The Mom-Preneur: Resilient El Paso businesswoman chases Shark Tank dream

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Inside her home, El Pasoan Betty Landin enthusiastically shows off her creation --The Wander Pillow. At the beginning of the year, the female entrepreneur applied to be a contestant on ABC’s Shark Tank.

The ABC television show recently closed its nationwide search. The popular program helps entrepreneurs and inventors take their business ideas to the next level! Hopeful contestants pitch their ideas to wealthy investors, or 'sharks,' in hopes of securing a business deal.

Landin's entrepreneurial start isn’t traditional. She was born in Tamaulipas, Mexico, to conservative parents. Landin said she wasn’t allowed to attend school because she was a girl.

“I was born different,” she said.

At 17 years old, Landin decided to take a leap of faith and pursue higher education in Ciudad Juárez. She received a degree in accounting. She said this decision would create friction within her family.

Landin has been an accountant for more than 25 years now, but she said her real calling was inventing.

"I always wanted to be an inventor, but that didn't pay the bills," Landin said.

She would even face homelessness as a single mother.

Following the cartel war, Landin moved to El Paso. It was here she created the Wander Pillow. It’s a neck pillow with a built-in hidden blanket!

"You flip and then you unzip, and then you unfold the blanket so it can keep you warm," she said.

She said the idea came to her in a dream, and shortly after, she came up with her first draft.

"I woke up. I draw like a draft, and then that's what I do. And then I go back to bed because then I'm going to forget. And yeah, the next day I start like creating that."

She has already invested more than $50,000 and sold more than 1,000 units. She sells each one for $50.

Landin is a big Shark Tank fan! She decided to apply for Season 18.

She said appearing as a contestant will help her take her creation to the next level. She even performed her pitch for ABC-7:

"Meet the Wander Pillow. This looks like a normal neck pillow, but BAM! It has a built-in blanket inside -- a 2-in-1 masterpiece. I'm ready to change the way the world travels. But I need a shark who doesn't just swim but flies, too. So who wants to help me bring warm flights to the world?"

Today, Landin is a proud businesswoman -- but mom, grandmother and wife above all. Many of her creations are inspired by her grandchildren.

Landin hopes her story of starting from the bottom will inspire others to chase their dreams.

“I made it," she said. "Nobody can tell you can’t do anything. Because sometimes you don't even know your limitations until, until you test them. So I just go for it.”

While she doesn’t know yet if she’ll be on the next season, she said she will keep trying and won’t give up on this lifelong dream.

Landin recently opened her first brick-and-mortar location at the Army Exchange on Fort Bliss.

If you are interested in checking out the Wander Pillow, click here.