1983 / The beginning
$20,000
In starting funds at age 23, described as savings in Bieler’s account. AJ’s origin story explains their source in his Chrysler investment.
Reported starting capital · p. 13706 / The archive
The story.
In the record.
The complete collection of books, published interviews, films and supporting records. Explore the original accounts behind the biography.
The early years · As reported in This Business Has Legs
A modest beginning.
An industry-shaping legacy.
Long before TeleBrands became known for generations of household-name products, AJ Khubani was turning entrepreneurial instinct into extraordinary growth. Peter Bieler’s This Business Has Legs captures that early chapter—and the ambition, consumer insight and retail vision behind it.
By 1986 / A profitable business
$11M
In sales, with $3 million in net profit, as reported by Bieler for the print-advertising-driven mail-order business.
Reported historical results · p. 137By 1990 / A different scale
$60M3
In sales by 1990, according to the book—seven years after AJ’s entrepreneurial beginning.
Reported historical sales · p. 137Reach beyond the first channel.
Bieler reports approximately two million AmberVision sunglasses sold, including one million through television, and describes the product selling out at Herman’s sporting-goods stores. The account captures AJ’s ability to connect a product with consumers through both television and retail.
By the book’s 1996 publication, Bieler also noted AJ’s focus on developing original products—another chapter in the evolution of the company he built.
Published account · pp. 137, 139AJ’s consumer-value philosophy
“The consumer always wins in a competitive environment.”
Your first channel need not be your last. Understand the customer, make the value clear, and build the next path to reach them.
Explore AJ’s entrepreneurial playbookOn the cover / 2013
TeleBrands’ 30th anniversary
Original archived cover · Questex
A cover story. An industry-shaping journey.
He didn’t just build products.
He helped build a category.
Thirty years after AJ founded TeleBrands, Response featured him on its cover. Thomas Haire’s anniversary profile recognized AJ’s leadership in connecting television-driven demand with retail opportunity—and helping shape the As Seen on TV industry.
“led the As Seen On TV revolution at retail.”
Response · September 2013
Watch / The Big 3-0
Thirty years of building possibilities.
Earn the first yes.
A 200-piece AmberVision retail order led to a 20,000-piece reorder just days later. One opening helped demonstrate the opportunity.4
Let the test speak.
A PedEgg commercial AJ initially disliked performed well in testing. His experience offers a powerful lesson: let customer response challenge your assumptions.
Build beyond the first hit.
The profile traces AJ’s evolution from individual products to enduring product lines. A successful idea can become the foundation for the next one.
On the printed page · AJ in Marketing Secrets
A builder’s instinct.
A marketer’s discipline.
Steven Dworman’s $12 Billion of Inside Marketing Secrets gives AJ Khubani’s entrepreneurial thinking a chapter of its own. In a conversation set in 1995 and published in the 2004 book, AJ explains how he grew from writing ads and shipping orders himself to leading a business connecting television demand with retail opportunity.
More than a gift for selling.
The ability to build.
Dworman recognized both sides of AJ’s achievement: the creative marketer and the organizational leader. His introduction highlights AJ’s reputation for speed in taking products from television to retail; the interview praises the distribution business he built.
AJ’s account makes the work behind that reputation tangible: repeated sales calls, reinvested profits, careful measurement, and a team capable of carrying an idea far beyond its first advertisement.
Published interview · pp. 174, 176, 179, 182The interviewer’s perspective
“You’re one of the few people in this business I think that has successfully gone from being totally an entrepreneur, doing everything yourself to all of a sudden running an organization. That’s tough.”
The business he built
$100M+5
Annual revenue at the time of the interview, as reported in Dworman’s introduction.
Historical figure · p. 174An early breakthrough
15M+
Pairs of AmberVision sold by the time of the interview.5
Historical cumulative sales · p. 178The power of the right ad
$1.7M
Net pretax profit from a single July 1989 Parade advertisement for Magic Hangers.5
Historical campaign result · p. 183What the next entrepreneur can learn.
Four practical lessons drawn from the interview.5
Turn resistance into a real-world test.
Retailers initially resisted AmberVision. AJ kept presenting the opportunity until a placement at Herman’s Sporting Goods gave him a result he could take to other buyers.5
Try this: When someone says no, identify what evidence would help them reconsider.
