'Shark Tank' Season 14: Why no Shark but Robert Herjavec was willing to invest in ActionGlow?
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Garrett and Dakota Porter, brothers and co-founders of ActionGlow, flew from Traverse City, Michigan, to the set of 'Shark Tank' on November 18 to seek $200,000 in return for 15% stock in their firm. Even though the Sharks were impressed to learn how long they have been trying to get on the show, when it came to investing in the company, it was a whole different story.
The two brothers, who describe themselves as "action-sport junkies," tell the Sharks that they had been snowboarding since they were old enough to walk. They lived off the sport as teenagers, and because the sun set so early in the winter, they did a lot of their snowboarding at night. Since the activity became tedious after sunset, they devised ActionGlow. ActionGlow is a sports equipment LED lighting system that is available aftermarket. It allows consumers to exhibit their individual style while also providing a layer of protection. The brothers also mentioned that, in recent years, elite sportsmen and action sports aficionados all around the world have turned to ActionGlow for their night riding excursions.
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Currently, ActionGlow provides eight distinct applications ranging from snowboarding to surfboards. The fact that ActionGlow can be applied in 5 minutes was rated as the finest feature. The brothers also said that they had wanted to pitch their firm to the Sharks since they were teenagers. They also aired a video montage of them filming themselves for the show back in 2012, when they were only 16 and 13-year-old boys. The Sharks appeared ecstatic to see that the brothers had worked hard all these years and could finally make it. ActionGlow was founded in 2012 and received its full utility patent in 2016.
Shark Kevin O'Leary, who appeared to be intrigued by the business, questioned the brothers whether the product was just available in one color or if it could be customized. The brothers informed him that their system presently only has one static color, so they came on the show to seek assistance in realizing their goal with their second-generation product, ActionGlow 2.
In terms of revenue, the brothers told the Sharks that creating a $49 product cost them roughly $15. Their lifetime sales of hand-assembled ActionGlow devices totaled $130,000. They also stated that half of those sales happened in the past two years alone after they graduated from college and decided to devote more time to growing their firm. They made $32,000 in sales in 2021. In 2022, they were at $22,000 (at the time of the tape), but they hadn't yet hit their greatest quarter, and their biggest quarter is clearly Q4 during the Holiday season when they estimate 40-50% of their sales to come from.
Shark Robert Herjavec asks the brothers how they sell their goods, to which the brothers respond that word-of-mouth is their primary source of sales and that no money is spent on marketing. They use social media to some extent. They inform the Sharks that they have been receiving orders that they are unable to fulfill since they must manufacture, package, and ship it. Furthermore, they are concerned that if their TikTok goes viral, they would be unable to meet the demand. Shark Barbara Corcoran was taken aback when she saw entrepreneurs who did not want their company to become popular on TikTok and end up calling them "crazy."
Kevin informs the brothers that he had already entered the market with a product called Illumibowl, which was enormously popular until knockoffs appeared. Despite their efforts to innovate, knockoffs of their items continue to appear on the market. Kevin believes that the brothers must guard their patent like a hawk because he had to continue suing individuals in the case of Illumibowl. He thinks ActionGlow is a fantastic product, but he also thinks the challenges at hand are tremendous. Hence, he drops out of the running of investing in the business.
Shark Lori Greiner loves ActionGlow, but the firm appears to be too small for her to invest in. She, too, retracts. Shark Mark Cuban believes the brothers are on an incredible adventure, but it is a difficult business to invest in. He knows how a shark can help the business expand, but the way the brothers are doing it seems wonderful to him, so he opts out as well. Barbara believes the brother might have done more for their company if they had invested more time and effort in social media. She was unimpressed with the number of sales they had over a decade. She admires the young entrepreneurs, but can't seem to ignore the situation. The brothers attempt to justify themselves by claiming that they are undercapitalized, but Barbara is skeptical. She wishes them well and walks out from making a deal.
Nonetheless, Robert seemed to be impressed with the product. According to one of the co-founders, their ActionGlow 2 product is expected to generate $430,000 in sales in its first year. Robert wonders how they intend to accomplish this without discipline. He is prepared to offer $200,000 in exchange for 30%. The brothers counter with a willingness to do 20%, but Robert refuses. They raise it to 25% again, but in vain. Finally, they accept his offer, settling on $200,000 for 30%.
'Shark Tank' Season 14 airs every Friday at 8/7c on ABC. Missed an episode? Been wanting to catch up? Episodes can also be viewed the next day on demand and on Hulu. Not just that, you can also watch old seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.