LOUISVILLE, Ky. – ‘Shark Tank’ competitor Ashley Drake, co-founder of The Natural Grip and U.S. Army Captain, credits her company’s incredible growth to their online hyper-branding and fanatical customer service. Since appearing on ‘Shark Tank’ in November 2014 and receiving $125,000 from shark Robert Herjavec, The Natural Grip’s revenue has grown more than 500 percent, allowing Drake to employ a staff of 15.

"Athletes and enthusiasts in the functional fitness community are authentic, real and non-pretentious people," said Drake. "Our company brand and our customer service to this community must be just as real. We are committed to our customers at all times of day, night and weekends.”

Drake attributes most of The Natural Grip’s brand awareness and product development ideas to the followers and friends from Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

“When an athlete makes a suggestion, we often experiment with our extended athletic team,” Ashley’s husband, Justin, explained. “If it improves our product, we incorporate this feature into production and give due-credit to the recommending athlete. It helps demonstrate our authenticity to our community and our brand.”

The extreme growth of The Natural Grip allowed the operation to move from the Drake’s home to a warehouse in Jeffersontown in 2014. The Drakes have since expanded their operations at this facility, adding approximately $1.5 million to Louisville’s economy.

Robert Herjavec, the self-proclaimed “Sporty Shark”, still considers Drake a ‘motivated Cowboy’. Herjavec’s development team chose The Natural Grip as a model of entrepreneurship for his development video series.

"I’m extremely proud of where The Natural Grip is today and where we are going,” said Veteranpreneur Drake. “We’re helping both communities that I love: Louisville and functional fitness.”