Shark Tank: Why did BootayBag disappear from the internet after the show? 

When Ellyette "Elly" Gheno walked into the Shark Tank with her underwear subscription service, BootayBag, she had no idea her journey might end in a digital vanishing act.

The Season 12 Episode 2 pitch started with a simple premise: no more digging through mall underwear bins. With just $300 in startup money and a website built in two days, Gheno turned her frustration into a multimillion-dollar business that caught the eye of guest Shark, Kendra Scott.

ABC's Shark Tank is a show where entrepreneurs pitch their businesses to a panel of investors known as "Sharks," hoping to trade equity for cash and expertise. Although many companies thrive after being featured on the show, BootayBag's tale took a surprising turn.

Subscribers were left perplexed and incensed when the company, which had previously claimed $15 million in lifetime sales, unexpectedly vanished from the internet at the end of 2024.

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What happened during BootayBag’s Shark Tank pitch?

Gheno's pitch was the stuff of Shark Tank dreams. She asked for $500,000 for 5% of her company and ended up fielding offers from three different Sharks. The numbers were impressive—especially considering she had never raised any outside funding beyond her initial $300 investment.

Guest Shark, Kendra Scott, jumped in first, offering $500,000 for 10%. Barbara Corcoran countered with a 20% stake, and Kevin O'Leary pitched 15%. After some back-and-forth, Gheno accepted Scott's original offer, despite O'Leary's concerns about the company's 5% profit margins.

Initially, things looked bright. The company fixed its manufacturing issues, got featured in BuzzFeed's "30 coolest subscription boxes," and built a strong YouTube presence. But, by 2024, cracks began to show.

Longtime customer, Kayla Jade, took to TikTok in December 2024, sharing that while she was still being charged, her November and December orders never arrived. The website disappeared, leaving only a vacant GoDaddy link. The Instagram account vanished too.

Frustrated customers flooded the company's last Facebook post from September 2024. A subscriber wrote:

"Please just explain what happened. I've been subscribed for YEARS. This is so upsetting to those who have been loyal to the brand."

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About BootayBag’s Final Chapter

On January 7, 2025, Gheno finally broke her silence in a blog post titled "Why I Walked Away From BootayBag." She cited "legal constraints and the complexities of closing BootayBag" for her previous silence while highlighting that the company had shipped over one million pairs of underwear during its run.

The story's ending came with a twist—BootayBag was acquired by competitor, Splendies, which now offers former subscribers a free month of service. This transition left many questions unanswered.

The prices had also crept up significantly. The original $10 monthly subscription for one pair jumped to $15, while two pairs went from $15 to $25. Some customers noted that BootayBag's prices had surpassed Victoria's Secret.

What began as a solution to underwear shopping frustrations ended up as a cautionary tale about rapid growth and quality control.

While Gheno's entrepreneurial journey continues through her blog, 'Dear Little Me,' where she writes about growth and overcoming challenges, BootayBag's sudden disappearance serves as a reminder, that even Shark Tank success stories can face unexpected endings.

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Shark Tank airs on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, with all episodes available on Hulu.