Guardian Bikes Update | Shark Tank Season 8
Brian Riley and Kyle Jansen of Guardian Bikes were the last to enter the
Shark Tank Guardian Bikes Update
- Entrepreneurs: Brian Riley and Kyle Jansen
- Business: World’s safest children’s bike
- Ask: $500,000 for 10% equity
- Result: $500,000 for 15% with contingency
- Shark: Mark Cuban
Brian Riley and Kyle Jansen believe their company, Guardian Bikes, has the world’s safest children’s bikes. These bicycles make use of technologies such as a revolutionary braking system, SureStop. At the time of their presentation, Guardians Bikes had sold seven different children’s bikes that consider the heights and riding styles of the children riding on them.
Guardian Bikes: Revolutionizing bike safety for kids. With our pioneering SureStop technology and a mission to educate the industry, we ensure your child rides with confidence and protection.
Once their opening presentation was over, Kevin O’Leary did not waste any time. He immediately asked why they launched a bike company instead of a technology company. Guest shark Chris Sacca then referred to their technology as a “genius solution.” The two explained that they do plan on licensing the technology in the future.
However, Kevin was worried about how they were going to distribute the products. Barbara Corcoran thought that the two needed someone to help them sell more, so she went out.
Mark Cuban one-upped everyone’s thoughts and called out the company’s marketing and PR strategy, saying that it “sucks.”
Soon after, Kevin was the first to throw an offer of $500,000 for 20%. However, while Kevin was talking about what the two needed to do, they weren’t very receptive. Because they weren’t really negotiating with him, Kevin decided to pull his offer and bow out of the deal.
Chris and Lori Greiner followed, which left Mark as the lone shark.
Fortunately for Brian and Kyle, Mark wasn’t feeling sharky that day. He decided to offer them $500,000 for 15% equity, but with a contingency. They needed to hit sales projects and hire someone better to do their PR for them. The three came to an agreement and a deal was struck.
When they made their pitch on
In addition to the massive increase in sales, they have also moved all manufacturing from China to the United States and created over 100 jobs. The trade wars with China drove the price of materials to crazy prices, so Mark helped Brian and Kyle set up manufacturing in the United States.
We wanted some more insight into what it’s like working with Mark, so we reached out to Brian for an interview. He told us, “Mark has been awesome to work with. He’s the man.”
He continued, “He sees around corners. He’s helped us navigate a ton of challenges in the business, but if I could sum up his value, it’s that he sees around corners. He sees things before 99% of people – whether that be how a megatrend is developing or how new technology disruption will change things. That’s helped us in thinking about the business long term and making huge moves that set up up to out-compete others in the long term.”
In our interview, Brian was also kind enough to give us a Guardian Bikes update. He shared that they are expecting to close 2023 at $24 million in annual revenue and have passed $40 million in sales since airing on
This Guardian Bikes update is a big success and we can’t wait to see what’s next! In the meantime, be sure to check out the bikes on the official website.
Make sure to check out our other company updates from Season 8 Episode 21:
For more company updates from Season 8, visit our Season 8 products page.
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!