Draft Top: Here's What Happened After Shark Tank

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Draft Top is a bar tool that easily removes lids from canned beverages, leaving no sharp edges and transforming the can into a portable and reusable cup. Its unique design cleanly cuts the top off a can with a few simple twists of the wrist. It works with standard aluminum soda and beer cans — everything from regular cans of Coke to fancy seltzers and sodas, beer cans from Guinness to Bud Light, most IPA craft beers, and even slim cans and tallboys.

Armand Ferranti is an inventor at heart. Inspired by a skill-slash-party trick he picked up when he was in flight school — removing the "lids" on beer cans using only his teeth — he set out to make a device that could perform the same function in a safer and hygienic fashion. In 2015, Ferranti and co-founder Sean Kelly started their company by crowdfunding on Kickstarter to raise over $200,000 to produce the invention. Acting on feedback from early adopters, another fundraising campaign in 2020 generated nearly $835,000, resulting in an improved version of the original Draft Top.

The brand's motto encourages you to "Drink Topless!" — and it claims that there's real science behind why its product elevates the drinking experience. The theory is that since your taste and smell senses are linked — if you can't smell something, its taste will be diminished. By removing the container's top, you get the full aroma and flavor of whatever's inside. Beer lovers and soda enthusiasts agreed, as by 2021, the company was having trouble meeting demand.

When approached to appear on "Shark Tank" in February 2021, it was perfect timing. Armand Ferranti and partner-director of sales Pat Parizo took Draft Top on the show in Season 12, Episode 13. They demonstrated the product and pitched its usefulness, then asked for $300,000 for a 10% stake in the company. Without paying attention to instructions, the Sharks tried opening cans with the device, only to spill liquid everywhere. Despite their laughter, it did not bode well that the Sharks couldn't get the cans opened after repeated tries.

The duo revealed that in eight months, Draft Top made $1.6 million in sales, with over 70,000 units sold. Such high figures snapped the Sharks back to attention. Mark Cuban, however, was not willing to spill more beers to get past the learning curve, and he was the first Shark to tap out. Kevin O'Leary thought the valuation was too high and couldn't grasp the tool's purpose. Failing four times, Robert Herjavec also wasn't interested. Lori Greiner felt it was an innovative idea, but it needed work.

The only remaining Shark was Daymond John. Pat Parizo told him the Draft Top is American-made and costs $4.13 per unit, priced at $24.99 retail. They expected close to $4 million in sales that year and $6 million the following. The problem was inventory ... they could not make the product fast enough. Daymond John offered $300K with a 20% claim. After a brief discussion, Ferranti and Parizo accepted the deal.

At present, it is unclear if the deal with Daymond John made it past the handshake phase. There are no mentions in the press or on social media of a finalized partnership. In a 2021 SidsTips podcast interview with Pat Parizo that was filmed after the "Shark Tank" appearance, he was vague about whether any deal had been signed with Daymond John. While saying that the company had been in touch with John's team, he implied that no money had changed hands.

The company continued to forge ahead regardless, and by November 2021, it launched its third iteration of the Draft Top. Further development based on customer feedback brought yet another version in October 2022 — this time with a major improvement. Known as the DT Lift, the device lifted and removed the lid from the can. Previously, the cut lid would drop into the can, and you would have to remove it by hand or let it sink to the bottom.

Alternate design options have also been added to the product line, including a limited edition camouflage pattern called Maverick and a Ghost edition, which comes in white with pale gray. The devices are also offered in two- or four-pack bundles. What started as a limited run of bespoke can clips – which made it possible to balance mini-liquor bottles, aka nips, on open-top cans to slowly release the spirits — have since become regularly stocked items, so great was their popularity.

Regularly releasing new items and limited editions, the company is still operating at full speed ahead. Actively engaging its customers across its more than 50,000 social media followers, Draft Top loves to promote all the possibilities when you use their product. While founders Armand Ferranti and Sean Kelly pitched the Sharks a product that could enhance drinking beer, they've since gone far beyond that.

Draft Top's social media pages are filled with innovative ways to transform cans of mixers and hard beverages into quick and easy cocktails. From mango chili tequila soda to a St. Patrick's Day apple bomb with Redbull, Draft Top knows how to expand their products and promotions to appeal to new customers. In particular, they've also targeted bars and home bar owners with the DT Pro, a heavy-duty version of their Lift that can be sat on a counter or mounted to a wall. They've also made the DT Lift Universal the new standard model, capable of fitting around and cutting the tops from just about any-sized can.

Returning to what worked in the past, the company used crowdsourcing again, this time to fund the development and manufacturing of the Draft Top Pro. With two separate campaigns running simultaneously on Kickstarter and Indiegogo, which raised a combined $212,046.

Toting an average 4.3 star reviews on Amazon, collaborations with influencers big and small, and a shout-out in New York Magazine's The Strategist, the company shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Savvy retail management has landed Draft Top Lift displays in Snap-On tool stores, as well as in Spec's Wine, Spirits & Finer Foods liquor stores throughout the state of Texas. But Draft Top wasn't satisfied with this, so they expanded their retail availability more to nationwide chains like Bass Pro Shop and Cabela's.

Draft Top has even reached across the Atlantic, forming a deal with Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, England, to start a Draft Top bar where fans can make their own cans in their own stadium. This marks an important first for Draft Top: collaboration with established sports venues. Draft Top's website mentions even greater availability, stating that their tools can now be found in more than 50 countries.

So what's next for Draft Top? Apparently everything. Between its device's reliability, its owners' business sense, and the social media popularity amongst influencers and customers alike, it seems like nothing in the world can stop it. Though its "Shark Tank" deal with Daymond John may be a bit murky, the initial popularity boost from appearing on national television never slowed, adding even more momentum to an already successful business trajectory.