If you’re an entrepreneur and you’re looking for an investor (or two), you might be thinking about going for a dip on Shark Tank. Though only about half of the pitches snag the interest of the sharks, that’s not a bad percentage. And if one of the sharks falls head over heels for your product (which is what happened when the Stakt Folding Exercise Mat was on Shark Tank), you’re even more likely to get a deal.
That’s what happened for founders David Restiano and Dr. Dan Staats. The duo brought their new business, Sorsoap, onto the hit TV show in 2023. Sorsoap adds a twist to getting yourself clean: Each Sorsoap bar of soap is shaped to be a massager as well. As Restiano and Staats explained during filming their episode, Sorsoap aims to be exactly what tired, achy muscles need in the shower or bath.
The entrepreneurs didn’t get a bite at first. Kevin O’Leary and Barbara Corcoran tapped out first for individual reasons. Two others followed suit. But Mark Cuban enjoyed the feeling of Sorsoap on his neck (he’s quoted as saying, “It fixed my damn neck”) and made the founders an offer. Instead of giving them the $100,000 they wanted in exchange for 10% equity, he was open to taking 20%. They were open, too, and the partnership went into motion.
Get lathered and get relief at the same time
Sorsoap’s unique bar shape is its major selling point. The soap’s curves are designed to be “muscle-scraping”: Running the bar across worn-out muscles 20-30 times helps relax them, as well as other potential health benefits that come from massages. Add in some natural fragrances and a little menthol (all part of the organic, natural soap), and you get a lather that’s friendly to your skin and musculoskeletal system.
You might be wondering if there’s proof to back up the product’s claims. Sorsoap conducted a test run before Shark Tank to find out if its soap bars and other products worked. In a 2022 study published in Occupational Diseases and Environmental Medicine, select employees of Jersey Mike’s sudsed up with Sorsoap for a month. Afterward, they reported positive advantages from using the product. That same year, Runner’s World also took Sorsoap for a spin by checking out the SORTOOL Pro, a polycarbonate massager that isn’t a bar of soap, doesn’t weigh a ton, and can pretty much go anywhere. The verdict: Sortool could be a huge recovery ally for overworked parts of the body.
Pressing forward with muscle-soothing innovations
Fast forward to 2025, and Sorsoap’s various products — including the Clean & Simple bar, the Citrus and Bergamot bar, SORTOOL Pro, and a soap-saving bag and case – are still available for purchase on its website. However, the net worth for the Sorsoap brand isn’t easily trackable or able to be confirmed, because Sorsoap isn’t publicly owned. In 2024, the company’s worth was reported to be $5 million. It’s worth noting that based on Cuban’s offer, he likely saw the business as a $500,000 startup.
Ultimately, it looks like Sorsoap may have successfully started tapping into the market of people who are in search of an all-natural solution to their chronic muscle pain. According to 2019 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about one-third of adults admitted that they had pain centered in their back, lower limbs, or upper limbs.
