Who Is Lori Greiner's Husband, Dan Greiner?
Lori Greiner has come a long way since embarking on her first business venture some 26 years ago. From designing an earring organizer, which she sold at J.C. Penney and on Home Shopping Network, Lori has built her own business empire and has launched more than a thousand products and about 120 patents. Her net worth has since ballooned to a staggering $150 million, and while Lori might not be the richest investor on "Shark Tank," the "Queen of QVC" may have the best track record on the show, having invested in half of its most successful products, including Scrub Daddy.
In an interview with Forbes, Lori shared advice for aspiring female entrepreneurs who wish to emulate her success. "Don't be afraid. Be confident in yourself and know that you can make anything happen if you put your mind to it," she said. "I know the only failure in life is not trying. So be confident that you will make it happen no matter what. If you hit adversity, that's great — learn from it, move around it, and go on."
Perhaps Lori should thank her husband Dan Greiner for helping her overcome her own fears when she was starting out as a young entrepreneur herself. The two have known each other since the mid-90s — well before all the fame and wealth — and Dan was among the first few people who really believed in Lori and supported her dreams. Here's more about Dan and how he helped his wife become the businesswoman extraordinaire she is today.
Lori and Dan Greiner are business partners
According to Country Living, Lori and Dan Greiner first met at a local sports bar in Chicago while Lori was a student at Loyola University. (She majored in communications.) They dated and reportedly got married soon after her graduation, although some reports claim they wed in 2010. In her 2014 book, "Invent it, Sell it, Bank it!: Make Your Million-Dollar Idea Into a Reality," when the "Shark Tank" star first told Dan about her idea of making an earring organizer, Lori said her husband was immediately sold on the concept. "He's cautious — not at all the type to push the envelope. And yet, in this instance he was on board from the minute I told him about my idea," she wrote.
Dan continued to be supportive even as Lori took out a huge loan against their house to kickstart her business. And when her business began to take off, Dan eventually quit his job at a manufacturing company to join her own, For Your Ease Only, as its vice president and chief financial officer. "I thought, 'This is going to be big,'" Dan told Crain's Chicago Business newspaper in 2009 (via Closer Weekly). The couple reportedly works together in an office in Chicago, where they even share a desk. In her book, Lori said she and her husband make ideal business partners. "Dan is a numbers guy; I'm the inventor. That's why we're a perfect team," she said.
Lori and Dan Greiner have a great working relationship
Working closely with his wife for so many years Dan Greiner has come to know the exact "look" Lori gets when she thinks of a brilliant idea for a new business. He told Crain's Chicago Business (via Closer Weekly), "It's thoughtful, looking up in the sky, with a slight smile like she just figured something out... By dinner, she'll be writing it on a piece of paper." In addition to her earring organizer, Lori has hundreds of other inventions, including a slew of beauty and travel organization products and other household items. Her smart inventions even landed Lori her own show on QVC — "Clever & Unique Creations by Lori Greiner" — which premiered in 2000. She eventually appeared on other programs, which earned her the moniker "Queen of QVC."
Perhaps it would not be surprising to learn that Lori and her husband are hard workers. An employee who works for the couple, Patrice Urban, told Crain's they can be intrusive at times. "You do get those late-night phone calls." However, she said of the two, "I am amazed at their relationship. I love my husband, but I'd kill him if I had to be with him 24/7." She also shared that she makes good money and actually enjoys working for the "Shark Tank" star. "I'm not all gung-ho woman power," she told the newspaper. "But I do like that she's a successful woman and goes after what she wants."