Ava The Elephant

Ava the Elephant is a children's medicine dispenser shaped like a friendly elephant that talks and plays soothing sounds to coax reluctant kids into taking their medicine. You load a dropper of medicine into the toy and the character helps turn a stressful moment into a calmer one. Founder Tiffany Krumins came up with it while working as a caregiver, looking for a gentler way to give medicine to a child she cared for.

Krumins pitched in the very first episode of Shark Tank in Season 1, asking for fifty thousand dollars for 15 percent. Her heartfelt presentation and the clever, kid-friendly design won over Barbara Corcoran, who made a deal, though on terms that gave Corcoran a majority stake at the time. As one of the show's earliest pitches, it helped set the template for the emotional, product-driven segments to come.

Ava the Elephant stood out as a genuine debut-episode success and a sympathetic story. Krumins built the product from a caregiving need rather than a business plan, and her authenticity, paired with a simple device that solved a problem every parent recognizes, made it a memorable early example of the show working as intended.

After the episode, Ava the Elephant grew into a real retail product, eventually reaching distribution in thousands of stores including major drugstore chains and selling well into the six figures in units. Krumins navigated significant personal challenges, including a cancer battle, while scaling the brand, and she became one of the show's well-known early alumni and an advocate for inventors.

Krumins stepped back from daily operations in 2018 and licensed the product, which later moved under Baby Delight after subsequent ownership changes. The dispenser remains on sale in 2026 under that brand. Krumins has since focused on other ventures, including a probiotics business, while Ava the Elephant continues to be sold by its current owner.