The number of video creators is on the rise, so there is a big demand for cinematography accessories and PolarPro provides just that. The company designs and sells specialized camera solutions for content creators. Jeff Overall pitched his business on Shark Tank and got a deal with Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec. As of 2023, PolarPro is worth an estimated $15 million.
About the Founder
Jeff Overall is an entrepreneur and videographer from Newport Beach, California. The adventure-seeking businessman studied economics and accounting at UC Santa Barbara. He got a taste for entrepreneurship at an early age. At 15 years old, Jeff launched a small startup called We Got Crabs, where he collected hermit crabs and sold them online.
Founding the Company
Overall was on the university’s skiing team and thought of a solution to improve GoPro’s video quality. He had issues with too much light hitting his camera directly. Jeff took a polarized film and put it in the lens of his GoPro. It was basically a filter, and it worked like magic.
Jeff soon realized this could be a good business opportunity since there weren’t any GoPro filter providers on the market. PolarPro started in 2011 and GoPro began making its own filters and this forced Overall to create new accessories. He created an integrated charging case, special selfie sticks, and drone filters. With these products, the startup made $2.8 million in three years.
Shark Tank Appearance
In 2015 the business had solid sales but his margins were low and needed to raise capital. He used his student loan to fund operations and was desperate to bring on a shark. He appeared on season seven of Shark Tank, seeking $500,000 for a 10% equity stake.
The passionate entrepreneur’s surfer bro style of speaking amused the Sharks. The thing that really got them excited was the quality of the products and sales. A bidding war soon broke out among the Sharks.
Daymond John offered $1 million for 17.5%, which was overshadowed by Robert Herjavec and Mark Cuban’s offer of $1 million for 10% each. Jeff wanted two to bring on two Sharks and went with Mark and Robert. This is surprising, considering Cuban and Herjavec rarely do any joint deals together.
After Shark Tank
Jeff got double the amount of cash he was looking for but the deal never closed according to sharktankrecap.com. Nevertheless, he continued running the business and 45,000 unique visitors checked out their website on Friday and Saturday.
Jeff used the money he generated to launch new products such as cameramen equipment, tripods, and phone camera gear. These products are all available to buy at Amazon, 1,200 retail stores in the US and their website PolarPro.com. Shark Tank also helped them close deals with Best Buy and Target who were hesitant before the show.
Many of their products have 5-star ratings from customer reviews on their website. PolarPro puts an emphasis on quality, which is why the camera accessory company makes around $4.7 million in annual revenue.
