Before Shark Tank
During the process of starting up his business and creating a prototype of his product, John became partners with Vinny Pastore. Pastore is an actor who is typically known for his mafia roles in movies. For example, he appeared in the HBO series Sopranos and the critically acclaimed film Goodfellas. Having Pastore become a part of the business definitely helped boost their visibility, but that still wasn’t quite enough. The two of them deemed it necessary to pack up their idea and bring it over to ABC’s Shark Tank, hoping that one of the Sharks would see the real potential in their new product.
During Shark Tank
Both Gennaro and Pastore enter the Shark tank and make an offer of $50k in exchange for a 20% stake in the Broccoli Wad business. They are both hoping that the Sharks will find this deal irresistible, but to really make their case, Pastore begins to explain their product. Typically, men usually carry their money in regular wallets. Wise guys, however, like to carry their money in wads. Gennaro chimes in to talk about how he came to know this. While reading a book that depicted the story of an FBI agent who invaded the mafia in New York. A key characteristic of the wise guys was that they never carried their money in wallets, but rather they used broccoli rubber bands instead.
Kevin O’Leary speaks up first by asking a fairly practical question. If these wise guys don’t have a wallet, then where do they keep their credit cards? As if this weren’t obvious enough, Pastore responds by saying that wise guys don’t keep wallets, and Gennaro jokingly states that sometimes they’ll have an I.D. on them, but usually it will be out of state and expired.
While samples are being passed out to the Sharks, Pastore admits that he did think that Gennaro was “off his rocker” when he approached him with the idea, but he quickly saw past that and saw the potential in the product. Robert Herjavec, clearly a fan of Pastore and his work, doesn’t want to step on any toes by suggesting that the Broccoli Wad isn’t anything special, but he really doesn’t think that a piece of rubber with a bit of metal is likely to make any ground breaking sales. Herjavec doesn’t think that this business is worth $250k. Barbara Corcoran is quick to agree with this observation. She simply doesn’t understand the concept and decides that she will not be giving them an investment. Corcoran even goes so far as to say that this is the worst idea she has seen on the show so far.
The two men don’t seem too upset or surprised by this decision because they claim that most women don’t get it because they don’t typically use wallets. That may or may not be true, but before it can be debated any further, Jeff Foxworthy admits that he is always having issues with finding the right wallet or clip to hold all of his money. According to him, his wallet became so thick that it was “almost like a phone book”. Foxworthy concludes that he actually likes the idea of the Broccoli Wad.
Despite all of this, Daymond John is still shocked when he finds out that Gennaro has already invested $200k into the business. In attempt to make a joke and lighten the mood, Pastore says this is because he was paid $190k to promote it. In all seriousness though, they both believe that this will become a very successful “as seen on TV” type of product, and they plan on using the money from the investment to get the necessary commercial time on television. However, what Gennaro also wants out of this is the advertising expertise of the Sharks to really help the Broccoli Wad launch forward.
What all the Sharks want to seem to know is, why isn’t Vinny’s face on the packaging if he seems to be the face of the company? Corcoran decides that she would be back in if they converted the Broccoli Wad into the Vinny Wad. However, Pastore isn’t so sure if he would be sticking with the business long term because he isn’t currently being paid enough. Deciding that this would turn into a far too expensive investment, O’Leary drops out. Foxworthy quickly follows suit by simply stating “this just isn’t for me”, and John says that he just doesn’t have an offer to make.
Surprisingly enough, the first Shark to make an offer is also the first Shark who said she was out. Corcoran decides that she has an offer to make that is directed specifically towards Pastore. She agrees to give them the $50k in exchange for 40% of the business, so long as Vinny puts his face on the packaging and the Broccoli Wad becomes the Vinny Wad. In addition to that, 20% of her desired 40% would go to Vinny. Pastore decides rather quickly that he would love to go in on that deal with her, and Herjavec says that it’s such a good offer that he has nothing to put up against it. The only person who really seems to be unsure about this is Johnny himself. He feels a little inferior and stammers a bit when asked if he is going to take the deal or not, but he ultimately ends up agreeing to the terms anyway.
Broccoli Wad Update – Now In 2025
The $50,000 deal with Barbara never went through. The episode did, however, give the company some publicity, which resulted in some sales. They also added Vinny’s face to the packaging without changing its name.
Alas, it was not meant to be. Not long afterward, their website went down. Their social media accounts have also been abandoned (their Twitter account was last updated in 2012 – just a year after their Shark Tank appearance).
Interestingly enough, the Broccoli Wad was still available on Amazon for some time after all this happened. Perhaps they had some leftover stock? For what it’s worth, however, the product did have a 4-star rating on Amazon. If anything, most people seemed happy with it. Some even discovered other purposes for the money holder. With that said, some people did find it to be a bit expensive at $75. And for all we know, that might have been the company’s downfall. We’re guessing not a lot of people are willing to spend that kind of money when a rubber band does the job just as well.
What’s Johnny Gennaro up to now? From the looks of it, he’s moved on to other endeavors. According to his LinkedIn profile, he’s currently the CEO and Visionary Entrepreneur of Twinstars Productions, a company that produces revolutionary hair care and home products.
From what we could find, he’s been working on a product called the iCurler, a piece of equipment similar to a blow dryer that curls hair by pulling it in. Interestingly enough, there’s no website for the product. However, Johnny does appear to have a patent for the iCurler so maybe he’s still getting things sorted out.
As for Vincent, it looks like he’s been kept busy with various acting projects. In 2020, he appeared in the films, For NYC and Booze, Broads, and Blackjack; he also played the role of Sal Rindini in the TV series, Chase Street and appeared on Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back alongside Joseph R. Gannascoli.
Last year, he played a small role in the crime thriller, The Birthday Cake, starring Shiloh Fernandez, Val Kilmer, Ashley Benson, and Ewan McGregor. He also joined the cast of Gravesend, a television drama that revolves around a soldier in a crime family.
That’s not all, he also started a podcast called Fuhgeddaboudit with Vinny Pastore, which he hosts with Goumba Johnny. In 2019, he also launched his own tomato sauce business called Vincent Pastore’s Italian Sauce, which is non-GMO, sugar-free, and made with San Marzano tomatoes.
And according to IMDb, he has a bunch of upcoming projects including Profane Language, The Black Caesar, Street Justice, On the River, Iron Terry Malone, All Mobbed Up, and Me and My Girlfriend. For those who are a fan, you can keep up to date with his projects by following him on Instagram (@officialvincentpastore).
