'Shark Tank' Reveals Historic First After 12 Seasons

When Shark Tank Season 13 debuts on ABC Friday, the show will celebrate a historic first that took way too long to achieve. Emma Grede, who co-founded the Good American fashion brand with Khloe Kardashian, will be the first Black woman to serve as a guest Shark. Grede is also a founding partner of SKIMS, the fashion brand co-founded by Kim Kardashian West. Grede and Kardashian established Good American in 2016, and recently made headlines with a racy "Find the One" campaign that feature Kardashian topless while showing off the brand's new jeans.

Grede will join returning sharks Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O'Leary, and Lori Greiner. The five Sharks will take pitches from four entrepreneurs vying for investments from the stars. The first is Patrick Robinson, who hopes to get the Sharks interested in his clothing company Paskho. Philomina Kane pitches her company Kin, a haircare company focusing on Black haircare. She also produces protective headgear, including hoodies, beanies, and satin-lined hats. William and Kristen Schumacher also pitched Uprising, a low-carb superfood company. The last entrepreneur featured in the premiere is Lerin Lockwood, who established the jewelry company Lion Latch.

Grede knows a successful idea when she hears one. When she joined Kardashian to launch Good American, the company saw $1 million in revenue in the first day. The brand sells jeans from size 00 to 24, and has expanded to include other clothes. The goal for the company was to sell fashionable clothes for all sizes. "The challenge is getting the industry to see that it's not just a trend, it's the future of business. This movement can feel superficial because not all retailers will put their money where their mouth is," Grede explained in a 2019 interview with Forbes.

The brand was established after Grede had a conversation with Kardashian about "what it means for women to be confident." As she told Forbes, "I knew I could get the basics down and we could ultimately service the market in a way that was more than just denim. Rather than categorize as, 'plus size' or what they call, 'missy' sizing in the industry, we just wanted to create clothes in all sizes. I thought, why should there be any stigma associated with what size or what category of size you are and why should you have to shop that way? I just wanted to make something that was for all women."

As with many other Kardashian-related brands, Good American often makes headlines for the campaigns featuring the former Keeping Up With the Kardashians star and her older sister, Kourtney Kardashian. Just last week, the company released its "Find the One" campaign, which featured a topless Kardashian posing on a bed to highlight the brand's newest jeans. The ad was rejected by TV networks for being "too racy," the company told PEOPLE, adding that they plan to edit the spot to air. The ad isn't racy enough to break Instagram's rules though, as you can still find the ad there. Grede's Shark Tank episode airs Friday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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