If you want to succeed, you shouldn’t make excuses. With this mindset, Kobe Johnson became the first deaf entrepreneur to appear on Shark Tank. He pitched Tailgate N Go, an all-in-one outdoor kitchen appliance, with his father Ron and sister Taylor. The trio struck a deal with guest Shark Matt Higgins. As of 2024, Tailgate N Go is valued at $2.5 million.
About the Founder
Ron, Tyler, and Kobe Johnson are an entrepreneurial family from Grand Junction, Colo. Ron is considered an inventor who encouraged his children to develop a love of the outdoors and camping.
Taylor studied mass communications at Colorado Mesa University. There is no record of her working for any other company after graduation, as she was determined to start her own business.
Kobe, the youngest of the group, was born deaf, which he claims is a unique way to experience life, and he is currently studying anthropology at the University of Northern Colorado.
establish a company
On a camping trip, Ron noticed a group of nearby campers carrying a lot of stuff with them. Everything was disorganized, which inspired the Colorado inventor to come up with a solution.
He made nine prototypes before finally designing the first Tailgate N Go box, which has almost everything you need for outdoor cooking, such as food compartments, cutting boards, storage nets, knife holders, etc.
In late 2018, Ron invested $250,000 of his savings and recruited his children to start the business. They developed two more models and sold about 100 units within 18 months.
Shark Tank Appearance
In 2019, the Johnson family was looking to raise funds to expand production and needed help with marketing. They wanted to reduce production costs. The trio appeared on Season 11 of Shark Tank seeking $250,000 in funding in exchange for a 10% stake.
Kobe made history as the first deaf entrepreneur to be featured on the show. It was an amazing feat, but the main focus of the presentation was their outdoor products. They gave a great presentation and demoed the product. The Sharks were impressed, but didn’t like the valuation.
Kevin O’Leary was the first to make an offer, which was also a bad royalty offer. When the other sharks backed out, all hope seemed lost, but Diamond convinced them to make a counter-offer. Guest shark Matt Higgins changed his mind and agreed to invest $250,000 for 20% of the proceeds and $50 in royalties per unit until the $250,000 was repaid.
After Shark Tank
According to Sharktankrecap.com, Tailgate N Go generated $400,000 in sales after the episode aired. After striking a deal with Matt, the businessman helped the startup secure licensing agreements with the NFL and NCAA.
They are also now selling boxes with logos of professional football and college sports clubs, and they have new jersey accessories that can be purchased on Amazon and their official website TailgateNGo.com.
Despite strong sales, the pandemic has hampered Tailgate N Go’s momentum. Although their product was already expensive, they were forced to increase the price, with the NFL Edition now retailing for $1,995. In fact, the company only needs to sell more than 500 units per year to achieve $1 million in sales.
The family-owned business has an active Facebook page with an average rating of 4.1 stars from 11 users. It has an estimated annual revenue of $800,000 to $1 million and a valuation of $2.5 million.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: dut.edu.vn
