Here's What Went Down With Angel Shave Club After Shark Tank

Iskra Tsenkova decided to take matters into her own hands after noticing the stark difference between women's razors and men's razors — or the lack thereof. During a shower, Tsenkova told the Times of San Diego that she noticed her husband's razor appeared to be the same as hers, yet hers cost more. With that, she founded Angel Shave Club in 2016 to offer women's razors via subscription service at a reasonable price. Tsenkova was also looking to do good with her business. She decided she wanted to help empower women by donating to causes that help women around the world get a proper education and access to jobs and products they need.

Tsenkova decided to take her business to a new place: "Shark Tank." "Being on 'Shark Tank' has been a dream of mine ever since the inception of Angel Shave Club," she explained of how she ended up on the ABC show. "We have auditioned for the show three times and I am so excited for the world to finally learn more about our brand." That dream came true in 2019. But it wasn't all smooth sailing, as things got a little hairy (pun intended) on the popular series.

Iskra Tsenkova and her husband and co-founder Brian Archambo appeared on Season 10 of "Shark Tank," with their episode airing in January 2019. The two shared their women's razor subscription idea with Sharks Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, Barbara Corcoran, and guest Shark Sara Blakely, the founder of Spanx. The two were looking to trade 10% of their company for a $300,000 investment. They explained that they'd brought in $390,000 in sales the year prior. Despite those impressive sales numbers, the Sharks just weren't willing to part with their money over the shaving subscription service.

The Sharks weren't convinced by Tsenkova and Archambo's valuation of their business, and also expressed worry that a bigger company could take up the idea and could push Angel Shave Club out of business. Cuban, O'Leary, Greiner, Corcoran, and Blakely all declared themselves out. Just like Olivia Bowser and Liberate, Tsenkova left the tank without an investment.

Though Iskra Tsenkova and Brian Archambo walked away from "Shark Tank" empty-handed, it wasn't all bad news for the entrepreneurs. Tsenkova told Ranch & Coast that not getting a deal didn't mean the company didn't get a good boost from being on the show. And it certainly didn't seem to slow down business. "Even without the deal, business is still booming. Sometimes it's not perfect and it's frustrating, but it's still a learning experience. I wouldn't change it for the world," she said.

Angel Shave Club was also able to get hold of some of the money Tsenkova and Archambo were looking for. In March 2019, two months after their episode aired, the couple got their hands on a $200,000 investment from Quake Capital after pitching their idea to the company. "Our partnership with Quake Capital will help accelerate our business and aid us in fulfilling our mission to provide affordable shaving products to women all while giving back to women's organizations," Tsenkova said in a statement. "I'm very pleased that a respected organization like Quake Capital shares our views about the opportunities that lie ahead for Angel Shave Club."

Angel Shave Club sold well for a while after appearing on the ABC show. In fact, San Diego Business Journal reported that the company had brought in $500,000 in 2018 and was looking to make $1 million in 2019. But, sadly, that just didn't happen.

Angel Shave Club didn't make it in the tough world of razors. In a message posted to the brand's website, Angel Shave Club confirmed that it was no longer operating amid the COVID-19 pandemic. "I don't have great news, after 3 years since we launched, we will unfortunately be shutting down our services on due to Covid-19," the message read. "It is not a happy moment for us, but know we did everything we could to keep Angel Shave Club a thriving shave brand. We are glad that we always had a great and supportive community that shared our love and passion for shaving." According to CrunchBase, the company stopped trading around December 2019.

Iskra Tsenkova had a bit of a change of pace after Angel Shave Club went out of business. On her LinkedIn page, the entrepreneur now describes herself as being a wellness coach, Reiki master, and energy therapist. As of December 2023, Tsenkova works for CorePower Yoga in San Diego, having started her work there as a sales specialist in 2021, before adding the role of yoga instructor to her resume that same year.

As for Brian Archambo, he stayed a little more in the field he and Tsenkova dipped their toes into with Angel Shave Club. After that business ended, he became customer marketing and project director at Post Shave, putting all his experience in the shaving world to good use. His LinkedIn also revealed that he then moved on to work as a director of client partnership services at World Back to Work and became vice president of marketing and business development at Big Hype Social. He then became CEO of another business, Clikhive, in July 2022, where he's been working ever since.