Whatever Happened To Bad Birdie After Shark Tank?

Tipsy Elves is one of the most successful products in "Shark Tank" history. The company's flagship offering is its range of Christmas sweaters with designs meant to be humorous and serve as alternatives to more classic looks. One of the businesses featured on "Shark Tank" Season 11, Episode 18, called Bad Birdie, operates on a similar principle, producing golf polos with vibrant patterns.

Company founder Jason Richardson came up with the idea for Bad Birdie after failing to find a golf polo design he felt excited about wearing. He determined that golf polo options were exclusively boring and traditional, failing to reflect the fun he had playing a game with friends. The very first step he took in founding his company was a Google search for "how to make golf polos." He entered into the sports apparel business, then, not because of any existing experience, but to address what he saw as a genuine need.

Richardson created Bad Birdie in 2017. Three years later he appeared on "Shark Tank," presenting his product to some of the very entrepreneurs he studied to get his business off the ground. He enters the "Shark Tank" studio asking for a $300,000 investment in exchange for 10% of his business, hoping that a bite from one of the Sharks is just what he needs to take his business to the next level.

Jason Richardson opens his "Shark Tank" presentation alongside two companions wearing what he considers to be boring golf polo designs that represent what has become an industry standard. They disappear and change into a couple of Bad Birdie polos, which he proposes reflect a shift in the sport of golf toward a more vibrant and diverse culture.

Once they start talking numbers, Richardson reveals that Bad Birdie's sales totaled $72,000 in its first year and $412,000 the following year. At the time of filming, he had netted more than $700,000 with a projected $1.2 million in sales. An investment, he explains, would help him address a growing demand he still can't quite meet.

During negotiations, Mark Cuban worries about Richardson's planned expansion into stores; he thinks that the online, limited drop model Richardson employs is key to his brand's success, whereas retail availability would hinder that. Kevin O'Leary shares this worry, offering a $300,000 investment under the condition Richardson stays out of the retail market. Robert Herjavec, however, offers $300,000 for 25% of the company with no strings attached. Richardson tries to negotiate that percentage down to 20%, and while Herjavec initially declines, Richardson responds with a unique proposition: if Herjavec can sink a putt, they'll agree to 25%, but if he misses they'll shake on 20%. Herjavec's golf ball comes just short of its target, earning Richardson $300,000 in exchange for 20% of Bad Birdie.

Bad Birdie appeared on "Shark Tank" at a strange time. The show's producers invited Jason Richardson in early 2020 and his episode ended up airing in April of that year, just after the COVID-19 pandemic first started impacting everyday life in the United States. The previous month, in March, Bad Birdie's sales dropped 90% when much of the country stopped going outside other than for essential jobs or errands.

Things soon turned around, however, once golf experienced a major resurgence as a sport that could still be played properly outdoors and while socially distanced. Combined with an uptick in sales resulting from the brand's national TV exposure, Bad Birdie's total revenue increased by 1,000% between the pandemic's start and a 2022 interview azcentral.com conducted with Richardson. "We were very, very fortunate and I don't take it lightly," he told the outlet. "I'm very humbled by it."

Against Mark Cuban and Kevin O'Leary's wishes, Bad Birdie did, in fact, expand into retail shops. At the time of Richardson's interview, approximately 800 outlets sold Bad Birdie products. He also decided to open a flagship store for the brand in his hometown of Scottsdale, Arizona, which remains in operation to this day.

Robert Herjavec's considerable investment in the company seems to have paid off because Bad Birdie is still around and thriving today. While polos are still core to the brand's business model — and at roughly the same price Richardson shared on air, despite Cuban encouraging him to sell at a higher price point — Bad Birdie is now a golf-oriented apparel brand, rather than a purveyor of athletic polos alone. In full, the company now sells tops, bottoms, outerwear, and accessories in men's, women's, and youth categories, in addition to a range of hats in various styles. Polos no longer appear to even make up the bulk of Bad Birdie's inventory. In fact, a line of snapback hats sporting names of states in cursive writing wound up landing among Bad Birdie's best sellers.

Jason Richardson has also expanded the scope of his business in a few key ways. For instance, loyal customers can download a proprietary app that offers its users access to deals unavailable on the standard website. Also encouraging repeat business is a program that unlocks rewards for customers the more they buy from Bad Birdie. Plus, since his 2022 interview, he has opened two additional retail stores in Newport Beach, California, and Houston, Texas.

Since flagship retail stores are a relatively new undertaking for Bad Birdie, it stands to reason that if his three current locations are successful, Jason Richardson might decide to open up more brick-and-mortar shops in additional cities. Notably, in his azcentral.com interview, Richardson explained that he wants customers to use his stores for more than just shopping. "It's more of a clubhouse feel. I wanted it to be a destination, even if you end up not buying a shirt," he said.

Another recent undertaking for the company, as of Fall 2023, is an initiative called the Bad Birdie High School Golf Program. To start, Bad Birdie sponsored three high school golf teams, in Richfield, Utah, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. The Bad Birdie website provides a form through which new high schools can request the company's sponsorship in addition to a form for general charity requests. Overall, then, charity work seems to be a significant area into which the company is looking to expand its presence.

Meanwhile, in a 2022 Forbes interview, Richardson shared that he hopes the company's scope will transcend clothing meant for the golf course and become an everyday clothing brand. "The goal is a couple of years from now you can wear Bad Birdie head to toe whether you're on the golf course or not," he said. "Literally any situation we got you covered, and it says something about who you are."