.

At last, when other judges back away, Paul Mitchell co-founder John Paul DeJoria extends his helping hand to Georges, proving that honest efforts and thoughts never go undervalued or underestimated. With the help of DeJoria's investment in Georges' project, Tree T-Pee now sells at $9.95 as of today's date, per the official website of Tree T-Pee and it is described as a cone-shaped, water and nutrient containment system designed for trees 1-5 years old and is made in the U.S. from 100% recycled plastics.

"Once the tree T-PEE is in place, the water and fertilizer are contained within the diameter of the tree T-PEE and directed to the roots.  Instead of the tree only getting 10% of the water through conventional practices, the tree is getting 100%! As the temperature increases, the tree T-PEE transforms into a mini-greenhouse, keeping the ground around the tree moist and the roots hydrated, resulting in an increased growth rate," the website further adds.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 11, 2024. It has since been updated.