26 Apr 2026

Alaskans featured on 'Shark Tank,' and I broke my dumb leg

Heather wrote on her blog that she applied to Shark Tank in January of 2023 and received a call a few months later. She flew out to LA in September to film.

We are so back, everybody. Sorry that I didn't publish AK IRL last week – I had a pretty bad fall, which resulted in surgery and a few nights in the hospital. I broke my left tib and fib, and tore the ligament tucked between those bones. I'm back home now and healing up, but needed some time to figure out the new flow of being on a walker with a six month old baby. I was also on a lot of drugs, so writing wasn't really in the realm of possibility (not coherent writing, anyways).

🎼 strike a pose, pose, p-p-p-pose 🎶

The one pro of being in the hospital is that you get to watch Bravo shows the night they air, and don't have to wait until the next day on Peacock. The cons are everything else!

I won't be able to nanny for a few months due to my injury, which is a huge bummer. I am going to try and freelance more in the meantime, but if you like what I'm doing with AK IRL, subscribing goes a long way, and being a paid member goes even further. I'm offering a free month for paid subscribers, so if the idea of watch parties and extra content around shows I'm watching interests you, consider signing up. You can cancel anytime.

Bravo has been playing a lot of Summer House since the recent Amanda-West bomb, of course they would play the Erika Kirk episodes.

Something to come that I am really excited to share is that AK IRL will be expanding into podcast form!! The newsletter will still come out every Sunday (and subscribers will get TLDW the last Thursday of each month), but I will also be producing a monthly episode where I chat with someone about their experience on reality television. I have a couple interviews lined up that I am super stoked for, and can't wait for y'all to tune in.

Alaskapreneurs who have dipped in the Tank

I need to know if the boots were her choice or a very strongly encouraged one by a producer.

I didn't realize this show had 17 seasons, and I absolutely cannot sit through 376 episodes of anything involving Kevin O' Leary. I just broke my leg – I'm in enough pain, okay? My compromise is that we will watch the episodes where Alaskapreneurs have been on. You got a deal? 🫱🏻‍🫲🏽

This is one of the first GIFs that come up when you search Shark Tank.

The first Alaskan featured was Lauren Padawer with Alaska Glacial Mud Co. on season 5 episode 14, which aired in 2014. The Cordova-based company has since changed their name to Alaska Glacial Essentials Skincare. Lauren says in her package that she needs an investment from the sharks to take her business to the next level.

Her offer going into the tank is $100,000 in exchange for 20 percent of her company. She says the idea came when she was on a wilderness rafting trip down the Copper River.

As soon as I stepped in, my feet sank into buttery mud. It was such a divine sensation, I proceeded to cover my face and body in the silky mud at the most wild spa in the world. After washing it off, my skin was soft and glowing. I want to see this amazing mud become an industry standard in the spa market, Lauren said.

She has put $50,000 into the business (as of 2014), and sales to date were $36,000 a year. Lauren says they wholesale it to spas around the world. The mud goes through a refining process to ensure quality control, and the mask contains microfine clay particles that absorb toxins and exfoliate dead skin.

Starting a business in Alaska is challenging because we're so far from everywhere else. Getting to meetings or just paying for a plane ticket poses some real challenges, Lauren said during her intro.

Lauren asks which sharks want to get their fins dirty and play in the mud with her, but nobody takes the bait, and she walks out without a deal.

Fast forward to 2026, and Lauren seems to have done pretty well for herself. Her products can be found online or in dozens of local stores throughout Alaska. Everything in her line is cruelty-free and manufactured in-state.

Besides running my company, I work as a commercial salmon fisherman. Being a salmon fisherman, you have to love being out on the water, and you have to love taking risks. It's not so different than being an entrepreneur and being able to stick your neck out there to do something you love, Lauren said.

In season 15, episode 10, Heather Kelly of Heather's Choice makes an appearance. The Anchorage local came on the show seeking $250,000 for 10 percent of her company. She tells sharks that they can have food from a bag that tastes just like a home-cooked meal.

