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Business

Shark Tank deal: Athens woman with online fashion site scores on TV

Harbour, who started an Athens-based business after leaving her job in a corporate cubicle, scored on the latest episode of ABC’s popular Shark Tank.
By Matt Kempner
Oct 20, 2014

A Georgia woman found it pays to go on national TV. Diana Harbour, who started an Athens-based business after leaving her job in a corporate cubicle, scored on the latest episode of ABC’s popular Shark Tank.

In the show that aired Friday, investors Mark Cuban and Robert Herjavec agreed to pay $1.2 million for a 20 percent stake in Harbour's business, The Red Dress Boutique.

Harbour, 33, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the terms of the deal changed after the show was taped last year. Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, ended up buying into the business alone, paying $600,000 for 15 percent of the company.

Harbour launched a clothing boutique in Athens, but she and her husband Josh branched into online sales as a side project. The side project took off and now accounts for more than 90 percent of the business, which she said is on pace to generate at least $12 million in sales this year. Harbour described how she did it in an AJC Secrets of Success column last year.

About the Author

Matt Kempner is an award-winning journalist who seeks out intriguing twists about people and subjects beyond what the AJC might typically cover. A former columnist and editor, his past assignments have included business investigations, energy, the economy, entrepreneurs, big business, consumer spending, politics, government and the environment.

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