In Season 13 of Shark Tank, which aired in 2021, seasoned entrepreneurs Brian Yennie and Earl Cole looked to revolutionize the tire industry, particularly for bicycles. They promised tires that will not puncture and won’t go flat. Though the panel of potential investors on the show, the sharks, were not sold and did not make an offer, SMART Tire is still in business today and is planning to launch its official product line.
Entrepreneur Earl Cole may be familiar to some. He was the winner of Survivor: Fiji in 2007. Both Cole and Yennie are experienced businessmen, having created and sold successful products before. When they both came to Shark Tank, the SMART Tire, which stands for Shape Memory Alloy Radial Technology, was still in the early stages with no actual products developed yet. They sought the investment to help them get going.
As entrepreneurs pitch their businesses on Shark Tank, sometimes things work out and sometimes they don’t. Even if a deal is agreed to on film, it may not actually be completed post-show. As in the case of the Hopscotch app, a deal was agreed to but never finalized. That did not stop Hopscotch from growing in its business, however. While SMART Tire had no such on-air deal, that hasn’t stopped it from continuing to thrive regardless of Shark Tank backing.
Details about the Shark Tank deal
Brian Yennie and Earl Cole wanted to take advantage of NASA tire technology, which is very durable and able to handle rough terrain, and bring it to the public. The tires do not rely on air so they can’t be punctured. They have good grip, are easily repairable, and do not produce the type of waste regular tires do.
Yennie and Cole sought a $500,000 investment for a 2.5% stake in the company. Before appearing on the show, they had already also raised over $1 million on WeFunder. The sharks on the show, however, had some concerns. It was thought this would be a product better licensed to large-scale tire manufacturers rather than for individual consumers to buy. There was a lack of a solid business strategy that the judges also did not like. Though the tires only cost up to $200 to produce, Yennie and Cold planned to sell them for up to $3,000 which also did not go over well with the judges. It was considered too expensive to be appealing.
Despite not walking away with a deal, Yennie and Cole did not give up. Since the episode aired, they were able to raise another $80,000 through a different crowdfunding platform called StartEngine. While not the amount they were asking the judges for, it seems to have been enough to keep the business going.
The future of the SMART Tire company
SMART Tire has a thriving website with plenty of information about the product and future plans. It has an X account but nothing new has been posted since 2024. Its most recent Instagram post is from September 2025. Its Facebook is the same, with not a lot of action on any of its social media accounts. Its LinkedIn business page does have 3,000 followers as of this time of writing, and it shows that the company has 2-10 employees, but no active jobs are posted.
Despite a sleepy online presence, SMART Tire seems to be busy behind the scenes. In 2023 it achieved a TIME Best Invention Award as well as two CES Innovation Awards. Its website talks about its business partnerships including the NASA Glenn Research Center, Felt Bicycles, Spin, and the Hyundai Motor Group.
Despite all this, there is still no product launch yet for SMART Tire. However, the business plans to begin selling bicycle tires later in the year 2026. There are promises of rover and car tires to be available after that. Whether a deal on Shark Tank is reached — as in the case of Bot-It Online — or not, sometimes the publicity is enough to keep the business going or the entrepreneurs hopeful. For SMART Tire, it will be interesting to see later in 2026 if the products finally become available.
