Jim Huffman grew up in Oklahoma before building a career in marketing and eventually taking a chance on a struggling apparel brand. Now, the CEO is preparing for an appearance on ABC’s Shark Tank in front of a national audience.
Huffman founded GrowthHit, a growth marketing agency, where he worked with a variety of brands and developed an interest in owning a business of his own. When he was introduced to Neat Apparel, he saw an opportunity to combine his marketing experience with a product he believed in.
Around 2024, Huffman and his team invested approximately $50,000 into the brand, along with the time and effort needed to grow the business. Having grown up in Oklahoma, Huffman was familiar with the hot summer temperatures that made the product appealing. He recalled mowing lawns as a kid and thought about how useful a shirt designed to hide sweat could have been.
“If I have learned anything, the key to marketing is having a product that actually works,” said Huffman.
Huffman and his team initially faced challenges growing the brand. He attributed those struggles to launching during the COVID-19 pandemic. With fewer people going out in public, it was harder to introduce customers to a product designed to hide visible sweat.
Huffman eventually found success through social media advertising. One demonstration featured him popping a water balloon inside the shirt to show how the moisture would not soak through.
“That one video really allowed us to go from idea to seven figures,” Huffman said.
Unlike traditional performance shirts, Neat Apparel uses patented technology designed to hide sweat through the fabric. The technology features a maze-like pattern printed on the inside of the shirt that helps spread moisture throughout the fabric. While some competing brands use padding around the armpits, Neat Apparel’s technology covers the entire shirt. This design helps prevent moisture from showing in one spot.
The company also shifted from selling individual shirts to offering bundles of three for approximately $100. This approach helped increase sales and gave the company more money to invest in marketing.
According to Huffman, the net sales increased more than 300% in 2025 compared with the previous year. The company also surpassed $1 million in sales over the past 12 months.
While the company continued to grow, Huffman and his family faced personal challenges in 2025. His youngest daughter was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer. Her treatment included 23 rounds of chemotherapy. Despite the challenges balancing his daughter’s treatment and running the company, Huffman said that the experience brought the team closer together, and in February 2026 his team and family celebrated as his daughter rang the bell to mark that she was cancer-free.
Huffman and his team secured the opportunity to be on Shark Tank by applying through the show’s official website. After submitting an application, the team was contacted by producers of the show and asked to submit a video for consideration.
The process moved quickly. Huffman said the team first heard from the show’s casting department in May. Approximately five weeks later, Huffman and his team traveled to Atlanta to film at Tyler Perry Studios.
“Going from filling out an online application to standing on the carpet in front of the Sharks in roughly five weeks was pretty surreal,” Huffman said.
As the company continues to grow, Huffman hopes that the appearance on Shark Tank will help introduce the brand to a larger audience. The company has already found success in social media; Huffman hopes the national exposure will allow them to take the next step in growing the brand.
“We’re really hoping we can ride our 15 minutes of fame from Shark Tank,” Huffman said.
His long-term goal is to turn Neat into a nationally recognized apparel brand and eventually expand into retail stores. He hopes the company can compete with some larger names in the performance apparel industry.
Beyond growing the business, Huffman said he hopes the appearance will bring attention to the people behind the brand and the personal experiences that have helped shape its journey. For now, he is focused on using this opportunity to reach more customers and show them what makes Neat different.
Viewers can watch Neat on Shark Tank on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 10:00–11:00 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and stream on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+. For more on the show, visit http://abc.go.com/shows/shark-tank.