Product Update
Is HYPD Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Is HYPD from Shark Tank still around in 2026? The deal it made, the sharks who invested, and where to buy HYPD today.
HYPD, which does business as The Hype Company, sells a product most people did not know they wanted: slides you can reprint and restyle like a blank canvas. Cheng Kue started the Anaheim, California company in 2018, Marc Herzberger came aboard as CEO in 2022, and the two of them pitched Barbara Corcoran into a deal in Season 15. As of 2026 the answer to the headline is yes. The Hype Company store is open, running a sale, and still assembling its slides in the USA.
The Short Answer
HYPD is still in business. The brand's site at hype-company.com currently sells two lines: the SLYDR SWITCH at 40 dollars, which carries licensed college and international soccer nation designs, and the SLYDR PRO, currently promoted at 19.99 dollars in a sitewide sale.
The pitch that got it on TV is still the pitch: edge to edge custom printing, patented adjustable attachment wings, and removable straps, so one pair of slides can be rebranded for a team, a school, or a company without any special setup.
The Shark Tank Pitch
Kue and Herzberger appeared in Season 15, Episode 21, which aired in April 2024. They asked for 125,000 dollars in return for 5 percent, a modest 2.5 million dollar valuation by Shark Tank standards.
The demo did the heavy lifting. Customizable footwear sounds like a gimmick until you see the swap happen, and the founders positioned the slides less as a fashion item and more as a customization platform, the kind of product that teams and organizations order by the hundred.
The economics of that positioning are worth understanding. A fashion slide competes with Nike and Adidas on cool, a losing fight for a startup. A customization platform competes on turnaround time and minimum order size, where a nimble Anaheim operation can genuinely beat the giants. That is the lane the founders chose, and it is the lane the company still occupies.
The Deal That Got Done
Barbara Corcoran made the deal, and she restructured it hard. The total package came to 350,000 dollars for 25 percent of the company. Coverage of the episode describes the structure as a smaller cash check paired with a substantial line of credit, which is a classic Corcoran move for inventory-heavy businesses: give the company access to capital when orders land, rather than one lump of cash up front.
Measured against the 5 percent the founders offered, 25 percent was a steep price. But for a footwear brand whose growth depends on financing bulk orders, credit on tap arguably matters more than valuation optics.
The Pivot Into Promo Products
The most interesting post-show move came quickly. In May 2024, just weeks after airing, The Hype Company partnered with SnugZ USA, an established player in the promotional products industry. That deal pushed the slides into a channel where customization is the entire point: corporate swag, high school teams, and youth sports programs that want branded gear without minimum order nightmares.
The founders have kept their hands in other ventures too. Kue now also serves as chief product officer at People Footwear while staying on as a Hype Company co-founder, a sign the operation has matured beyond needing both founders full time.
HYPD net worth in 2026
No public valuation for The Hype Company exists in 2026. The honest reference points are the 2.5 million dollars the founders claimed walking in and the roughly 1.4 million dollar valuation implied by Barbara's 350,000 dollars for 25 percent.
Since then the company has added a national promotional products channel through SnugZ and licensed collegiate designs, both of which point up rather than down, but nobody has published a credible current figure. Anything more specific than several million dollars would be a guess, so we will not pretend otherwise.
Where Things Stand Now
The Hype Company pitched custom slides in Season 15, took Barbara Corcoran's 350,000 dollar package for 25 percent, and then leaned into the customization angle through the SnugZ USA partnership and licensed team designs.
In 2026 you can still buy SLYDR slides straight from hype-company.com, design your own pair, or catch the PRO line on sale. The slides are alive and well.
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Where to buy HYPD
Still selling as of September 2, 2026. Check today's price and availability.
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See the full HYPD deal breakdown and term sheet →
