Product Update
Is U-Lace Still in Business? (2026 Update)
Is U-Lace from Shark Tank still around in 2026? The deal it made, the sharks who invested, and where to buy U-Lace today.
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Tim Talley did something almost no other Shark Tank entrepreneur has managed: he bought his equity back from Mark Cuban. That single fact, more than a decade after U-Lace's Season 5 pitch, tells you the no-tie shoelace brand has not just survived, it has been steered entirely on the founder's own terms for years.
The Short Answer
Yes, U-Lace is still in business, and it is one of the stronger survival stories in this batch. The company's own site is live and actively selling, running a full product lineup, current summer promo codes, and a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. It has also grown beyond its own storefront into physical retail, which is a much harder thing to hold onto for a small accessories brand than a website alone.
The site we checked was actively running two live promo codes at the time of this research, JULY40 and JULY30, timestamped to the current month rather than a stale, forgotten discount code left over from years ago. That is a small but telling detail, a defunct or neglected e-commerce operation does not bother rotating in current, dated promotions.
The Shark Tank Pitch
Tim Talley pitched U-Lace in Season 5, Episode 19, out of Rochester, New York, in the fashion and beauty category, presenting elastic, no-tie replacement laces designed to snap sneakers into a slip-on shoe without changing the look. He asked for 200,000 dollars for 25 percent equity.
The Deal That Got Done
Mark Cuban made the offer: 200,000 dollars for 35 percent, ten points above the ask, and Talley accepted. Cuban's retail and consumer-products instincts made him a logical partner for an accessory built to sell in bulk and at a low price point. The bigger story came later. By 2018, Talley had bought back the equity Cuban held, a rare reversal in Shark Tank history that put full ownership of the company back in the founder's hands.
Buybacks like this typically happen for one of two reasons, either the founder disagreed with the direction the shark's involvement was pushing the company, or the business simply generated enough cash flow on its own that outside equity stopped making sense to keep around. Either way, choosing to spend real money reclaiming ownership rather than just letting the arrangement ride is a strong signal the founder believed in the long-term value of what he had built, more than most Shark Tank alumni get the chance to demonstrate.
U-Lace net worth in 2026
Shark Tank tracking coverage estimates U-Lace's annual revenue at roughly 2 million dollars, a figure attributed to those tracking sites rather than an audited company disclosure. We could not independently verify that exact number, but it is at least consistent with what an active, multi-product, multi-retailer accessories brand at this stage would plausibly generate. Treat 2 million as a sourced estimate rather than a confirmed figure, and know that no official U-Lace financial statement is publicly available to check it against.
Where Things Stand Now
U-Lace pitched in Season 5, Episode 19, out of Rochester, New York, asking for 200,000 dollars at 25 percent, and closed with Mark Cuban for the same amount at 35 percent.
Today the brand runs an active direct-to-consumer site, has expanded its product line into performance and kids' versions of the laces plus apparel accessories, and by most tracking accounts pushed into retail distribution through outlets like Target and 7-Eleven at various points after the show. The 2018 equity buyback from Cuban is the standout detail here, it is not something most Shark Tank alumni ever get the chance, or the capital, to do.
If you came here wondering whether U-Lace made it, the answer is a confident yes, and it is currently one of the more independently-run survivors from its season.
One detail worth flagging for anyone digging deeper into this brand's history: the company's site now lists its base as Mount Vernon, New York, while the original pitch identified Rochester, New York, as the home base. That kind of shift, a small operation relocating within the same state as it scales manufacturing or distribution, is a normal part of a growing company's story rather than a red flag, and it lines up with a decade of continuous operation rather than a company that vanished and got rebuilt from scratch somewhere else.
Where to buy U-Lace
Still selling as of July 7, 2026. Check today's price and availability.
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See the full U-Lace deal breakdown and term sheet →
