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>> Purdue senior Sawyer Sparks is a young man with a plan,
"Provide the world with an alternative to Play-Doh
that is safe for all kids."
>> My product is called Soy-Yer Dough.
It's a gluten-free form that's gluten-free, non-toxic
and fun-scented modeling compound.
Other traditional modeling clay that we all grew
up with is wheat-based, which causes children with an aversion
to wheat to feel completely left out,
and my product allows every child
to finally create their own imaginary world.
And when I mean fun-scented, it smells like the color it is.
So if it's purple, it smells like grape.
>> It smells just like grape.
>> And if it's red, it smells like cherry.
>> The agricultural economics major invented his dough
in his mother's kitchen after learning his favorite professor,
and her kid, had to throw away their Play Doh.
>> Which surprised me because I was like,
"Everybody plays with Play Doh."
And, except for children with celiac disease and so I set out
and realized the type of market that I had
and it even helps children that have autism and ADD and ADHD,
because they live a wheat-free lifestyle as well.
>> Sparks won an entrepreneurial contest at Purdue,
then took his invention into ABC's "Shark Tank" full
of shrewd investors looking to make their next killing.
Sparks had them eating from his hand.
>> Each of us going to put in $100,000 for a total of $300,000
for 51% of the company.
That's the offer.
What are you going to do?
[Music]
>> We're going to make a lot of dough with this dough.
Congratulations guys.
>> All right.
>> Hey.
>> Yes.
>> Sparks is still negotiating with the Sharks
and several toy companies want his product,
including Play Doh maker, Hasbro.
>> I want to create jobs and if I do license this
or I do sell it, then I want some type
of manufacturing facility in my community that will create jobs,
and that's what we're kind of trying to work on.
That's me being hard headed on this.
>> Sparks is still making his dough in his mom's kitchen,
back on the farm in Bloomfield, Indiana.
He hopes to make 100,000 cans by year's end.
Thousands of orders have poured in since the "Shark Tank."
>> School is my number one priority.
It has to be.
I mean, no matter what, if I get a $2 million offer
from any company ever, next week or two, I mean, I'm still going
to be a college student.
I'm still going to be an entrepreneur too
and I will always continue to do both and once I graduate,
then I want to go off and start my own business and again,
or continue with this one.
>> Even if the big offers fall through, Sparks plans
to keep making his dough.
He's received too many heartfelt thanks from moms
across the country to stop now.
At Purdue University, I'm Jim Shank.