companyThe Profit · Season 6, Episode 10 · Aired March 12, 2019
Smithfly Designs
Troy, Ohio
It is still up and running.
What happened after
Outdoor/fly-fishing gear maker (inflatable rafts, floating gear tents), founded 2010 by Ethan Smith.
What happened on the show
Smithfly Designs was a fly fishing boat and apparel company whose owner had designed a genuinely unique product, a floating tent, but who, in the episode's telling, was defensive and unwilling to listen to feedback. The warning was that without opening up to new ideas, the company could sink. It was a familiar Profit pattern, a real innovation held back by a founder too closed off to be coached. Marcus's work on a business like this centered on getting the owner past his defensiveness, refining the product and the go to market, and building the operational structure a small outdoor gear maker needs to grow beyond a clever idea. The floating tent and the fishing gear gave the company a real point of difference in the outdoor market, which made the owner's receptiveness to feedback the thing most likely to decide whether it grew or stalled.
After the cameras left
Smithfly is still operating. The outdoor and fly fishing gear maker, founded in 2010 by Ethan Smith and known for inflatable rafts and floating gear tents, runs a live site, though direct fetches returned an access restriction quirk rather than a closure signal. Corroborating evidence includes an Instagram following in the thousands, placement at named outdoor retailers, and a dated 2024 discussion thread about a company sale. The signals point to an operating business. Medium confidence open as of 2026.
Sources
Confidence: medium. Last checked 2026-07-19.
What is there now
Street imagery via Google Maps. Location approximate.