“Shark Tank” Season 7, which aired in 2015, featured an entrepreneur with an aim to bring fun and versatile mobility to people in cities. The entrepreneur was Peter Treadway, founder of Acton, and he presented his product known as RocketSkates to the panel of potential investors, also known as Sharks on the show. Though there was some negotiation for a potential deal, it was never agreed to during the episode. Despite that, Acton is still in business and continues to grow. However, the company no longer sells RocketSkates.
RocketSkates, a pair of electric skates that fit around your shoes, were already beginning to be an established product when Treadway appeared on “Shark Tank” and at least gained some temporary publicity afterward. On a 2016 episode of Amazon’s “The Grand Tour” show, host Jeremy Clarkson tried on a pair of RocketSkates. To the audience’s amusement, he could not figure out how to get them to operate.
Acton’s RocketSkates is a good example of how, even when a deal doesn’t work on “Shark Tank,” companies can still continue to grow afterward and switch up products as needed. For example, no deal was reached with the MTailor app, which also was in Season 7, but that business is still thriving.
Details on the Shark Tank RocketSkates deal
The goal of Peter Treadway with his Acton company was to provide a better way to quickly get around in urban environments without relying on cars. Personal electric mobility products, such as Segway’s all terrain electric scooter, offer quick transportation in a more environmentally friendly way. Treadway already had two successful Kickstarter campaigns for both the RocketSkates and an electric scooter. Acton had already sold $1 million worth of its products in 2014 and was on its way to $2 million in 2015, the year the episode aired.
Treadway wanted to capitalize on this success to expand production. He wanted a $1 million investment for a 3.5% stake in the company. A great deal of haggling followed as the Sharks weren’t entirely certain Treadway had his heart in securing a good deal, and felt this product might not have large-scale market appeal. Ultimately, no deal was reached.
Acton stopped selling its RocketSkates by 2022. They are not featured on its website and going to online retailers to try to purchase them, such as ElectricRollerSkates.com, shows the product is sold out. However, Acton still has plenty more products and plenty more reach to carry it despite the loss of the skates and despite no deal being reached on “Shark Tank.”
The future of Acton
Acton’s website features other electric mobility products including electric bikes, electric scooters, and their associated charging stations. It boasts having over 50 patents and being featured in outlets such as The New York Times, the BBC, and Fortune. It says its company has reached 100+ cities around the world, including in countries such as New Zealand, Chile, Saudi Arabia, and across Europe. It also proudly proclaims partnerships with Hilton, Marriott, Accor, and more. So though its products may be much more expensive than the $10 mosquito repellent that was introduced on “Shark Tank,” the company seems to be doing well.
Acton has a slightly active Instagram account. Posts are not regular, but they do showcase their products around the world. As of the time of this writing, the Instagram account has nearly 27,000 followers. It also has a LinkedIn business page that also is just marginally active. It shows the company has been around since 2013 and has a decent handful of employees.
In 2022, Acton’s Project MOVER was awarded a three-year grant of $7 million from New York Clean Transportation. The goal of the grant is to enable Acton to provide over 1,000 electric bikes and their needed infrastructure to improve community mobility in Westchester County. Project MOVER stands for Moving Onto Vast E-micromobility Replication. It seems Acton has lofty goals to improve global mobility with its products, even without “Shark Tank” backing.
