Vibes CEO Jack Mann is making millions selling hi-fidelity earplugs from his van after hitting the road when he scored big on ABC's “Shark Tank.
Mann, 29, is what’s being referred to as a new wave of "digital nomads," using the advantages of technology to travel around the world while they work, "CNBC Make It" reported on Monday.
The Minnesota native and his girlfriend Hanna, a freelance social media manager, have traveled 11 states and 15,000 miles in his converted Mercedes Sprinter van since late last year.
"Waking up with the excitement of a new location, the lure of adventure and the curiosity of the unknown out the window or around the next corner makes you feel a different type of alive," Mann told "CNBC Make It."
Mann's earplug business has rocketed since his 2017 appearance on "Shark Tank," CNBC said. Since that show, the sales of Vibes surged to $2 million.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported in 2017 that Mann got the idea for the earplugs after rupturing his eardrum two years before after standing too close to a speaker system at a Pretty Lights concert in St. Paul.
Music fans say normal foam ear plugs muffle the sound of performing artists. Mann's creation lowers the decibel levels for bass and treble equally by using a design that includes special inner- and outer-sound tubes and sound-enhancing filters, he told the Star Tribune.
With his business humming along, public and personal hot spots have allowed Mann to travel while he works.
"Work is an action, not a place," said Mann, who said he has reduced his monthly spending by 30 percent since hitting the road. He subleased his Minneapolis apartment to a friend and has had to pay just eight times for accommodations while traveling.
"Technology has allowed for non-traditional working environments to thrive in an era when formal work spaces are becoming a thing of the past," Mann told CNBC.
He plans to stay on the road for a few more years while occasionally returning home to Minnesota.
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