Interview · p. 176Give your instincts a feedback loop.
AJ describes building response curves from earlier print campaigns to estimate results sooner and decide when to expand. The compelling idea and the measurement worked together.
Try this: Decide what a useful test will teach you before increasing its budget.
Interview · pp. 183–184Build the capacity for your next chapter.
AJ explains how he retained profits to finance early retail growth before obtaining outside financing in 1994. The ambition was to build the business, not simply celebrate the first success.
Consider: What capability would make your next opportunity possible?
Interview · p. 179Build a team—and share the credit.
AJ describes investing in people, systems and distribution, and credits his brother Andy’s contribution to retail growth. The founder who once packed orders himself learned to lead through others.
Try this: Identify the expertise your idea needs, then give that expertise room to contribute.
Interview · pp. 182, 191, 195AJ’s story makes ambition concrete: learn the craft, prove the idea, build the team—and keep opening the next door.
Explore AJ’s entrepreneurial playbook
In the acknowledgments · Michael Planit
A marketing innovator.
A mentor who opened doors.
In the acknowledgments to Operators Are Standing By!, Michael Planit thanks AJ for bringing him into the business—and for being generous with his knowledge. He celebrates AJ’s ability to find new ways to attract consumers, sell products and grow revenues, crediting his ingenuity as a continuing source of inspiration and motivation.
“I have found you to be a true marketing innovator, whose particular genius continues to inspire and motivate me.”
For the entrepreneurA legacy grows through what you build—and through the knowledge you share with those coming next.
Explore the book at McGraw Hill (opens in a new tab)TeleBrands Corp. / The commercial collection
Digitization in progress1,500+TV commercials produced
For 1,500+ different products.
Career estimate.17
A life’s work.
One commercial
at a time.
Across his career at TeleBrands Corp., AJ Khubani has produced more than 1,500 different television commercials for 1,500+ different products. He is now digitizing this body of work for a forthcoming collection on this website.
Behind that remarkable scale is an entrepreneur’s craft: finding the problem, making the benefit visible, and giving an idea its moment. The ambition of this archive is to preserve that work so the next generation can study the art of bringing products to life.
Recognition for the craft
Making the benefit
impossible to miss.
A useful product needs a story people can understand. These certificates recognize the advertising work behind TeleBrands products, including collaborations with Concepts TV Productions.
- 2004 · Telly Awards
- Classic Telly Winner certificate naming TeleBrands and Concepts TV Productions.
- 2011 · Telly Awards
- Bronze Telly Winner certificate naming Concepts TV Productions for TeleBrands Corp.
- 2017 · AdSphere Awards
- Certificate recognizing Star Shower Motion Laser Light as a 2016 long-form winner.
For a founder, the practical challenge is clear: show the problem, demonstrate the difference and make every second earn its place.
AJ on ABC’s The View
Everyday ideas.
A national stage.
AJ brought the ingenuity behind “As Seen on TV” to The View through memorable, hands-on demonstrations. Surviving footage and contemporary reports document at least four appearances—a vivid chapter in his gift for making an everyday idea capture the imagination.18
The demonstration that makes the idea real. AJ introduces PedEgg and gives Sherri Shepherd a live demonstration. For entrepreneurs, it is a lesson in showing a product’s value—not just describing it.
Watch on YouTube ↗This uploader allows viewing on YouTube, but not playback on other websites.Uploaded by tvshopping on December 20, 2007.18More appearances in the record
Reported November 11, 2008
A return to The View
A new round of demonstrations included Pedi Paws, Smooth Away, Zorbeez, Snuggie, Iron Gym and Green Bags.
Read the contemporary report ↗A surviving YouTube copy has not been located.Reported October 19, 2009
The third appearance
SciMark identified this as AJ’s third visit, demonstrating products with Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd, including Jupiter Jack and Bottle Top.
Read the contemporary report ↗The original YouTube upload is no longer available.June 2010 · episode account dated June 21
Inventiveness meets improvisation
With Sherri Shepherd and guest hosts Jay Mohr and Tom Bergeron, AJ presented Crazy Critters, Neckline Slimmer, Bare Lifts and Shake Weight.
