DALTON, Ga. — “Hey, you’re the boy from ‘Shark Tank.’ I saw you on TV,” someone recently said to Tripp Phillips while at the AMC Classic movie theater in Dalton.

Phillips, a 12-year-old Dalton resident, is indeed the boy from “Shark Tank,” an ABC reality television show where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to celebrity investors (called “sharks”) — all millionaires or billionaires— with the hopes of receiving their financial backing and mentoring.

Phillips was on the “Shark Tank” season 10 premiere in October 2018 and landed a deal with “shark” Kevin O’Leary for Phillips’ product Le-Glue, a non-permanent glue that holds Legos and other building blocks together without damaging them.

Saturday through Tuesday, Phillips, a seventh-grader at Dalton Middle School, and his father Lee Phillips will attend the annual Toy Fair in New York featuring some 2,800 toy buyers and sellers. At the trade show, toy companies from throughout the world “sell product, pitch and exchange ideas, meet with partners” and more, according to the Toy Fair’s website.

Lee Phillips said O’Leary told him about the toy show shorty after filming their “Shark Tank” episode last June. Lee Phillips filled out an application for a booth in August, but it was lost. When he called to inquire in December, Lee Phillips said he was told it was too late and all booths were filled.

“I called Kevin (O’Leary) and 10 minutes later he called back and said we have a booth,” Lee Phillips said.

Lee Phillips said since Tripp won “Shark Tank” they are in contact with O’Leary at least once a week by text or email. Thus far into the business relationship, O’Leary has been impressed with Tripp.

“Somebody put a 40-year-old executive in a 12-year-old’s body,” O’Leary said in a statement to the Daily Citizen-News. “This kid has got it (and) we will do great together.”

Some of the toy industry’s biggest companies are expected to be at the toy fair including Crayola, Hasbro, Lego Systems Inc. and The Pokémon Company.

“This is an amazing opportunity,” Tripp said. “I’m very excited to showcase my glue with so many other people.”

While in New York Tripp and his father plan to meet with representatives of Legos and Mega Bloks at their booth. Lee Phillips said there’s a chance O’Leary could make an appearance at their Le-Glue booth. O’Leary’s team is also trying to schedule interviews for Tripp with “CNBC,” “The Ellen Show,” “Fox News” and “Steve” (comedian Steve Harvey’s talk show).

Tripp has been quite busy lately.

Last May, he won first place in the inaugural PitchDIA contest, winning $5,000 and becoming the first occupant in the Dalton Innovation Accelerator space in the Landmark Building in downtown Dalton, as well as winning various professional services from local firms. More than 60 companies entered the PitchDIA competition.

Bob Caperton, president and managing partner of Barrett Properties, said the business along with the Dalton Innovation Accelerator are “extremely proud of Tripp’s continued success,” adding that Tripp “will be the face of PitchDIA for years to come.”

“We like to think we helped prepare him for ‘Shark Tank’ and beyond,” he said. “We understand nothing was more important to his success than a great idea and a very supportive family.”

Tripp said he’s looking forward to more great things for his business. With the help of his father, mother Dana and younger sister Allee (the company’s production manager), they are able to keep “everything running smoothly.”

As for Tripp, he said he’s still the same person he was before appearing on “Shark Tank.”

“I don’t really talk about it unless someone else brings it up,” he said.