Every Shark Tank fan remembers the founders who turned down an offer — sometimes it looks like confidence, sometimes like a mistake. Two companies from very different seasons show just how differently that gamble can play out: Tick Mitt, which walked away from two offers in Season 16, is now in national retail chains and earned a TIME “Best Invention” nod. Atlas Monroe, which turned down a stunning $1 million buyout in Season 11, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2024 and has permanently closed.
Tick Mitt: The No-Deal That Kept Growing
Father-daughter founders Steve and Olivia Abrams pitched their chemical-free, microfiber tick-removal mitt on Season 16, seeking $250,000 for 10% equity. Steve, a former Magnolia Bakery CEO, developed the concept after noticing ticks sticking to a microfiber towel he used on his dog; Olivia’s own childhood battle with Lyme disease gave the pitch its emotional core. Despite offers from both Kevin O’Leary and Barbara Corcoran, the pair walked away with no deal — Kevin balked at their $2.5 million valuation, arguing the numbers didn’t support it.
That rejection didn’t slow them down. Since the episode aired, Tick Mitt has expanded into Petco, Bass Pro Shops, Fleet Farm, Duluth Trading Co., and Dunham’s Sports, added international distribution in Canada, South Korea, Norway, and Sweden, and launched a kids’ version of the product. Olivia Abrams was later named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list, and the brand earned a spot on TIME’s Best Inventions list. The timing has also worked in their favor: tick bite-related ER visits are currently at their highest rate in nearly a decade according to CDC data, giving the company’s core pitch — protection before a bite happens — new relevance heading into peak tick season.
Atlas Monroe: The No-Deal That Ended in Bankruptcy
Founders Deborah and Jonathan Torres pitched their vegan fried chicken brand on Season 11 in 2019, seeking $500,000 for 10% equity. Mark Cuban and guest shark Rohan Oza teamed up to offer $1 million for full ownership of the company plus a 10% royalty to the founders — one of the largest offers in the show’s history at that point. The Torreses declined, unwilling to give up complete control.
In the short term, the bet looked smart: the episode drove $350,000 in sales within two hours, and by 2021 the company had opened a 10,000-square-foot San Diego manufacturing facility and grown to roughly $2 million in annual sales, at one point supplying over 50 restaurants including the vegan chain Copper Branch. But by 2024, the company’s parent entity, JD Torres LLC, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and its assets were auctioned off. Customer complaints about unfulfilled orders had been mounting since late 2023, and the brand’s social accounts went dark around the same time.
What Actually Separated the Two Outcomes
The lesson here isn’t “always take the deal” or “always walk away” — plenty of no-deal companies thrive, and plenty of funded ones fail. What stands out comparing these two: Tick Mitt scaled its retail footprint gradually through named partners (Petco, Bass Pro, international distributors) it can point to concretely, while Atlas Monroe’s growth — a large factory build-out funded partly through pre-orders, rapid multi-state restaurant expansion — outpaced its operational ability to fulfill what it had sold, a strain that showed up publicly as shipping delays and complaints well before the bankruptcy filing became public.