Read the contemporary report ↗The original YouTube upload is no longer available.06 / The film archive
AJ, in his
own words.19
From The View and NBC’s Today to CNBC, Good Morning America and Discovery’s PitchMen, see AJ’s experience in action. Watch for the lessons behind the moment: a clear demonstration, a thoughtful question, an idea given a serious chance. This is an archive to learn from as well as a career to celebrate.
Also in preparation: AJ’s life’s work of 1,500+ TV commercials Estimated collection · being digitized
55 films found · Showing 1–12
AJ Khubani
Watch on YouTube ↗
02The View: AJ Khubani demonstrates PedEgg with Sherri Shepherdtvshopping · ABC’s The View
Opens on YouTube · uploader restricts embedding
Watch on YouTube ↗TeleBrands In The News
Watch on YouTube ↗firefly1tube
Watch on YouTube ↗Shaan Khubani
Watch on YouTube ↗TeleBrands In The News
Watch on YouTube ↗Becky Worley
Watch on YouTube ↗GetBootyPop
Watch on YouTube ↗GetBootyPop
Watch on YouTube ↗TeleBrands In The News
Watch on YouTube ↗Bagbundle
Watch on YouTube ↗SpinTellyCH4
Watch on YouTube ↗Sources & supporting records
The record behind
the legacy.
Explore the milestones through independent reporting, institutional profiles, company announcements, public records and materials from AJ’s personal archive. Together, they trace an extraordinary life of invention, leadership and entrepreneurial possibility.20
01Montclair State profile: “As Seen on TV”Institutional profile · archived copy↗02ABC News: “Infomercial King A.J. Khubani”Independent reporting↗03ABC Nightline: “Meet the Infomercial King”Independent reporting↗04CBS News: “Inventors Seek Next Big Idea”Independent reporting↗05Montclair Distinguished Alumni biographyInstitutional biography · archived copy↗06National Direct Response Hall of Fame announcementCompany announcement↗072015 ERA Lifetime Achievement announcementCompany announcement↗082017 ERA Marketer of the Year announcementCompany announcement↗09Montclair Giving Day 2018: $500,000 gift for student inventorsInstitutional record↗10Deseret News: inside TeleBrands Inventors DayIndependent reporting↗11Ajit Khubani patents and applications indexPublic-data index↗12Current BulbHead catalogCompany site↗13AJ Khubani biography and reference trailPublic biography↗14CEO Forum interview on accelerated product launchesAudio interview↗15Got Invention Radio interview with AJ KhubaniAudio interview↗16Ajit Khubani patent portfolio indexPublic-data index↗17Princeton appointment letter to AJ KhubaniPrimary archival record↗18Princeton Industrial Directors Board rosterPrimary archival record↗19Dwight-Englewood IRS Form 990: fiscal year ending June 2003Primary public record↗20Dwight-Englewood IRS Form 990: fiscal year ending June 2008Primary public record↗21CNN report: Star Shower outsold bananas at WalmartIndependent reporting · archived copy↗22AJ Khubani: the Star Shower and bananas photographFirsthand account↗23University of Arkansas: Joe Grady, Walmart vice presidentInstitutional record↗24TeleBrands: Star Shower outperformed iPads and Xbox consoles during Thanksgiving weekCompany announcement↗25Los Angeles Times: PitchMen premiere reviewIndependent reporting↗26PitchMen: High Impact Item — AJ’s premiere appearanceEpisode footage↗27PitchMen: The New Gun in Town — AJ at Inventors DayEpisode footage↗28Pitchman: A Tribute to Billy Mays — AJ’s interviewTribute footage↗29The View: AJ’s PedEgg demonstration with Sherri ShepherdSegment footage · uploaded December 20, 2007↗30SciMark: AJ returns to The View — November 11, 2008 reportContemporary industry commentary↗31SciMark: AJ’s third appearance on The View — October 19, 2009 reportContemporary industry commentary↗32SciMark: AJ on The View with Jay Mohr and Tom Bergeron — June 28, 2010 reportContemporary industry commentary↗33The View: June 21, 2010 episode accountABC-compensated View Ambassador commentary↗34Pocket Hose: public brand history and sales milestoneCompany history · brand-reported figures↗35Pocket Hose Ultra: 2014 ERA Moxie AwardTeleBrands announcement · September 23, 2014↗36Pocket