Naman Shrestha
Splashes of water out of the bathtub are inevitable when parents bathe their infants. But with the introduction of SplashZen in the market, even the parents can enjoy the process without having to worry about the water getting out of the tub. With hardly any other competitors in the market, as of writing, the founders of SplashZen pitched their unique product in front of the sharks in ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ season 15 episode 14 and hoped to get a lucrative deal from them so that they could take their brand to the next level.
SplashZen: Who Are They and What Do They Do?
The idea for SplashZen was conceived by Rodney and Tanya Rasmussen when they were tired of all the water splashing out of the bathtub during “tubby time” for their kids. Not only did the splashes annoy them and get their clothes all wet, but they also caused some serious water damage in their bathroom. So, sometime between their 2nd and 3rd kid, the couple thought that there must be a way around it. After brainstorming ideas and concepts, Rodney and Tanya came up with SplashZen, a splash guard that can be attached to a bathtub to keep the water right where it belongs — inside the bathtub.
A graduate of the University of Utah College of Health, Tanya Rasmussen also earned a Teaching Certificate from Brigham Young University—Hawaii before taking up a job as a health and PE teacher at American Preparatory Academy Charter School, where she worked for more than three years, from 2011 to 2014. Following her passion, she founded Evolve Fitness Utah in August 2014 and held the reins of the place until August 2021. At present, apart from being the co-founder of SplashZen, she is also an Associate Inflight Engagement Coordinator at Alaska Airlines. On the other hand, Rodney Rasmussen completed his graduation from Brigham Young University and pursued an MBA at the University of Utah.
After starting his professional venture with Kuali, Inc., where he was a Product Marketing Manager, Rodney then worked as an Adjunct Instructor at Utah Valley University. Following that, he joined his spouse at Evolve Fitness Utah as a Co-founder in 2018. On the side, he also assumed the role of Product Marketing Manager at RainFocus. In 2021, he bagged a job at Remote as a Senior Product Marketing Manager. Pausing their ongoing ventures, the two came together and founded SplashZen in August 2021, with Tanya as the Head of Marketing and Customer Satisfaction.
Once the concept was ready, the pair conducted various surveys among real parents to learn about the requirements of different parents in detail. After that, they designed various prototypes for the product and revised them before sourcing them, giving birth to the final design of SplashZen. The product, which can be used for bathing kids as well as pets, solves the problems most parents or any other caregivers/guardians tend to face. At the same time, it also allows people to spend quality time with their kids or pets.
The splash guard, coupled with the splash strip that comes with the SplashZen, creates a barrier and doesn’t allow the water to splash out of the tub and soak the walls, floors, and other persons in the room. Besides that, SplashZen also deals with other items, including a bath toy organizer, shower and bath shelves, and certain replacement parts.
SplashZen: Where Are They Now?
Rodney and Tanya took SplashZen from an idea to innovation to ‘Shark Tank,’ seemingly without raising any sort of funds whatsoever. Starting out small, the products of SplashZen received positive reviews from customers from the get-go. As more people learned about it, sales increased, which directly helped the founders to work on making the brand bigger. Finally, in March 2023, Rodney and Tanya got the opportunity to showcase SplashZen and its features to people in person at their first exhibition in the Metropolitan Pavilion Events & Production Services in New York.
Becoming bigger with time, the founders focused on marketing through social media platforms, such as Instagram. As for the pricing of SplashZen, both the products for dogs and kids are set at $99 each, while you can purchase the bath toy organizer at $19. However, you can avail some discounts on its website on special occasions, such as Father’s Day. As of now, SplashZen products are only available for order on Amazon and via its official website. With the brand leaving a positive impression in the lives of various parents, SplashZen is only going to grow bigger and better.
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