Whatever Happened To Guardian Bikes After Shark Tank?

With Guardian Bikes, entrepreneurs Brian Riley and Kyle Jansen are looking to help make biking safer for kids everywhere. The company creates bicycles equipped with a specially designed brake system called the SureStop. Unlike traditional brakes that only lessen the impact of an accident, SureStop technology applies equal pressure to the front and rear brakes which allows the bike to halt with ease and drastically lower the risk of serious injury. The bikes themselves also come in a variety of stylish and appealing designs for kids. 

The genesis for the company was birthed from an unfortunate occurrence. While Riley was attending college, his grandfather sustained major neck injuries after a severe biking accident. It would take several years for him to recover. They got their start by adding SureStop to adult bicycles in 2013 before taking note of the alarmingly high rate of children bike-related injuries. In 2015, they launched Guardian Bikes at a Las Vegas trade show. It didn't take long for the team to start getting noticed, with several parenting blogs catching wind of and recommending their products. 

As explained on their "Shark Tank" introduction segment, the Guardian Bikes team not only see their business as an immensely profitable venture, but hope to make their products the industry standard for bike safety in the same way seat belts are used for cars. The future of Guardian Bikes was looking bright, but bringing a shark along for the ride would surely help them reach the next level.

Guardian Bikes got their time to shine on "Shark Tank" Season 8. Founders Brian Riley and Kyle Jansen are looking to get a $500,000 investment for 10% of their business. Kevin O' Leary wants to know why they aren't licensing the SureStop brake to other bike companies. The two explain that this was their initial way of breaking into the market and that SureStop is currently on 40,000 bicycles. However, several major bike manufacturers have not wanted to implement the technology with fear that it would make their other products seem more dangerous in comparison, which the sharks find ridiculous.  

Over the past three years (the segment was filmed in 2016), they have made $200,000 from the SureStop brakes. The Guardian Bikes have only been on the market for seven months and have hit $95,000 in sales with projections of $350,000 by year's end. They are currently working on getting the word out about their bikes and educating the public, which the sharks feel is going to be extremely challenging. Mark Cuban thinks that their marketing and PR strategy is extremely undercooked, especially given the high cost of their products. 

O'Leary's $500,000 deal for 20% is contingent on the team no longer producing bikes, although he retracts his offer when they take too long with the other sharks. Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, and Chris Sacca also go out. Mark Cuban proposes the $500,000 for 15%, but won't give them anything until they've hit their sales projections for the year, can prove their product's unique value, and hire a PR person. Riley and Jansen accept the deal. 

Guardian Bikes' "Shark Tank" episode aired on April 14, 2017. On the following night, investor Mark Cuban shared his support of the company on Twitter (via 2Paragraphs), saying, "Don't buy a bike without @guardianbikes SureStop. Your health and your kids health depends on it." 

Their partnership with the longtime shark and Dallas Mavericks owner proved to be a fruitful one, with the team stating in a blog post that Cuban is constantly in correspondence through weekly emails. "He sees so many similar situations that can be applicable to a whole other company," Kyle Jansen said. "I remember one time Brian emailed him a question after midnight, Mark responded in two minutes, then asked a follow-up question at 6:30 in the morning. Either he didn't sleep, or he was dreaming about Guardian Bikes!" 2020 saw the company reach nearly $10 million in revenue as their established online presence appealed to customers who couldn't venture to retailers for exercise equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022 was a big year for Guardian. In March, the team announced that manufacturing would be moving from China to the U.S. due to supply chain issues and as way of supporting a more sustainable production model. By May, the company found a new home for its manufacturing plant in Seymour, Indiana. Guardian raised another $3 million from Mark Cuban and other investors in December to aid in speeding up output. 

Guardian Bikes continues to largely operate through its website. The company currently offer bicycles for ages 1.5 through 14 years old that range in price from $149 to $399. The bikes are equipped with Guardian's patented SureStop brake technology, can be set up in five minutes, and are available in a diverse array of colors. They also sell a wide assortment of accessories including helmets, bells, bike locks, LED lights, spare pieces, and much more.

Their products have received largely positive reviews. Guardian sports a 4.9 out of 5 star average based on over 3,200 reviews on its site. Reviewers are not only pleased by the high quality, ease of assembly, and stellar customer service, but several have noted the positive impact they've seen on their kids. Many parents have found that children who were once hesitant when riding a bike had a much easier time when using the Guardian's products, such as a Facebook comment stating, "Our 10 year old son is autistic and has NEVER wanted to learn to ride a bike without training wheels ... We took a chance and ordered a bike on Saturday  ... He used the bike as a balance bike for about 2 minutes, asked for the pedals and then took off around the block with his sister! I'm so proud of him and amazed by this bike!!"

Over the years, this good word has been spread through other outlets such as USA Today, Two Wheeling Tots, and Inc. Guardian Bikes' current annual revenue is estimated to be at $25 million.

On a Season 14 "Shark Tank" update segment, Mark Cuban tells Brian Riley and Kyle Jansen that Guardian Bikes is on its way to becoming a $100 million company after the team revealed to bringing in $33.5 million in lifetime sales. Cuban's opinion is about as good as it gets when it comes to predicting the success of a business. And it's hard to disagree with his sentiment as Guardian Bikes has managed to keep running with an ingenuious line of products and high customer satisfaction. 

The team has seen great progress in their transition to U.S. manufacturing. Overtime, they've ramped up production, from making 300 bikes a day in May 2022 to over 3,000 in 50 hours by August 2023. This has largely been aided by their implementation of inventive technology to push assembly forward, such as a Holland Mechanics B.V. Marchetti overhead assembly line the team brought in over the summer. The company shared that 96% of bike manufacturing takes place in China, so showcasing how robotics and technology can be utilized could hopefully encourage more American production. 

Guardian Bikes could also get thinking about expanding their product line. Considering how the business was birthed after Riley's grandfather sustained major injuries from a bike accident, it's surprising that they haven't broken into the adult bike market. It seems like a huge missed opportunity, especially for adults who have never biked and may be too scared to try in the traditional method. As time goes on, Guardian Bikes will hopefully continue to use their new innovations to build a safer world for bikers young and old.