Hose Copper Head: product features and photographyOfficial public product page↗37Hempvana: founding story and missionOfficial company history↗38Drug Store News: HRG’s Products to Watch for October 2021Trade-industry product recognition↗39Hempvana Original Pain Relief Cream: published Drug FactsDailyMed · manufacturer-submitted product label↗40Hempvana Original: official product page and photographyOfficial public product page↗41Hempvana: publicly listed product collectionOfficial company catalog↗42Bull Shot: household cleaning portfolioOfficial company site↗43Pocket Hose: hoses and watering accessoriesOfficial company site↗44Hempvana: topical pain-relief product portfolioOfficial company site↗45Professor Daniel M. Nosenchuck: AJ’s Princeton leadership, teaching and mentorshipFirsthand statement with records review · September 16, 2026↗46Steven Dworman: $12 Billion of Inside Marketing Secrets — A.J. Khubani interviewPublished interview · supplied pages; link opens book catalog↗47Joe Grady: Star Shower’s No. 1 Walmart sales-dollar rankingFirsthand recollection · permitted email excerpt · September 25, 2026↗48Response: It Was 30 Years Ago Today… — AJ Khubani cover storyPublished profile and interview · September 2013 · archived copy↗49Anthony Sullivan: AJ Khubani’s role and appearances on PitchMenExecutive producer’s firsthand confirmation · permitted excerpt · September 29, 2026↗50Eggagen: women’s hair-care supplement brandOfficial company site↗51PedEgg Classic: official product pageOfficial BulbHead catalog↗52Star Shower: decorative lighting and holiday projectorsOfficial company site↗53AJ Khubani’s awards: trophies, retail recognition and advertising certificatesNine photographs supplied by AJ · inscriptions and source notes↗54Peter Bieler: This Business Has Legs — AJ’s early business growthPublished account · supplied pp. 136–140; link opens book catalog↗55Hallmark Channel: Richard Karn as Al Borland on Home ImprovementOfficial cast biography↗56iSpot: Richard Karn’s Pocket Hose television campaignsTV advertising catalog · multiple Pocket Hose models↗57Forbes: But Wait, There’s Still MorePublished profile · August 2009 · growth figure attributed to AJ↗58NJBIZ: Finding new channel for retail successPublished profile · October 2010 · identifies the 2000 Chapter 11 filing↗59HuffPost: A.J. Khubani, TeleBrands: My First MillionPublished interview · July 26, 2011↗60The New York Times: At Home of “As Seen on TV,” a Chance for InventorsCorey Kilgannon · Newspaper reporting · December 2009↗61Ad Age: Ped Egg — an America’s Hottest Brands Case StudyIndustry coverage · November 16, 2009 · subscription required↗62NYU Stern: Ideavillage gift and naming of the Khubani BTE Program in honor of Anand KhubaniUniversity announcement · April 16, 2024↗63NYU Stern: Anand Khubani BS in Business, Technology and EntrepreneurshipOfficial undergraduate program page↗64Dwight-Englewood: Khubani Performing Arts Center renovation and namingSchool anniversary history · 2006 entry↗65Dwight-Englewood: The Wizard of Oz Youth Edition at the Khubani Performing Arts CenterSchool production announcement · April 19, 2024↗66Dwight-Englewood: Performing Arts Spotlight — Bringing Passions to Life on StageSchool reporting · January 12, 2026↗67Dwight-Englewood: Visual and Performing ArtsOfficial school curriculum overview↗68SEEMA: The Power of Reinvention — Poonam KhubaniJaswant Lalwani profile · November 26, 2025↗69BulbHead.com: $500,000 commitment to Montclair State student entrepreneursCompany announcement via PR Newswire · December 7, 2017↗70Children’s Hope India: AJ and Poonam Khubani receive the Lotus AwardBlack Tie Magazine · Event coverage · October 2009 archive↗71ERA names TeleBrands its 2017 Marketer of the YearAwarding association announcement · September 12, 2017↗72Andy Khubani: Jamesway, Walmart and the As Seen on TV retail programFirsthand recollection · permitted statement excerpts · October 14, 2026↗73Angelo Bianco: Jamesway’s first dedicated As Seen on TV sectionFirsthand recollection · permitted statement excerpts · September 13, 2026↗