After appearing on Shark Tank (and landing a deal with Mark Cuban!) whats the number-one question Brian Riley and Kyle Jansen get from Guardian Bike customers and clients, as well as from friends and family?
Whats it like working with Mark Cuban?
In your mind, you think someone like him wouldnt have enough time for someone like me, Kyle says of the billionaire investor, but you can tell that he actually cares about the companies hes working with.
Brian and Kyle stay in close contact with Mark, mostly via . Each of the Mark Cuban Companies send Mark a weekly update, along with any questions or concerns they may have. Mark is very responsive, and replies personally.
One of the things we appreciate most about that is that he cares about learning and being involved, Kyle says. He sees so many similar situations that can be applicable to a whole other company. 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 didnt sleep, or he was dreaming about Guardian Bikes!
This is what seems to surprise people most about working with Mark -- the accessibility.
We do have direct access to him, Brian says, Some people ask, do you actually get to talk to Mark and do you get his direct advice, or do you have to go through people who work for him? We Mark [personally] every week. He wants a weekly update from us to know whats going on and to stay involved. Usually, that includes things like, hey, this is whats going on and were struggling as to whether we should do this or this, and hell weigh in with some advice or comments.
What kind of responses does Mark give?
Hes just really, really good at , Brian says. His responses arent long. He usually gets his point across in a sentence, sometimes a few words. I think the most hes ever written us was probably like three or four sentences. Hes really efficient with . So we get direct access to him, which is amazing, and sometimes he gives mind-bending advice that weve never even thought of.
Sometimes hell reach out unprompted, with advice, a suggestion or an idea.
From the very beginning, we wanted to be super respectful of his time, Brian says, so we only send him questions that we are really struggling with, like a strategy question of going this way or that way. We keep our emails as concise as we can, without going into the weeds too much. Hes a great strategist -- a great high-level thinker. If he can get updates from us every week and have a pattern of our condition and whats going on, it enables him to give really great advice.
A deal with any Shark would have been sweet, but landing an agreement with Mark had a special meaning for Brian and Kyle.
We both played basketball our whole lives, Kyle says. When you play basketball your whole life and youre into entrepreneurship, Mark Cuban [owner of the Dallas Mavericks] is the guy. We knew going in thats who we wanted, but you never know how its going to play out. Its kind of surreal how it worked out.
We definitely went in there with Mark as our number-one choice, Brian adds. Marks been a hero of mine since college. I have his Sport of Business essay from his personal blog on my wall. We knew that Mark was interested in what we were doing and we definitely had a feeling that he was going to throw out a deal.
The Guardian Bike episode of Shark Tank was broadcast on April 14, . Brian and Kyle were seeking $500k for 10 percent of the company.
Marks counteroffer: $500k for 15 percent of the company.
ChiSure Product Page
Sounds like a plan, but the guys wouldnt get a dime from Mark until the following contingencies were satisfied:
You can probably figure out the results, and how it changed lives.
Guardian Bikes gets further help from the support team at The Mark Cuban Companies, which helps Mark manage his portfolio of investments. Marks head of business development is Abe Minkara, who helps the Guardian guys keep their success on a steady, ascending path.
Abe is incredible, Brian says. He came with us to a major Amazon strategic development meeting. He flew out there, and came with us to the meeting to support us. We talk to him on the about strategy. So if we really want to talk things out for an hour or so, we can go talk to Abe or sit down with him and call him whenever we want and really dig into stuff.
As a result, Brian and Kyle feel like they are a part of Marks team as well as having a team of their own. Its teamwork that results in win-win.
It did feel like it was an intense game, Kyle says of the experience, like a triple overtime game. And finally we came out on top.
Here's the on screen interview with the guys, including how Mark -- in a Hawaiian shirt! -- randomly met Kyles family at a local restaurant.
Sign up to keep up to date with a newletter from Brian and Kyle about the Guardian entrepreneurial journey after Shark Tank
Name
Address
Phase one of our fully automated bike factory begins in June of this year. Our mission is to challenge the status quo in every way. Weve said NO to disposable unsafe kids bikes, and instead make the safest bikes, ones kids LOVE to ride, and soon will be built right here in the USA.
Contact us to discuss your requirements of children's bicycles. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.