Needham Resident Max Valverde Enters ABC’s Shark Tank with His Cure for Bed Head

BOSTON – A Boston area entrepreneur who created the “Morninghead” cap to cure bed head will appear on an upcoming episode of the popular business-themed ABC reality show Shark Tank.

Max Valverde, who lives in Needham, will pitch his product to a group of wealthy investors – billionaire Mark Cuban, fashion and branding expert Daymond John, venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary, real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran and technology innovator Robert Herjavec. The Shark Tank episode featuring Morninghead will air on Friday, March 21 at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

Valverde launched Morninghead (www.morninghead.com) on crowdfunding site Kickstarter two years ago. As a devoted night showerer, he developed the caps as a solution for his morning bed head and for what he soon perceived as a universal frustration.

“I shower at night and every morning I had to deal with my crazy bed hair. Showering again wasn’t necessary so for years I tried wetting my hair in the sink – but water gets everywhere and you never really get the back of your head,” said Valverde, 29, who lives in Needham with his wife Megan.  “I developed Morninghead to solve that problem. It’s a cap with a super absorbent material inside so when you add water and put it on your head, no water drips down your neck, your hair gets totally wet, and you literally fix your bed head in a couple seconds. I use mine every day now.”

A sales engineer, Valverde grew up in Maine and moved to the Boston area after graduating from Brown University in 2006.

Since launching Morninghead, Valverde has sold more than 8,000 caps throughout the U.S. and in 45 countries abroad.

Valverde cannot disclose what happens on Shark Tank, a critically-acclaimed ABC program featuring tough, self-made, multi-millionaire and billionaire tycoons searching to invest in the best businesses and products that America has to offer.

Budding entrepreneurs are placed in a room (the ‘tank’) with the ‘sharks” and given the opportunity to pitch their idea and potentially secure business deals. The sharks react with pointed questions and often harsh critiques. If the sharks see an opportunity to make money, though, it can become a feeding frenzy as they battle for a piece of the business.

A news release from ABC reveals this much about Valverde’s appearance: “A confident entrepreneur from Needham, MA, tries to school the Sharks, even those without hair, on a “paradigm shift in morning grooming” – his shower cap to fix bed head.”

"I love that they describe me as trying to “school the Sharks,” " Valverde said. "Filming Shark Tank was a blast – it’s a great show and I feel honored to be part of it.”

Shark Tank is a top-rated primetime program on Friday nights, typically drawing more than 7 million viewers. Season 5 of Shark Tank is being touted as perhaps its best yet.

Morninghead is known not only for its name – which has raised a few eyebrows – but for its simple approach to an age old problem of messy hair in the morning or at other times of the day. Customers include those who shower at night, bike commuters, parents getting children ready for school, travelers – even daytime nappers.

“It's a super absorbent cap that holds over six times its weight in water without dripping. Add water, put it on your head, and seconds later your hair is completely wet for styling. No mess. No dripping. Bed head's gone,” Valverde said. “The reusable, washable cap is perfect for anyone who showers at night or anytime you need to fix messy hair. It’s a simple solution to a common problem.”

He added with a wink, “And really, at the end of the day, who doesn’t love Morninghead?”

The product sells for $8 on the Morninghead website. For more information or to order a cap, go to www.morninghead.com.

The Shark Tank episode featuring Morninghead is scheduled to air on March 21, 2014 at 9/8 Central on ABC. Valverde is planning a Shark Tank viewing party that evening with friends and Morninghead users – some of whom appear on the product’s website - at Tavern in the Square in Cambridge, Mass.