Olympian invests $100,000 into “Missing Link” suspension founder’s business

Tantrum Cycles’ appearance on CNBC’s Adventure Capitalists television show has resulted in a $100,000 investment in founder Brian Berthold’s business.

Olympian Shawn Johnson East backed the business. Johnson has prior links with cycling. Her brother-in-law is an Olympic cyclist, while she has personally worked with USA Cycling and Livestrong, according to the highlight clip now on CNBC.

“I’ve been in that world long enough to know the amount of time and money they spend on innovation in order to take just a millisecond off a time,” said Johnson, showing understanding of the professional market.

Johnson has gained 20% equity in Berthold’s business with her investment. The partnership was briefly thrown into doubt when the idea was raised by Johnson to divert Berthold’s attention to road and track cycling. A $200,000 counter offer was also rebuffed. The pair seem to have found a compromise and will now work together to grow the businesses, which to date has helped gross $50 million in sales.

In November of 2016, the Missing Link suspension concept also went to Kickstarter to raise funds to drive the business forwards.