Mark Sullivan believed that the energy from the Earth’s rotation could be used to mine gold and other resources. He spent years working on the Sullivan Generator to prove his theory and brought it to Shark Tank. His pitch was considered one of the craziest in Shark Tank history, but he failed to close a deal. As of 2024, the Sullivan Generator is estimated to be worth $100,000.
Mark Sullivan’s Background
Mark Sullivan is from San Antonio, Texas, and has degrees in physics and biomedical engineering. Not much information is available about his background, but he is a serial inventor with multiple patents. Sullivan claims to have made over 1,000 inventions during his career.
It’s easy to understand why people often question his legitimacy, but one can’t deny Mark’s intelligence. While not all of his claims can be verified, he has patented several of his inventions.
Founded Sullivan Generator
Sullivan was a visionary who was searching for a revolutionary idea to make his mark on the world. He worked for many years to exploit the Coriolis effect, the force created by the Earth’s rotation.
Mark speculated that a hurricane had enough energy to power a device that would produce gold, manganese, electricity, and drinking water as byproducts. He attempted to design a machine that could create an artificial storm and named it the “Sullivan Generator.”
The device collects salt water, converts it into water vapor, and then sends it to a vortex chamber. This allegedly starts a turbine, which runs the entire process. Mark applied for a patent to protect his intellectual property, but had no funds to start manufacturing.
Shark Tank Appearance
Mark Sullivan wanted to share his ideas in the best possible way. He chose to do so on Shark Tank Season 3, hoping to get 10% equity for $1 million.
The presentation was filled with scientific jargon that confused the Sharks. The looks on Barbara and Diamond’s faces during the presentation were priceless. When the speaker mentioned that gold was one of the byproducts, the Sharks showed some interest.
But no matter how hard they tried to understand the product, they just couldn’t. It sounded too good to be true, and the science behind it was shaky. The Sharks had some fun with Mark, but no deal was done.
After Shark Tank
After being rejected from Shark Tank, Mark tried to sell his idea to the South Texas Mensa Association. However, nothing came of it, and the scientist has been out of the spotlight since then.
According to Steve Hench on Quora, the Sullivan generator is not feasible because “the Coriolis effect represents a directly harvestable energy source.” The cost of building, installing, and operating a device large enough to even make this possible is not enough.
Mark had tried to shift his focus to other inventions, but he still marketed his unique golden generator. The Sullivan generator is worth about $100,000. Although no deal was made, it was definitely one of the most memorable pitches. Plus, I liked that the sharks had a sense of humor instead of humiliating him like they do on other reality shows.
Mark runs a website called marksullivanresearch.com which shares some of his inventions but it doesn’t seem to have been updated in a while. This crazy inventor has dabbled in industries ranging from childcare to movies. He likely makes a living licensing his patents to other businesses.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: svlsf.edu.vn