Hello and welcome back to 1 Smart Business Story. I’m your host: Inc. Editor in Chief, Mike Hofman.

Today, we swim with SharkNinja, the $6 billion consumer products juggernaut known for its popular, often viral appliances such as the CryoGlow face mask and the Creami ice cream maker. How do you build a pipeline of future inventors and ideas? CEO Mark Barrocas tells us:  

I received a Creami as a gift a couple of years ago, and it’s been a life-changing addition to my kitchen counter. Let me know which SharkNinja device gets the most use in your home by emailing me at [email protected].

The company, known for its viral gadgets (Ninja Slushi, anyone?) has an array of programs teaching students product design, pitching, and more.

BY DAVID H. FREEDMAN 

SharkNinja doesn’t just enter markets—it descends on them. Sometimes, the company, famous for its viral kitchen, cleaning, and beauty products, creates the market from scratch. Other times, it muscles aside the competition. And perhaps most impressive, SharkNinja produces an unending stream of unique appliances with features that spark consumer frenzies, such as its home soft-serve ice cream makers and its self-emptying cleaning robots.

Says CEO Mark Barrocas: “I don’t think there’s another company that’s been able to develop such a consistent track record of disruptive innovation across so many different product categories.”

This year, the 31-year-old publicly traded company is on track to exceed $6 billion in revenue, as items like the Ninja Creami ice cream maker have gone viral. “We have high school kids doing TikToks on Ninja Slushi … and 50-year-old men talking about our robots,” says Barrocas, 54, who has led the company since 2008 and is a longtime friend of founder Mark Rosenzweig, who is not actively involved in the business.

Having mastered the art of marketing innovative gadgets, SharkNinja has set its sights on marketing the art of innovation to a new generation of gadget designers.

The company’s approach has been multipronged. In 2012 it established a college co-op and intern program that reaches more than 100 colleges and universities in North America. It has provided mentoring and other resources to more than 850 high school students since 2022. It has sponsored more than 30 community events, while its U.S. employees have contributed over 1,600 volunteer hours in the past two years.

The Needham, Massachusetts-based company is also collaborating with the Possible Zone, a nonprofit that advances economic equity by providing career services and a program that gives students hands-on experience in product design. While a good idea is important, the real challenge is execution. Past student work from SharkNinja programs includes a baby formula maker and a dog-friendly yard-cleaning robot. “We want young innovators to ask themselves what the biggest problem is that they can solve,” says SharkNinja’s chief people officer, Elizabeth Norberg. “Then our engineers work side by side with them to help them think through technical and mechanical issues.”

Typically, the next obstacle is marketing their ideas to potential investors. In September, the company announced the SharkNinja Innovation Challenge, which takes student teams through the entire innovation process, from product development to knockout pitch to execution.

The teams are provided with prototyping grants and resources to test and build, access to IP counsel, and more. It culminates in a live event in early 2026 at which teams pitch a panel of judges, including Barrocas—a setup reminiscent of the TV show Shark Tank (no relation to SharkNinja). Winners get up to $25,000 in cash and more resources to continue their entrepreneurial journeys.

Says Norberg: “It gives young innovators an opportunity to get catapulted forward into being market ready. And it helps us find more innovation talent.”