A Long Lake-based company creating matching outfits for dogs and their humans landed $250,000 on ABC's "Shark Tank" this weekend.
Dog Threads offers flannels, sweaters and even Hawaiian shirts for its fashionable dog-loving fan base. Items range from $24 to $42 for dogs and up to $78 for humans. A portion of Dog Threads' profits is donated to nonprofit animal rescue missions, and any scrap fabric generated during production is used to make donated dog beds.
Mark Cuban agreed to invest $250,000 in Dog Threads in exchange for a 25% stake in the company.
The company was created by husband and wife entrepreneurial duo Scott and Gina Davis in 2014. At the time, Gina told Minne Inno, the couple had a pomeranian poodle named Thomas who loved dressing up.
"We were looking for an outfit for him for a family gathering on the Fourth of July, but couldn't really find anything," she said. "There were a lot of rhinestones and skulls, but that wasn't his vibe. He had such a human-like personality – we wanted him to dress more like Scott."
Gina, a designer by trade, began creating her own outfits for Thomas. They took off almost immediately.
"People would stop us in the street and ask where we got those clothes. We realized there was a business here," she said.
Gina has been working on Dog Threads full-time for about two years now. In January, she signed the company up for "Shark Tank" on a whim. A few weeks later, she got a call from the show and was invited to audition.
Another Minnesota company, Circadian Optics, was featured on "Shark Tank" last month. Local entrepreneur Amber Leong secured $750,000 from Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner.
Davis said that the audition process was long and difficult, but she would still recommend it to other entrepreneurs.
"No matter what happens, it's a great way to step back and look at the business and evaluate what you're doing," she said. "It was a ton of work, but we decided it would be worth it no matter the outcome."
The episode will air on Nov. 10 at 8 p.m. on ABC.
