Melissa Carbone

Melissa Carbone is an American entrepreneur who creates, owns, and produces live attractions primarily in the horror genre. She is the creator and founder of Ten Thirty One Productions which owns Haunted Hayrides in Los Angeles and New York and the Great Horror Campout.[1][2]

Melissa Carbone
Born1976 (age 46–47)
NationalityAmerican
Known forHorror-themed attractions

Early life

Carbone grew up in Connecticut.[3] In 1999, she started working for Clear Channel Los Angeles, where she organized events across multiple corporate platforms. She was their youngest General Sales Manager.[4][5][6]

Career

Each Halloween, Carbone would decorate her Westwood home with elaborate animatronics and giant snow globes. She later described herself as an unwitting home-haunter.[4] After seeing hundreds of people admire her decorations, Carbone realized it was a business opportunity. The idea for a Halloween haunted hayride came from the traditional hayrides she remembered growing up in New England. She quit her job in 2009 and, invested her life savings into the company Ten Thirty One Productions.[2][7][8] Carbone raised half a million dollars from friends and family, along with her first sponsor, Mini Cooper.[4]

Carbone pitched her company in Season 5 (2013) of Shark Tank. She landed what was the biggest investment in the history of the show when billionaire Mark Cuban paid $2 million for a 20% stake in her company.[9][10] The Young Entrepreneur Council called her pitch one of their "7 Favorite Shark Tank" pitches in the history of the show.[11]

Carbone is one of the few female business owners in the horror entertainment industry, with a team that is almost entirely female.[12]

Carbone sold Ten Thirty One Productions to Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group in 2018 and is currently an owner and producer at the parent company which is the largest Halloween Themed Entertainment company in the world. [13]

In 2018, Carbone established the music festival, Tailgate Fest, in Los Angeles. It took place at The Forum before growing into a two-day festival that included camping, tailgating, and a large pool party next to the stage. It was the first festival in the United States that allowed tailgating to continue through the performances of the music line. It has hosted acts like Florida Georgia Line, Toby Keith, Nelly, Hardy, Brantley Gilbert, Brett Eldredge, Lee Brice, Jake Owen, Billy Currington, Chris Janson, Big Boi, Lindsay Ell, Blanco Brown, Clint Black, Nate Smith and others.

Carbone hosted a second Tailgate Fest in 2019, following the success of the first festival and brought it back for it’s third year in 2022 after being paused due to the pandemic.  It was held an hour east of Los Angeles in 2019 and at the Nascar Track in Fontana, CA in 2022.  The festival has been broadcast on Country Music Television (CMT) and featured in Billboard, Rolling Stone, Pollstar, Extra, Guitar Girl Magazine, and others.

In addition to being featured in publications such as Forbes, Fortune, and Entrepreneur, Carbone has appeared on The Today Show as an industry expert and called a "market maker" by Bloomberg News.[14] She was name 2016 Entertainment Visionary by CSQ Magazine[15] and also a finalist for "Woman Of The Year" by Los Angeles Business Journal.

References
  1. Alesandra Dubin (19 October 2016). "Why One Company Is Banking on Highly Produced Horror Experiences—Not Just for Halloween". Bizbash. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  2. Hugo Martin (11 October 2016). "See what's killing haunted houses and other independent Halloween attractions". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  3. Marshall Heyman (18 October 2015). "Haunted Hayride Hitches Up in New York". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  4. Kate Rogers (31 October 2016). "How a 'Shark Tank' vet is using Mark Cuban's $2 million to get rich off of Halloween". CNBC. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  5. Jason Ankeny (23 September 2014). "For Shark Tank's Biggest Winner, Business Has Been Scary Good". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  6. Laura Schreffler (4 February 2016). "TTO CEO Melissa Carbone's Desktop Essentials". Haute Living. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  7. Shane Seymour (13 October 2016). "Q&A: Melissa Carbone talks L.A. & N.Y. Haunted Hayride!". Fangoria. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  8. Richard Feloni (31 October 2016). "The CEO of a highly successful Halloween company shares the business advice she got from Mark Cuban". Business Insider. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  9. Nicole Weaver (20 November 2016). "'Shark Tank' Success Stories: 6 Products That Made Big Money". Cheat Sheet. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  10. Young Entrepreneur Council (14 July 2014). "Our 7 Favorite Shark Tank Pitches". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  11. "Our 7 Favorite Shark Tank Pitches". The Huffington Post. 15 May 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  12. Caroline Fairchild (11 June 2014). "Exclusive: Concert Promoter Takes Bite Out Of Shark Tank Winner". Fortune. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  13. Dillin, Rachel (2018-12-27). "'Shark Tank's' Ten Thirty One Productions: Where Is The Company Now?". The Inquisitr. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
  14. "The Haunted House Franchise backed by Mark Cuban". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  15. Glickman, Elyse (June 2016). "Melissa Carbone: Thrill Seeker". CSQ Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
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