Everybody agrees that hiccups are irritating. There are many home remedies on how to treat them, but none of them work consistently. HiccAway is the only scientifically proven way to cure hiccups. Ali Seifi, Victor Feldberg, and Amanda Azarpour pitched the straw device on Shark Tank and got a deal with Mark Cuban. As of 2024, HiccAway is worth $1.5 million.
Meet the Founders
Dr. Ali Seifi is the inventor of the product and an associate professor of Neurosurgery at UT Health San Antonio. He graduated from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in Shiraz, Iran.
Amanda Azarpour is his niece, who is from San Francisco. She has a degree in business marketing from San Jose State University. After graduating, she joined the marketing departments of companies such as Caiman Consulting, and Fluke Corporation.
Most notably, Amanda worked as a community manager at Google and a client solutions manager at Facebook. Not much is known about the third partner, Victor Feldberg, but he is a serial entrepreneur.
The Inspiration Behind HiccAway
Ali spent a few years researching hiccups. He discovered that to stop it, you can hit your diaphragm with a certain amount of pressure from the water you drink. Then, he invented a straw device that could get that exact pressure every time you drank through it.
HiccAway was initially called the forced inspiratory suction and swallow tool (FISST). He partnered with Victor in 2017, when they launched a Kickstarter campaign that raised $60,649 from 646 backers.
After getting a patent, they conducted research that proved their device worked 92% of the time. The duo hired Amanda when they officially launched in 2020. Over a year later, they made around $300,000 in sales.
HiccAway’s Pitch on Shark Tank
Ali, Vic, and Amanda were confident that they could get a massive investment. The founders appeared on season 13 of the show, asking for $250,000 for 10% equity.
Once they finished their introduction, the Sharks were eager to know about Seifi’s background and the science behind HiccAway. They presented their study and a testimonial, which convinced the Sharks.
Barbara Corcoran and Lori Greiner believed that it was not practical, but Mark Cuban disagreed. Cuban offered $250,000 for 20%, believing it could become a part of everybody’s medicine cabinet. Kevin O’Leary proposed 15% for the same amount, but the entrepreneurs went with Mark. At this point, Cuban is almost everyone’s preferred option even if he doesn’t offer the best deal.
Success After Shark Tank
After being featured on Shark Tank, HiccAway got media attention from Healthline, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and The New York Post. The deal with Cuban closed shortly a few months after the episode aired.
The founders also presented their tool at the 2022 ACP Medical Conference, where they gave away samples. If you want to try the hiccup-curing device, you can buy one on Amazon, Walmart, and their website, HiccAway.com. Amanda is still involved but now works at Salesforce as a Programs Manager.
On Amazon, HiccAway has an average rating of 4.3 from over 4,100 customers. The company is yet to release any recent sales figures but should still be making $300,000 in annual revenue. Currently, HiccAway is worth an estimated $1.5 million.