Heather's Choice is a line of gluten-free, lightweight, packable meals. Heather says in her pitch that their best sellers include grass-fed bison chili and morning glory oatmeal. Their menu also has a smoked sockeye salmon chowder, spinach curry with chicken and rice, and African peanut stew. There are also "packaroons," Heather's play on macaroons – coconut-based cookies for backpackers.

Heather pitched to Mark Cuban, guest shark Candace Nelson (Sprinkles Cupcakes founder), Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner and Daymond John. Everyone really likes the food. She says 2022 was their first million-dollar year, but they aren't making money yet. The product being manufactured in Alaska significantly raises the cost.

Now, Sharks, I'm going to assume that most of you haven't been camping before, but you might know the drill. You're sleeping in a tent, you're on the ground, there are bugs, Heather said in her pitch. It's dark. But for one second, I want you to imagine that I have invited you on the trip of a lifetime. As we sit down around the campfire at night, the first question that you ask me is, 'What's for dinner?'

In her episode, Heather shared that she went to Western Washington University, where she competed on the women's rowing team. After college, she went on a 30-day trip through the Grand Canyon, where she ended up dehydrating all of her food. That's where the idea of Heather's Choice began. Three years later, she started the business.

I tried the co-packing route on three separate occasions, and I couldn't hold the product quality on the meals. So I finally decided I'm ready to leave Alaska and we are relocating to the Lower 48.

She also tells sharks she has $1 million in debt. Heather says she's been told it's a tight market.

There's an accomplishment here, first of all. Why are you pitching like that? Because you're almost talking yourself out of it before we even get a chance to respond, Daymond asked.

Heather says she feels beat up, and reveals she didn't make payroll the previous day. Lori tells her that she's limiting herself, and Mark agrees.

I have been so starved for cash, and if you were to look at our balance sheet over the last two years, you'd be like 'How on God's green earth is this girl still alive?' Heather said.

O'Leary tells Heather that she needs to find her path to $50 million, a number in which larger entities would take her out. A broken clock is right twice a day. She left without a deal. Heather's Choice has since closed, officially in January.

Just a few episodes later in the same season, during ep 14, we get more Alaska representation in the tank. Steve Gray went in seeking $250,000 for 20 percent equity in his company, The Peep Show.

I've scientifically designed The Peep Show to include features like this integrated climbing wall. This helps the baby chicks climb out of the nest for their first flight. How about a welcome mat? It also doubles as an elevated nesting platform. This allows air to circulate, keeping the nest drier, and therefore healthier for the chicks. Top and bottom ventilation keep air circulating through the warmer summer months, making sure the nesting box is at the perfect temperature, Steve said during his pitch to the sharks.

He gives all the credit in the world to his dad, and tells sharks he grew up in Fairbanks. His dad, Chuck Gray, was formerly the publisher of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and member of the paper's editorial board.

After selling his product for three and a half months, Steve had made $28,000 in sales. Mr. Wonderful (Quote from my husband: Kevin O'Leary calls himself Mr. Wonderful? What a scumbag) says he's an ornithologist and asks about the privacy of the birds.

And about 30 years ago, dad wanted to see inside one of those birdhouses, and when he gets his mind to it, it gets done. He ran a sewer-inspection camera from the birdhouse, 150 feet of coaxial cable to the back of the house, drilled a hole through the window sill. Mom was not happy at that moment, and The Peep Show was born, Steve said.

I'm just wondering if you wouldn't get litigated for privacy, he asked.

Unfortunately, no sharks take Steve up on his offer. Tomato tomato! Mark, Robert Herjavec and Lori say they aren't bird people. Barbara Corcoran says he is a bit early in his journey for her to invest.

The Peep Show is still in business, and retails for $399. When Steve was on Shark Tank, the product retailed for $199 without the camera, and $299 with.

(total watch time: 2 hours, 9 minutes)

Alaskapreneurs who have dipped in the Tank

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