What Happened To Foot Cardigan After Shark Tank? A Look At The Company Today
In 2014, Bryan DeLuca and Matt McClard stepped onto the ABC reality show "Shark Tank," hoping to receive a 250K investment for a 10% stake in their sock-subscription company Foot Cardigan. On-air, the "Shark Tank" audience saw Mark Cuban, the shark tank star with the highest net worth, and the episode's guest investor, Troy Carter take the bait. The two business tycoons agreed to split the 250K and take 20% of the company. However, this dream deal did not become a reality.
Just five days later, the previously mentioned proposals fell through, keeping Cuban and Carter out of the apparel company. However, within that same period of time, Foot Cardigan's publicity went through the roof after people ordered 90,000 pairs of socks, with 7,000 subscribing to the membership. Almost a decade later, the company is still up and running and continuing to grow in success. While much remains the same, their business model has evolved.
Foot Cardigan has more than quadrupled in yearly revenue
The sock-subscription company Foot Cardigan was founded by a group of Dallas-based buddies turned business partners back in 2012. These entrepreneurs, Bryan DeLuca, Matt McClard, Tom Browning, and Kelly Largent gathered just $6,000 to get their idea up and running. Their idea skyrocketed that same year when they produced Obama and Romney-themed socks amidst the presidential campaign. Appearing on the show with a yearly revenue of $900K, the business showed promise of selling one of the most successful products on "Shark Tank."
Even without the help of Mark Cuban and Troy Carter on their team, the company's yearly revenue grew to $4 million by 2022. Although, in 2017, the company did sell a significant stake in Foot Cardigan to the holding company Detail Provisions Co. Today, you can still get a pair of funky socks from Foot Cardigan on a one-off sale or recurring subscription. On the official Foot Cardigan website, they write, "We're still going strong, and since leaving the Tank, Foot Cardigan has shipped over 1,000,000 pairs of striped socks, graphic socks, patterned socks, fuzzy socks, and more to over 30 countries around the world."
Yes, they're still wacky as ever since leaving Shark Tank
The "Shark Tank" sensation has come a long way since its debut on the show, but some things never change. You may recall on the show that Bryan DeLuca and Matt McClard were ready to bare it all to get a deal from the judges ... quite literally. The two hopeful entrepreneurs quickly got the Sharks' attention when they made a show of pulling off their tearaway pants to reveal they were wearing the "raddest, baddest" and certainly most colorful socks in all the land. We definitely weren't expecting that from the men dressed in business attire.
We're happy to see the company's owners haven't lost their sense of humor. Their website jokingly claims that DeLuca and McClard "regret nothing" from their pants-ripping exhibit on national television. They bring that same "dad joke" energy to their online store, with slogans like "It's nice to 'feet' you" greeting potential customers perusing the site, and even the option to plaster someone's photo all over their custom-designed socks. If you have any sock enthusiasts and jokesters in your family, then you just might want to consider signing up for Foot Cardigan's monthly subscription.