Traverse City Entrepreneurs Talk Life After ‘Shark Tank’

If you’ve ever watched the popular ABC reality TV show Shark Tank, you’ve probably wondered what happens to all those entrepreneurs after the cameras stop rolling – especially the ones who land big deals with the show’s celebrity investors. Traverse City brothers Garret and Dakota Porter don’t have to wonder, because they’re living it.

You might recall the brothers Porter from multiple November 2022 Ticker articles, when we covered the pair’s appearance on Shark Tank. After years of trying to get on the show to pitch their TC-based company ActionGlow – which sells kits for outfitting snowboards, surfboards, skateboards, and other action sports gear with LED lights – Garret and Dakota got their big break in an episode aired on Friday, November 18, 2022. On the show, the brothers landed a sizable investment from businessman and celebrity investor Robert Herjavec. Then, almost immediately, ActionGlow exploded in popularity.

“We had talked with so many companies that have aired on Shark Tank previously, just to pick their brains about the ‘Shark Tank sales boost,’ and to get a feeling of what to expect and how much inventory we should have on hand,” Garret tells The Ticker. “And even with that preparation, the reality of it far exceeded our expectations. We doubled our previous year’s sales that weekend alone, and we surpassed our company’s lifetime sales within a week or two.”

Those post-show sales exceeded someone else’s expectations, too.

On Shark Tank, the Porters impressed the pool of celebrity investors with their drive and product, but drew some doubts due to their lifetime sales numbers being relatively small ($130,000 over the course of 10 years) compared to the show’s usual standards. And despite Dakota’s assurance to the sharks that ActionGlow was “projected to do $430,000” in sales during the first year of its second-generation product, Herjavec had reservations: “How do I know you’re going to sell that much?” he asked.

With those reservations in mind, Herjavec offered the Porters $200,000 for 30 percent of ActionGlow – double the 15 percent stake the brothers had hoped to sell for that level of investment. While Herjavec’s team was working through due diligence on the deal, though, ActionGlow enjoyed its post-Shark Tank blow-up, which changed the deal.

“We were able to renegotiate the terms in a favorable manner with Robert and his team,” Garret says. “We’ve had a fantastic working relationship with Robert ever since. We just talked to him a couple weeks ago, because we were nominated for the Forbes 30 Under 30 feature, which is a huge deal. We worked with Robert to have him send in a letter of recommendation on our behalf.”

While the Porters didn’t ultimately make the cut for that Forbes feature, they seem to be doing just fine. The brothers say ActionGlow has been on a 250 percent year-over-year growth rate since the Shark Tank appearance, and note that it “didn’t take long” after the episode aired for the company’s lifetime sales to surpass seven figures. They’ve also hired a small team and handed off a few key responsibilities – when Shark Tank aired, the brothers were still assembling all ActionGlow products by hand – which has enabled more scalable growth.

2025 could prove to be the biggest year yet for ActionGlow. This spring, the Porters will embark on a coast-to-coast road trip, with plans to meet face-to-face with athletes, influencers, and retailers in hopes of expanding the reach and name-brand recognition of their product.

“It’s this crazy guerilla marketing tactic that we came up with,” Dakota says. “Years ago, we bought a full-sized, 65-passenger school bus, and we have completely converted it into an RV/tour bus. It's something we've been so excited about doing for so long, and now we've got plans to hit the road in February.”

The van – which is currently receiving its finishing touches courtesy of the BoxPop team at Traverse City’s Britten, Inc. – will serve as the roving hub for what Dakota calls “the launch of our new retail channel.”

“So far, all of our sales have been direct-to-consumer, either through our website or Amazon,” Dakota explains. “Now, we want to get into the boutique mom-and-pop surf, skate, ski, and bike shops. That’s going to really help build the brand credibility for ActionGlow. A lot of the passionate athletes in the action sports world, they go to these local shops where they know the owner, they know everyone that works there, and that's where they get recommendations on accessories and must-have gear. We want to reach those people.”

According to Dakota, it’s a well-worn tradition for fledgling action sports companies – including big success stories like GoPro and Burton Snowboards – to level up by “loading up an old van with some of their products and touring the country selling their stuff to store owners face-to-face.” The ActionGlow road trip, which the Porters are calling “the LED the Way Tour,” will follow a similar template. The brothers are even planning to document the journey on camera, in hopes of sharing the ups and downs of the experience with their fans and followers.

With the LED the Way Tour set to last 4-6 months, we had to ask: What does ActionGlow’s demanding itinerary mean for the Porter brothers’ other big project? As The Ticker reported back in June of 2022, Garret and Dakota are coordinating the Big Pie Project (BPP), an effort to bring the record for the world’s largest cherry pie back to Traverse City.

“It’s still progressing,” Dakota says of that project. “We been able to grow the BPP team pretty significantly, and we actually just had a meeting with the team a couple weeks ago. So, we've got boots on the ground here, and we will still be working in the background while we're on this road trip. We're not quite sure if the BPP is going to be able to happen in 2025, but it will happen in the near future. We promise: Traverse City will reclaim that world record!”

Pictured: Garret (left) and Dakota (right), courtesy of ActionGlow.