Trunkster Shark Tank Update

Trunkster Shark Tank Pitch

Gaston Blanchet and Jesse Potash appeared on Shark Tank Season 7, Episode 10, which aired on December 3, 2015, with zipperless smart luggage designed with a builtin GPS, digital scale and charging station.

Trunkster is listed in the Travel Auto category. In plain terms, the business is described as zipperless smart luggage designed with a builtin GPS, digital scale and charging station.

Trunkster asked the Sharks for $1400000 for 5%, implying a valuation of about $28 million.

On the show, Trunkster made a listed deal with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner for $1.4 million for 5% to be repaid within 2 years.

If treated as straight equity, the listed deal works out to about $28 million implied valuation, roughly the same implied valuation as the ask.

This pitch is included as context for the more important question: what happened after Shark Tank.

Trunkster After Shark Tank

Trunkster accepted an on-air deal with Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner, but follow-up reporting says that deal never closed and the company is now treated as out of business. (Trunkster Shark Tank Blog update

The company entered Shark Tank with unusually large crowdfunding traction, having raised more than $2.7 million through Kickstarter and Indiegogo for zipperless smart luggage with a removable battery, GPS, and built-in scale. (Trunkster Shark Tank Blog update

The post-show record became troubled: Shark Tank Blog reported unfulfilled crowdfunding orders, poor-quality fulfilled units, and unanswered attempts to contact the business. (Trunkster Shark Tank Blog update

The company website later went dark, social media accounts were deleted, and the update reported no refunds as of 2021, with no meaningful change noted by August 2023. (Trunkster Shark Tank Blog update

Both founders appear to have moved on professionally, with Gaston Blanchet later associated with Storypod and Jesse Potash reported as working for Bungalow. (Trunkster Shark Tank Blog update

Sources

Sources used for this page: Shark Tank API pitches