TRAVERSE CITY, MI – The founders of Action Glow, a Traverse City-based marketer and manufacturer of aftermarket, low profile, and lightweight lighting systems for the action sports enthusiast, will appear on ABC-TV’s reality show “Shark Tank” Friday, November 18, 2022 at 8 p.m. ET.
Dakota and Garret Porter are more than just brothers. At 27 and 24, respectively, they’ve been business partners since they were 16 and 13 and wondered what it would be like to shred through fresh powder with LED-illuminated snowboards. Two years of design and research later, the pair had a viable offering to take to a local business show. 48 hours later their entire inventory sold out. A few weeks after that “Shark Tank” emailed them – for the first time. The result: Action Glow didn’t make the cut.
Years passed and “Shark Tank” reached out a second time – strike two. A third time – strike three. A fourth time – and finally, the incredible news that Action Glow had been selected. This time, however, the Porters were halfway around the world promoting their product at the world’s largest night surf competition. They had one week to refine their big pitch.
A long-term client of the MI-SBDC, Action Glow tapped consultants Scott Taylor of the Tech Team and Sam Augusta of the Northwest Region, along with a former MI-SBDC consultant and several other business mentors to help them rehearse.
The Porters later learned that they would face the five original “sharks:” Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Lori Griener, Mark Cuban and Robert Herjovec. Like any reality show contestants, the Porter brothers went in with a strategy: Dakota would target Cuban because of his sports ties and strong team; Garret would target Herjovec because of his experience in the technology space and willingness to try new things.
The brothers are sworn to secrecy about the show’s outcome until it airs on Friday, but according to them their story has a happy ending no matter what.
“Out of 40,000 applicants this year, we made it down to the final 75. We didn’t pitch our story alone – we had the support of the entire community, including the MI-SBDC, behind us.” said Dakota.
Garret added, “There’s no better place to start a business than Michigan, and we are so grateful for the support we received from everyone over the last ten years.”
The MI-SBDC provides no-cost consulting, business education, market research and technology commercialization to new and existing businesses throughout Michigan’s 83 counties. Michiganders looking to start or grow a business can connect to free export services, market research, cybersecurity resources and business education through the MI-SBDC.
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About the Michigan Small Business Development Center
The Michigan Small Business Development Center’s mission is to provide no-cost consulting, business education, market research and technology commercialization to new and existing businesses throughout Michigan’s 83 counties. Michigan SBDC services are available through the support of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC).
The MI-SBDC is committed to fostering and sustaining a culture of inclusion through equitable outreach and service to Michigan’s diverse business community. Entrepreneurs and small business owners may access the services of their nearest Michigan SBDC office by visiting michigansbdc.org.
The MI-SBDC is hosted on a state level by Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business. Regional hosts include Saginaw Valley State University, Grand Valley State University, Western Michigan University, Mid Michigan College, Michigan Technological University, Kettering University, Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw Community College and Lansing Community College.