xCraft scores 'Shark' win

SANDPOINT — More than 30 cameras pointed at xCraft co-founders JD Claridge and Charles Manning during their nerve-racking time on “Shark Tank,” but once the cameras stopped, the real test of secrecy began as they could not discuss the outcome for almost six months.

Claridge, the company’s CEO, and co-founder Manning taped their segment for the show in May and waited painstakingly until the Oct. 23 reveal. And what a reveal it was for the Sandpoint-based company, with all five sharks agreeing to invest with the entrepreneurs. They signed a contract with “Shark Tank” to not discuss the outcome of the taping until it aired on national television.

“We’ve had to keep this secret for quite a while,” Claridge said. “It’s pretty tough to keep that secret, especially when you know the outcome and the way that it went."

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