What Happened To Victory Coffees After Shark Tank?
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Since "Shark Tank" first premiered in 2009, the reality show has been responsible for making the dreams of budding entrepreneurs come true. Over its 13-year-long history, the "Shark Tank" room has seen aspiring entrepreneurs from all walks of life: doctors with immunity supplements and cutting-edge DNA sampling, high school teachers with engaging educational programs, NFL players with boneless ribs, and even entrepreneurs as young as six with frankly ingenious color-on bandages.
In Season 8, sharks Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Robert Herjavec, and Daymond John saw another reputable businessman walk into the room with a compelling pitch. A former Navy SEAL sniper, Cade Courtley had served in the military for nine years before appearing on the show (via Shark Tank Blog). After he was discharged from duty, Courtley dabbled in several businesses which all revolved around his time serving as a Navy SEAL — a line of seal-branded gear, a website that taught survival skills, and a survival guidebook as well. In fact, he also had his own show called "Surviving Disaster," on Spike TV.
But, the company that he wanted the sharks to invest in had nothing to do with survival skills or TV shows. He was seeking an investment in a business that he thought everybody would want a sip of: coffee!
The sharks were impressed with Cade Courtley but not his business
While it may seem that coffee had nothing to do with the Navy SEALs or his previous businesses, Cade Courtley told the sharks that the only sense of "normalcy" he got during his decade-long deployment with the navy was from his usual cup of coffee (via Shark Tank Blog). So in 2015, Courtley launched Victory Coffees, a subscription-based business that delivered K-cups (a single serving of coffee), whole bean, and ground coffee to coffee drinkers across the country.
While the sharks were impressed with Courtley, his background, and the coffees that he was selling, they didn't quite warm up to his business model. Courtley wanted to sell directly to his customers and hire veterans as Victory Coffees' brand ambassadors. Mark Cuban was concerned about the small scale of his business at that point and found that Courtley was trying to achieve too much at once (via Shark Tank Recap).
The general consensus amongst the sharks, though, was that it was too early for Courtley to be seeking a $250,000 investment in Victory Coffees for a 20% stake in the company. Ultimately, while Courtley walked away with immense respect and five new customers for his coffee subscription business, he failed to secure a deal with the sharks.
Victory Coffees is still in business
After the episode aired, Reddit generally agreed with the sharks in that Victory Coffees didn't seem like it was ready for a shark and their investment. Redditors found that Cade Courtley relied too heavily on his navy background without promising numbers to back up his coffee subscription business. Some even found that Courtley spoke too much about the navy aspect of his business which came at the cost of a successful sales pitch to convince the sharks that Victory Coffees was a lucrative investment.
But, as is "Shark Tank's" track record, there are plenty of businesses that have proven the sharks wrong and continued to flourish without winning an investment. And, it seems Victory Coffees is one of those businesses. Victory Coffees continues to sell subscriptions through its vintage military-themed website. Fellow coffee drinkers can buy monthly subscriptions of K-cups, whole bean, or ground coffee based on how many cups of coffee — between one and five — they drink every day. The website also gives options to gift a coffee subscription to someone as well as place bulk orders.
Since appearing on "Shark Tank" in January 2017, Shark Tank Blog says that Victory Coffees hit the $1 million mark the same year. Not only is Victory Coffees still in business years later, but supposedly generated $3 million in annual revenue as of July 2022 — all that without a shark's investment!