What started as a family trip to Sweden has led to a trip to the “Shark Tank” stage for Bunch Bikes Founder and CEO Aaron Powell.
On March 26 at 9 p.m., Powell will make his pitch to the Sharks for his Denton-based cargo bike company.
“I want to see people healthy, fit, and enjoying time with their kids. In the bike, they’re upfront where you can see them. You can talk with them. You can stop and engage with the world around you. In a car, you wouldn’t. You’d just keep going,” Powell said in a statement.
Launched in 2017, Bunch Bikes makes electric cargo bikes, currently available in three models: the Original, the K9 and the Preschool — all of which feature a three-wheel bike with a large bucket-like attachment to help carry kids, pets or groceries.
The concept was inspired while in Scandinavia, where Powell and his family spent days exploring the city on congestion-free, dedicated bike lanes. While the cargo-bike concept has been popular in Europe for decades, Powell decided having electric capabilities would help with adoption in the U.S. market.
So far, the plan has been paying off. Bunch Bikes has been largely bootstrapped from the beginning; taking on early friends and family rounds raised about $95,000. When NTX Inno last spoke with Powell in September, the company struggled to get bikes out the door to customers. And not for lack of demand, but rather lack of available parts due to a surge in people looking for safe, outdoor activities amid the pandemic.
At the time, Powell said Bunch Bikes has moved from Phase One of its business, bringing the product to the U.S. market to Phase Two, where it can innovate more in the category. And with the Shark Tank appearance, he is hoping the exposure can be a “tipping point” for adopting bicycle transportation. Already, the company has seen cities adopt its bikes for composting use, as well as a local city councilman, use it to stay in shape on trips to city hall.
“There’s an alternative to this broken, suburban, car-driven development our cities have gotten into,” Powell said. “You sit in traffic to do anything or go anywhere. You live in one place, work and play in another. The cities are dead. There’s no vibrancy.”
This also isn’t Bunch Bikes’ first appearance in the spotlight. The company has also had its products featured on shows on the TLC network.
Bunch Bikes joins several other DFW startups to appear on “Shark Tank.” The most recent to take the stage was CPG sports drink, and lifestyle brand Electra Beverages, which walked away with a deal with shark Barbara Corcoran, who offered $100,000 upfront, along with a $250,000 line of credit in exchange for a 30 percent stake of the startup before that was Fort Worth-based shaving startup Supply, which landed a $300,000 investment in exchange for a 15 percent stake in the company from Robert Herjavec.
Recently Dallas native and shoe brand TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie joined the panel of Sharks on the show, along with Austin entrepreneur Kendra Scott.
The other North Texas Shark serial entrepreneur Mark Cuban has also been particularly active recently. In the past month alone, Cuban has invested in Brooklyn-based coding app Hopscotch, plant-based burger startup Everything Legendary and Philadelphia’s pre-made salad-in-a-jar concept Simply Good Jars.
“’ Shark Tank’ is the realization of a plan I set forth four years ago. I see myself as an ambassador for these family bikes and this lifestyle,” Powell said. “This will start the ripple in a pond that’s going to become an ocean.”
