Season 7 of “Shark Tank” aired in 2015, with hopeful entrepreneurs showing off their products to a panel of potential investors. One such pair of entrepreneurs was Jesse Potash and Gaston Blanchet and their product known as Trunkster, which was billed as an innovation on luggage. Though the pair had raised money on Kickstarter and IndieGoGo, and intrigued the panel of hosts, as of 2026 Trunkster seems to not be in business at all.
Trunkster is luggage that doesn’t zip up, having a roll up and roll down design instead. It has USB charging capabilities, handy for keeping your phone’s battery full while traveling. It is GPS-trackable so you don’t lose it, and has a built-in scale so you know what to expect at the airport check-in. The luggage certainly wasn’t cheap, costing around $500 depending on the model. Though what Potash and Blanchet asked for in terms of investment was initially scoffed at by the judges, ultimately they negotiated and a tentative agreement was reached. On-screen, at least.
It appears things did not go so well after the show. Over a decade later, Trunkster has not survived. Another competitor on Season 7, the MTailor app by Miles Penn, has gone on to be successful despite things not going in Penn’s favor on “Shark Tank.” Sadly, despite initial interest, Trunkster now leaves behind a legacy of unhappy customers.
The details of where Trunkster is now
On Trunkster’s website there is still a preorder button. Clicking on it shows a product page with promises to ship in the fall of 2015. That certainly has not been updated. Clicking on the icons for the company’s Facebook and X accounts shows that both have been deleted. Visiting the Updates page of the website also doesn’t offer much hope. There is generic fill-in text for the website’s owner to add their first blog post, which has never happened.
Despite hopeful conversations on “Shark Tank,” the deal never closed after the show. Show judges Lori Greiner and Mark Cuban were interested in supplying the asked-for $1.4 million with a 5% stake. However, Trunkster never passed the due diligence phase of the deal, which basically comes down to ensuring the investment will turn out favorably.
Trunkster certainly seems as if it would have a niche appeal to frequent travelers that are willing to pay $500 for the extra gadgets the luggage comes with as well as its supposed durability to wear and tear that was advertised on the show. Perhaps the need for that type of luggage isn’t as widespread as the mosquito bite relief that also was pitched on Shark Tank. Whether it was the product’s limited appeal, the deal falling through, or a lack of solid business operations, Trunkster never got off the ground.
Trunkster leaves behind unhappy customers
The hopes of Jesse Potash and Gaston Blanchet aren’t the only things that fell apart after “Shark Tank.” It has left behind thousands of angry backers on Kickstarter. As of the time of this writing, there are over 3,500 Kickstarter backers that pledged $1,395,370 to Trunkster. Now, they are left without the product and without a refund for their money.
The most recent post is from October 2025 which states “As I have not received my reward, I declare a refund to be paid in full. I invoke my rights under Kickstarter’s Terms of Use.” Older comments have similar sentiments with “I request a full refund for my pledge amount, since I never got the product or a refund” and “I ordered back in Dec 2014 and have not received my carry on Trunkster. It was a gift for my husband. I want to know if I can get a full refund.”
According to Kickstarter’s Terms of Use, the creator of the Kickstarter project is responsible for giving backers what they paid for or potentially have legal action taken against them by backers, not by Kickstarter. Kickstarter itself makes it clear it is not responsible for refunds. If people want their hundreds of dollars back from Trunkster, they may have to speak to an attorney or just accept the loss. While some “Shark Tank” products survive and thrive, such as MuteMe from Season 13, Trunkster has not.
