Product Update
Is The Lapel Project Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Is The Lapel Project from Shark Tank still around in 2026? The deal it made, the sharks who invested, and where to buy The Lapel Project today.
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Sebastian Garcia spent decades in the men's formalwear industry, co-owning a Miami suit shop, before he got fed up with what he called Tuxedo Tyranny, the assumption that a black-tie event requires renting or buying an entire tuxedo you will wear twice. His fix, a stick-on satin lapel that turns a regular blazer into something that looks tuxedo-adjacent for a fraction of the cost, is still selling nearly a decade after it aired.
The Short Answer
Yes, The Lapel Project is still in business and still selling directly through its own website, which shows a live 2026 copyright and an active storefront with current pricing and sales. The product line has grown into notch, peak, and shawl lapel styles along with bow ties and a design-your-own customization option.
The company also built out an Amazon presence at some point after the show, giving customers a second place to buy beyond the direct site, on top of continued attention during prom season, which the company itself has described as a strong recurring sales window.
The Shark Tank Pitch
Garcia, alongside co-founder Raul Bernal, pitched The Lapel Project in Season 8, Episode 2, out of Florida, presenting stick-on fabric lapels that could be reused up to ten times and were designed to instantly convert a regular blazer into a tuxedo-style jacket for formal events.
They asked for 150,000 dollars in exchange for 20 percent equity, pointing to strong per-unit margins with a production cost of just 5 to 8 dollars against a retail price closer to 50 to 60 dollars.
The Deal That Got Done
Mark Cuban offered the full 150,000 dollars but negotiated the equity up to 30 percent, and the founders accepted, giving up 10 percentage points more than their original offer in exchange for getting the exact cash amount they asked for.
According to later reporting, three additional sharks, Daymond John, Lori Greiner, and Robert Herjavec, also ended up investing in the company beyond the on-air deal, an unusually crowded cap table for a Shark Tank product. Mark's team reportedly rebuilt the company's website and built out its Amazon presence after the deal closed, concrete post-show work rather than just a check.
How a Crowded Cap Table Helped the Brand
Getting one shark's help after the cameras stop is common. Getting four is not. With Cuban's operations team, Daymond's fashion-industry relationships, Lori's retail instincts, and Robert's marketing muscle all attached to one small formalwear accessory, The Lapel Project ended up with a support network most single-shark deals never get.
That combination likely explains the 1000 percent sales jump reported within the first year after the episode aired, a growth rate that is hard to hit on product quality alone without real distribution and marketing help behind it.
The Lapel Project net worth in 2026
Shark Tank tracking coverage estimated The Lapel Project's worth at between 1 million and 2 million dollars as of an August 2025 update, tied to that reported 1000 percent first-year sales growth. That range comes from tracker analysis of the business rather than a disclosed company valuation, so treat it as an informed estimate rather than a confirmed figure.
The business is also described as performing especially well during prom season specifically, a seasonal pattern that makes sense for a product built around one-night formalwear, and suggests the company's revenue is not evenly distributed across the calendar year even if the total lands in that estimated range.
Where Things Stand Now
Recap: The Lapel Project pitched in Season 8 out of Florida, asking for 150,000 dollars at 20 percent, and closed with Mark Cuban at 150,000 dollars for 30 percent, with three additional sharks reportedly investing after the fact.
Since the episode, the company saw sales jump roughly 1000 percent within a year, added an Amazon sales channel and a rebuilt website through Cuban's team, and settled into a business with a recurring seasonal spike tied to prom.
The company remains operational today, selling through its own site with an active 2026 storefront, and the honest read on the numbers is a small but real business, not a runaway hit, still doing the thing it pitched on the show nearly a decade later.
Where to buy The Lapel Project
Still selling as of June 22, 2026. Check today's price and availability.
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See the full The Lapel Project deal breakdown and term sheet →
