Shark Tank Entrepreneurs You May Not Know Passed Away

Since its debut on ABC in 2009, the Emmy-winning reality series "Shark Tank" has given thousands of would-be entrepreneurs the chance to turn their dreams into reality by funding their inventions. A rotating list of well-known venture capitalists, including Mark Cuban, Lori Grenier, and Daymond John, have lent their wealth, business acumen, and connections to numerous creations, many of which have gone on to become top-selling items. Products like the Bombas apparel line, the Scrub Daddy sponge, and Groove Book, which sold to Shutterfly, all began their path to success as Shark Tank pitches.

"Shark Tank" is one of the longest-running reality series on television – its 15th season kicked off in 2023 — and many of the entrepreneurs from its early years have grown from fresh-faced hopefuls to business veterans. Some may have even retired, and a handful of "Shark Tank" contestants even died after their episodes aired (and as this list shows, two died before their appearances made it to broadcast). These are the "Shark Tank" contestants you may not know passed away.

Aaron Hirschhorn already found success in assisting pets with DogVacay, a dog-sitting service that netted over $100 million in sales before its acquisition by Rover in 2017. In 2018, he launched Gallant, a national stem cell bank for dogs (and later, cats, horses, and other animals) that he hoped would assist pets with health issues as they aged. Hirschhorn had both personal experience with and a vested interest in stem cell therapy: He used it to treat chronic back pain and wanted to help his own dog, which suffered from arthritis.

Hirschhorn brought Gallant to "Shark Tank" in Season 11, where he sought $500,000 for 2% equity in the company. He fielded three offers: two from Kevin O'Leary, including a 2% offer for options, and one from Lori Grenier and guest Shark Anne Wojcicki, CEO of the genetic ancestry company 23andMe. Hirschhorn eventually accepted a deal for 5% equity. Though the deal didn't come to pass, the publicity afforded by Hirschhorn's appearance gave Gallant the boost it needed to not only continue but also purchase a biotechnology company, Cook-Regentec.

But Hirschhorn did not live to see his company thrive. In May 2021, the U.S. Coast Guard informed the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that a 38-foot Chris-Craft motorboat was involved in an accident with a personal watercraft near Miami Beach. The 42-year-old entrepreneur, who piloted the watercraft, died at the scene.

The story of Ryan Frayne, who appeared on Season 7 of "Shark Tank," is fraught with remarkable triumphs and heartbreaking setbacks, but ultimately serves as a testimony to Frayne's determination in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. His creation, the Windcatcher Quickstream Inflation device, allows users to fully blow up inflatable objects with little effort and in no time. The Sharks battled furiously to lay claim to the product, with Lori Greiner emerging victorious with $200,000 and $10 million in credit for 5% of the company.

Frayne's success was almost immediately tempered by a string of personal and professional setbacks. A company called Cascade Designs initiated a lawsuit against Frayne for similarities between the Windcatcher and one of their products. When the legal clash revealed that Frayne had not disclosed a business relationship with Cascade prior to his "Shark Tank" appearance, Grenier severed her ties to his company.

While dealing with the fallout from the Cascasde suit, the young inventor was also diagnosed with terminal pancreatic and liver cancer. He was able to weather the legal problems, which ended with a settlement and a license for Cascade Designs. But his health continued to decline, and Frayne turned over Windcatcher to his friend, Oren Hanson, and his wife, Geneve Nguyen, before his death on June 5, 2018. Unfortunately, it seems that Nguyen and Hanson were unable to keep Windcatcher afloat: The company shuttered in 2022.

Ken Howell brought a legacy product to the sharks in Season 2, where he asked for $25,000 for 20% of his company, the North Carolina-based Uncle Zip's Beef Jerky. Howell's father founded the company but didn't live to see it become a local success thanks in part to his son's enthusiastic promotions. After taking over the company, Howell and his jerky were fixtures at local bowling alleys, bars, and other businesses. Though he won over the sharks with his determination, Howell wasn't able to secure an investment. But like many hopefuls, Uncle Zip's benefited greatly from Howell's appearance, which generated a wave of orders from viewers.

For Howell, the sudden success was upended by tragedy: The 45-year-old was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and died soon after in May 2014. But Uncle Zip's soon rebounded thanks to Howell's childhood friend, Jeff Harris, who oversaw the company's website before becoming its owner. Today, he focuses the business on online sales and visitors to its retail location in Hope Mills while also expanding its line of jerky products, with Howell's original recipe remaining its flagship flavor.

The Mastronardo brothers, a quartet of entrepreneurial siblings from Florida, brought their line of all-natural skin care products to "Shark Tank" in 2011 as part of Season 3. The Mastronardos launched their company, Nardo's Natural, in 2009, with the promise of locally sourced products — in this case, ones made from coconut oil — that were also certified organic and sustainable, and they sought $75,000 to keep it viable. Barbara Corcoran took the brothers up on their offer, but she did so for 50% of the business. The brothers accepted the deal.

Sadly, the youngest Mastronardo brother, Keith, did not live to see his brothers' company blossom into success. Keith, who was also known as KJ, contributed his background in business and accounting to Nardo's Natural; he died on March 19, 2013, while riding his motorcycle in Largo, Florida. He swerved to avoid an animal in the road and was thrown from his motorcycle, landing in the path of an oncoming car. Mastronardo was just 24 years old at the time of his death.

Entrepreneur Alan Kaufman came to "Shark Tank" in Season 1 with what he envisioned as a revolutionary new design for the umbrella. The Nubrella replaced the traditional extendable handle with a backpack frame that extended a retractable hood over the wearer in inclement weather. Kaufman, who sunk hundreds of thousands of dollars of his own money into his creation, hoped that the Sharks could make the Nubrella a hit and break the long-standing streak of failures that other wearable umbrellas have suffered.

After considerable deliberation, Kaufman accepted a joint offer from Daymond John and guest Shark Kevin Harrington that gave him $200,000 in exchange for a controlling stake (51%) in the company. However, the Nubrella story doesn't appear to have a happy ending: Kaufman filed two lawsuits against the producers of "Shark Tank," alleging that neither of the sharks' investments ever came to pass; additionally, he alleged that John's only assistance was to suggest a deal with The Sharper Image, which went bankrupt in 2009. The first suit netted a $20,000 settlement from Sony, but the second was dismissed in federal court. Kaufman later reorganized his company under a new name, Canope, and sold his product on Amazon and his own website. According to the Los Angeles Times, he died in November 2022.

Aaron Hirschhorn and Ryan Kelly's dogs weren't the only beloved canines to inspire a Shark Tank entrepreneur. DeVille, a purebred bull mastiff, was the loyal companion of owner Fleetwood Hicks, who pursued his dream of launching Villy Custom, a line of fashion-forward bicycles made according to the customer's wishes. The dog not only served as the official mascot of the company but also lent his nickname, Villy, to the line, and accompanied Hicks when he faced off against the Sharks in Season 3. Hicks sought $500,000 for 33% of the company to fund its expansion; Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran teamed up to back Villy for 42% of the company.

Villy Customs became one of the great success stories in "Shark Tank" history; updates in Seasons 4 and 6 found that the company had expanded to an 11,000-foot space and enjoyed $4 million in sales a year. Unfortunately, Villy isn't around to enjoy his namesake success; he died shortly from cancer after the deal with Cuban and Corcoran was completed. Though saddened by the loss, Hicks has a new puppy that provides companionship and inspiration.