GALLATIN (AP) — Investors on ABC's "Shark Tank" are funding a product pitched by a 13-year-old Tennessee boy who initially developed the idea for a fourth-grade project.

The Tennessean reported Thursday that Maddox Prichard, now an eighth grader, pitched his product called the Measuring Shovel at several invention conventions and got to go before "Shark Tank" this year. The now-patented utility shovel has measurements marking it from tip to handle, allowing the user to measure variables such the distance between seedlings.

The Gallatin teen says he came up with the idea after helping his mother and grandmother in their garden. The episode aired Sunday, and Sharks Kevin O'Leary and Lori Grenier agreed to provide $40,000 in exchange for a total 30% stake in the company.