Mike Abbaticchio is the entrepreneur behind Hillbilly Brand, a specialty clothing brand marketed towards proud “redneck” and “hillbilly” Americans. He and his partner Shon Lees went to carnivals, concerts and rodeos where they sold their t-shirts out of the back of their trucks. Many often sold out and knew they were on to something valuable. They pitched HillBilly Brand on Shark Tank in 2011, and had the luck of pitching in front of guest shark Jeff Foxworthy. On the show, they agreed to a deal with Foxworthy, Daymond John and Robert Herjavec — $75,000 for 100 percent of the company with Abbaticchio and Lees getting a 7 percent royalty on future licensing deals.
[Related: 27 Favorite ‘Shark Tank’ Products at Amazon — New List]
However, after the episode episode aired, the deal fell through. Five years after Shark Tank, HillBilly Brand is still alive and kicking online. On their website they continue to sells t-shirts, trucker hats, whiskey and lemonade, among other things.
