SMART Tire Company Update | Shark Tank Season 13

Kimberly Elizabeth Graf November 26, 2023December 11, 2023

The rubber tire is old and unreliable technology. Brian Yennie and Earl Cole are using space-age technology to reinvent the wheel and headed to Shark Tank Season 13 to share SMART Tire Company with the sharks. What will they think of these innovative tires? Here’s a full pitch recap and SMART Tire Company update.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to SMART Tire Company after Shark Tank!

Brian Yennie and Earl Cole appeared on Shark Tank Season 13 and left without a deal. In terms of a SMART Tire Company update, the company is still in business and is working on securing additional funding, having reached almost $1 million in support during its most recent WeFunder campaign. While they haven’t hit the market yet, the METL bike tire is expected to start shipping in 2024.

Shark:	Result:
Mark Cuban	No Offer
Lori Greiner	No Offer
Kevin O’Leary	No Offer
Barbara Corcoran	No Offer
Kevin Hart	No Offer

Shark Tank SMART Tire Company Update

Entrepreneurs: Brian Yennie and Earl Cole
Business: High-performance airless tires
Ask: $500,000 for 2.5% equity
Result: No deal
Shark: None

Brian Yennie and Earl Cole’s ambitious SMART Tire Company aims to change the way tires are made and used. Because of this, they’ve partnered with NASA to create sustainable tires made out of nitinol.

This nickel-titanium hybrid doesn’t wear down or go flat, and Brian and Earl also have patents pending for rubber integration. NASA is helping them commercialize the use of the technology for tires.

While the sharks are impressed with the technology, the pitch quickly falls apart. When the sharks ask about the business side of things, they don’t get the answers they are looking for.

Brian and Earl used equity crowdfunding to fund the company. Mark Cuban doesn’t agree with the practice, saying it isn’t a good thing for potential investors.

Throughout their pitch, they fail to explain how they plan to execute the business side of their company. As a result, the sharks hesitate to invest.

Then, Brian and Earl revealed that a set of tires would cost $2,500 to $3,500. The price shellshocks the sharks, who all agree that this is just too costly.

Lori Greiner thinks it is too early, so she’s the first to go out.

Mark doesn’t believe they can operate the business, so he goes out, too.

Kevin O’Leary goes out next, followed quickly by Kevin Hart. Again, they just can’t get behind the project as it’s been presented.

Barbara Corcoran thinks their pitch is confusing, and because of this, she’s out as well.

Unfortunately, this leaves SMART Tire Company without a shark, and Brian and Earl exit the tank empty-handed.

So, how has the company fared since its Season 13 pitch? Let’s roll into a SMART Tire Company update and find out.

We reached out to Brian for a quick interview to see what’s happened to SMART Tire Company since Shark Tank. “Shark Tank was a bit of a happy accident for us,” Brian told Shark Tank Recap. “We were in the early stages of the company building prototypes, but had gotten a lot of early publicity for our NASA-inspired tire concepts.”

SMART Tire Company isn’t your typical Shark Tank business, and Brian was aware of that. “We also knew that we weren’t a typical Shark Tank company. Nobody on the panel is a pre-seed hardware investor. They’re looking for traction and consumer products that can be monetized today.”

Despite not getting a deal, Brain shared that the sharks have been incredibly supportive of the company and that they still keep in touch from time to time.

In terms of a SMART Tire Company update, Brian told us that they are about to hit 7 figures in revenue. However, they expect this number to skyrocket as they release their first consumer product in 2024.

“We are currently targeting $150 for a bicycle tire next year,” Brian shared. “We have a waiting list of over 10,000 people already for our bicycle tires and expect that to be the tip of the iceberg.”

The company opened the METL bike wheels for preorder in the fall of 2023 through a Kickstarter campaign, fully funding the project in just 15 minutes and securing $182,000 in orders.

However, bicycle tires aren’t the end goal for Brian. “One of our ultimate goals remains to transport astronauts safely on the moon, which may become a reality in the next 5 years,” he told us.

The future looks bright for our next SMART Tire Company update, and if you’d like to be a part of what they’re doing, you can invest in the company via WeFunder. If you’re interested in the bicycle tire, you can visit the SMART Tire Company website for more info.

Before you go, make sure to check out more company updates from Shark Tank Season 13 Episode 10:

Interested in more company updates from Shark Tank Season 13? Visit our Season 13 products page.

Kimberly Elizabeth Graf

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Kimberly is a writer for Shark Tank Recap. She has written episode summaries and updates across multiple seasons of Shark Tank, with a focus on complete and accurate information since 2021. She believes that getting the business aspects of each deal correct is extremely important for viewers and fans. Her favorite Shark Tank products are The Wobbles and Rocketbook!