May 4, 2011
12:18 PM
Taking the lead
Sarah Nuse and Megan Reilly in the green room prior to their time in the Shark Tank.
Tulsa native Sarah Nuse, 31, started Tippi Toes Dance when she was a college student. She had recently been fired from her waitressing gig and her car payment was due.
Today, she counts billionaire Mark Cuban as an investor and is busy fielding calls from people around the world interested in buying a franchise of her child-dance-class business.
Life has changed significantly for Nuse and her business-partner sister, Megan Reilly, 28, since they appeared on the ABC TV show “Shark Tank,” where they pitched their business concept in hopes of receiving funding. Cuban offered the Bishop Kelley High School graduates $100,000 for a 30 percent stake in the company, which they accepted.
The experience was a whirlwind, they say. The sisters received 12 hours notice that they had been selected to appear on the show and would be flying to Los Angeles for six days of work and filming.
“It was one of the most intense experiences,” Reilly says. “At the time, we knew it was a big deal to be out there because it’s such a unique opportunity. However, we still had to keep focused on our tasks at hand.”
Reilly and Nuse enjoyed the occasional night out to watch a Lakers game and shop in Beverly Hills, but most of their time was spent preparing to pitch the “Sharks,” Reilly says.
As is common when editing a TV show, Reilly says she and her sister were a little surprised when they watched the final product, which aired March 20.
“We were in the Shark Tank for an hour and they edited it down to eight minutes,” Reilly says. “The main focus became money, and I don’t think the message was clear about what we do.”
Still, the business partners, who actually live more than a thousands miles apart — Nuse in Corpus Christi, Texas, with her husband and two young daughters and Reilly in Ormond Beach, Fla., with her husband — say the show will help them further build their brand.
Their company has already grown from Nuse teaching dance to children out of a Norman KinderCare 12 years ago to eight franchises in several states and one corporate-owned operation that Nuse and Reilly run in Corpus Christi. Nuse’ long-term goal for the company has always been to create a TV show for children.
What sets the company apart from other dance studios is that the classes — offered to children ages 18 months to 12 years old — are held on location at local schools, child care providers, community centers, fitness centers and other locations.
Nuse says parents like the concept because it’s flexible, while franchise owners like it because it keeps startup costs low. And besides teaching kids, Nuse and Reilly, who both attended Miss Shelly’s School of Dance from ages 2 to 18, say their hope is to help as many women as possible run their own business and make money.
Brittany Friske, 25, is one of those women. Friske, a Union High School graduate, began teaching dance classes at Tippi Toes as a student at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. She advanced to the position of manager and is now the Tulsa franchise owner.
“I love going to dance class and seeing the kids' faces light up when they see me and say, ‘Tippi Toes,’” she says. “There are always struggles in owning your own business, but when you are passionate about what you do and see the positive impact it is having on children, it makes it all worth it.”
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