Tough Tie Update | Shark Tank Season 11
Expensive ties are often ruined by spills and improper care. Kids are great at ruining your favorite ties! Dads Kevin Shoemaker and Skylar Bennett sought a solution, so they created Tough Ties, water-resistant, customizable, kid-proof ties. Will the sharks be impressed by these resilient essentials during Season 11? Find out in our
Shark Tank Tough Tie Update
- Entrepreneurs: Kevin Shoemaker and Skylar Bennett
- Business: Kid- and life-proof ties
- Ask: $100,000 for 15% equity
- Result: $100,000 for 35% equity
- Shark: Robert Herjavec
Tough Ties are completely customizable and printed in-house. They are stitched five times for extra durability and resistant to water, meaning they are entirely machine washable, too. It’s difficult for your kids to ruin these ties, a point of pride for Kevin and Skylar.
Year-to-date sales during the year of filming were about $200,000, but the company was not profitable yet due to customer acquisition costs.
Mark Cuban was the first to drop out. He said the difference wasn’t obvious enough for him. Daymond John followed because the product was too niche and didn’t offer more than ties.
Lori Greiner also went out because she isn’t in the tie business. Kevin O’Leary, on the other hand, didn’t see a path to making money. He went out as a result. This left Robert Herjavec.
Robert offered $100,000 for 35% equity, but Kevin and Skylar tried to haggle for 25%, then 33.3%. After Robert refused to budge, they took his original deal. How did this affect the business? Find out in our
Sadly, our Tough Tie update research told us that Robert’s deal never materialized. Kevin and Skylar renamed the company Tough Apparel and added several new categories to their catalog. They added new socks, ratchet belts, and shirts (including casual apparel). As of 2022, their revenue is estimated to be $4 million annually. So despite not getting a deal in the tank, things worked out for Kevin and Skylar.
Before you go, why not check up on some of the other products featured in Season 11 Episode 22? You can find our company updates here.
Don’t forget to also check out company updates from the rest of Season 11, which you can find on our Season 11 products page.
