Despite 'Shark Tank' Star Aaron Hischhorn's Death, His Company, Gallant, Remains a Success

Fans of ABC's hit program Shark Tank are all too familiar with the wild and ambitious business ideas that entrepreneurs bring to the "sharks" for them to deem investment-worthy or not. The formula makes for some really great television, but also gives a few ingenious startups the opportunity to expand and partner with some of the biggest names in the world of business.

This was exemplified no better than in 2019 when entrepreneur Aaron Hirschhorn went before the "sharks" with his company, Gallant, and managed to secure an angel investment from Lori Grenier and Anne Wojcicki. It's rare that even one investor jumps on board with a startup idea on the show, and the fact that Aaron secured two proved the potential his business had.

So, what exactly is Gallant and where is the company now, roughly two years after Aaron's appearance on Shark Tank?

The company Gallant was Hirschhorn's brainchild, born from a wish to provide the same level of regenerative care that stem cells afford humans for dogs. The previous owner of DogVacay, which became a billion-dollar company, Hirschhorn was interested in how else he could help dogs and their owners, and developed Gallant as a result.

Its business model is ingenious: considering many household dogs are either spayed or neutered by their owners, Gallant provides a way to store the otherwise discarded reproductive organs in an FDA-approved lab. There, they're isolated and stored in liquid nitrogen to be used when and if a person's dog encounters medical issues where the use of regenerative cells could be a remedy. Gallant quickly became successful and recognized for being at the forefront of canine stem cell research.

Today, Gallant is still thriving. With a lifetime membership costing $890, monthly plans at $95, and a one-time setup fee of $205, the company has turned quite a profit thanks to its business model. As of 2020, according to Shark Tank Blog, Gallant was bringing in roughly $2.5 million a year and had a valuation of $20 million. The company is still in business and has solid profit margins today.

Despite Gallant thriving through it all, Aaron is no longer here to see or enjoy his company's success. He passed away on Mar. 28, 2021, during a boating accident in Miami, reports The Miami Herald. The day after his passing, his wife shared an Instagram story that read "My beloved husband of ten years died yesterday in an accident. We are broken and will never be the same."

"He was very ambitious with a tremendous drive," said his father, Larry, in the wake of Aaron's death, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer. "He expressed himself through his physicality." Aaron is survived by his wife and their three young children.