“Shark Tank”

8 p.m. today on ABC

Mai Lieu’s job as a hairstylist allowed her to travel the world and no matter where she went, from Canada to China to working at home in Hawaii, she said she spent most of her time fixing clients’ DIY haircuts.

“People didn’t have time to go to their hairstylists, especially new mothers. Once they gave birth, I never saw them,” Lieu said. “They were cutting their own hair, their kids’ hair, trying to save their family’s money.

“I knew I had to invent something to help people,” she said.

So a decade ago, Lieu created the CreaClip, a bar clip that holds hair in place and works like a ruler to give people a straight line when trimming their bangs or creating graduated layers.

Since then, sales have grown to about $400,000 a year, but even with more inventions under her belt, Lieu said she’s taken the business as far as she can go and needs help to advance. That’s why the inventor, who divides her time between Honokaa and Honolulu, is dipping her toes into “Shark Tank” tonight.

The ABC reality show allows entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas to a panel of skeptical investors. Some pitches go down in flames, but if the idea sounds like a winner, the investors make offers to partner up, often offering a generous cash infusion. (A network blurb for tonight’s episode says Lieu will demonstrate her product by cutting her own hair.)

“I set a goal three years ago to be on the show and I got lucky when one of my how-to videos went viral. It got nearly 2 million views in two days and at that time they contacted me,” Lieu said. “Otherwise, my strategy was to go to one of their audition cities and stand in line with 1,000 other people. Luckily, I didn’t have to do that.”

Even with a measure of success that gives her the luxury of working or surfing where and when she wants, she said, “I believe the ‘sharks’ can take me to another level.”

“I would love to be in CVS; Bed, Bath & Beyond; and Target, but in the big picture, I’m still pretty new. I’ve been around but most people still don’t know about the CreaClip, and a lot of those companies don’t want to work with small businesses. They prefer working with big companies with multiple products. The sharks can make a difference because they have those connections already.”

Lieu was working at Paul Brown Salons in Honolulu when she started creating her prototype and quit her job in 2006 to promote the CreaClip, which launched on the Home Shopping Network. She sold 5,000 units in 13 minutes, which motivated her to continue. It wasn’t always easy.

Reflecting on the story of Joy Mangano, inventor of the self-wringing Miracle Mop whose story was featured in the 2015 film “Joy,” starring Jennifer Lawrence, Lieu said, “That’s my story too! Everyone was doubtful, no one believed in me and there were so many challenges, but I didn’t give up.”

After her initial success, she continued to market the CreaClip through instructional YouTube videos, and a video that goes viral can result in as much as a $200,000 sales boom. Her first experience with a viral video came when a Spanish radio station promoted the product through its Facebook fan page.

“I came back from surfing and looked at the sales numbers and wondered what’s going on. Luckily, I had just received another shipment, so I was able to fulfill all the orders,” she said.

She generally keeps a three-month supply of about 6,000 of the made-in-China clips in stock.

In addition to the CreaClip, she’s created CreaNails, wearable finger guards that allow one to attain a perfect line when applying nail polish, and CreaLash, a skin shield for mascara application. A set of small and large CreaClips sells for $29.99, a set of CreaNails is $24.99 and the CreaLash is $24.99.

“I still have plenty of ideas for more inventions and more products, and I’m inspired to encourage other entrepreneurs to set goals and pursue their dreams. It’s just like the law of attraction: If you set your intention, you will get what you need.”

—————

Meet Mai Lieu at Palace Theatre in Hilo at 7 p.m. today, followed by the “Shark Tank” episode screening. To see the Crea family of products, visit creaproducts.com.