Gary Gagnon was the entrepreneur behind REMYXX, a line of sneakers made of 100% recyclable materials. The environmentally concerned marketer pitched his business on Shark Tank’s Season 3 finale. Gagnon’s big hurdle was convincing the Sharks to invest in such a young business. He didn’t have any sales to report — but REMYXX was less than a month old when he appeared on the show.
[Left: Cienta makes 100% biodegradable sneakers]
Investor Daymond John saw potential in REMYXX and offered Gagnon $50,000 for 80 percent of the company. (He had asked for $100k for 50%.) John said he’d teach Gagnon the sneaker business, and Gagnon accepted the deal. But after the show, the deal fell through. Not because John didn’t come through, but because he thought Gagnon shouldn’t give up 80 percent of his business. John advised Gagnon to start a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to manufacture the sneakers. Since then the company has been rebranded as ReKixx.