Jana McDaniel swam with the “sharks” and lived to tell about it.

A representative of First Saturday Lime, an organic eco-friendly insect repellent company based in Okarche, McDaniel was the guest speaker of the Kingfisher Rotary Club last Tuesday.

McDaniel, whose maiden name is Jacobs, is a 2002 graduate of Okarche High School, and a 2006 graduate of Duke University.

The focus of her visit was to tell of her experiences when she pitched her product to the nationally- televised Shark Tank in 2020.

The theme of the Shark Tank is a group of investors, referred to as the “sharks,” listen to entrepreneurs, who attempt to convince them to negotiate a deal to invest in their business.

The sharks in the tank are five titans of industry who made their own dreams a reality and turned their ideas into lucrative empires.

The entertainment value of the show which continues to air weekly on ABC, is when more than one of the sharks decide they want a piece of the business and bidding wars erupt, driving up the price of the investment.

In McDaniel’s case, one of the sharks, Kevin O’Leary, bought into her company and she said he has provided legal, accounting and marketing assistance ever since.

She said the product is manufactured in Okarche and employs over 20 workers and sales continue to grow, with several big box retailers carrying her product on their shelves.

Online sales continue to increase as well, Mc-Daniel said.

Her father Richard Jacobs, now deceased, always tried to use natural products for all types of applications in the family farming business and she said the idea for the pesticide came from those experiences.

Traditional hydrated lime is fairly caustic and sometimes dangerous to work with, she said, and after working with chemists, they created a non-caustic lime and limestone pesticide formula that is completely safe for humans, livestock and pets when used as directed.

“I didn’t think we’d be accepted by the show, but I thought it was worth a shot,” she said.

“We were very surprised when they contacted us and eventually made arrangements for us to travel to Los Angeles to actually do a show.”

McDaniel said sales have increased steadily over the past three years following their Shark Tank experience and she said the relationship with O’Leary has been nothing but benefi cial and positive.

“He is a wonderful partner and we’re delighted that he chose us,” she said in closing.

McDaniel was introduced to the club by Jack Stuteville, who made arrangements for the program.