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Former McMurray woman, fashion business to appear on ‘Shark Tank’

3 min read
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Viewers will find out tonight whether Hilary Hahn, formerly of McMurray, does swimmingly on “Shark Tank.”

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Hilary Hahn on the set of “Shark Tank”

Hilary Hahn would not say whether she did swimmingly on “Shark Tank.”

“I’m not allowed,” she said, laughing.

But by 10 o’clock tonight, viewers nationwide will know whether the former McMurray woman and her business attracted a high-profile investor. Hahn will be among the entrepreneurs pitching a retail plan to a panel of business tycoons on the popular TV show, in the hope of enticing a financial boost. “Shark Tank” will air at 9 p.m. Eastern time on ABC.

Hahn, 30, owns The Style Club, a fashion brand that, she says, “caters to Gen X females – basically junior teens. We’re a young QVC for our generation.”

The Style Club strives to produce items that are outside the mainstream, including suede baseball caps and bomber jackets with empowering messages. Hahn said the collections are sold in Urban Outfitters and Nordstrom and at TheStyleClub.com.

She launched the brand two years ago while living in Los Angeles, but moved the operation – and herself – to the Shadyside section of Pittsburgh this summer.

“My mission is to grow this company here. And I’d like to launch musical acts from this,” said Hahn, who has a payroll of seven, including brother Keith, the chief financial officer. Their father, Richard, is a physician in Washington.

She was hoping to grow her endeavor with investment money from one of the panelists – one of the “sharks” – when she went through the process of getting on the air. And it has been a lengthy, laborious process.

Hahn said it began in March or April when The Style Club was selected for filming. “But there was no guarantee we would go on the air.” She and two of her models went to Los Angeles for filming during the summer. Again, no guarantees.

“They said we would find out if we were chosen two weeks before the air date,” Hahn said. Sure enough, she got a call just recently.

So tonight, Hahn, her models and The Style Club will be center stage, swimming carefully among the sharks. All six of the regular sharks – a rarity. Usually, the panel is composed of five, with one not participating.

“I’m told they had done this only once before,” Hahn said. But her fashions, and her sales pitch, will bear the scrutiny of Daymond John, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary. Cuban is a fellow Pittsburgher, from Mt. Lebanon.

That scrutiny, actually, is a few months in the past. The verdict known.

Hahn wasn’t daunted by being before a camera, though, as she became an entertainer at a young age, singing and dancing. Fashion also became a passion at about that time, and continues to be.

Big cities don’t daunt her, either. Home-schooled in McMurray, Hahn attended Columbia University, an Ivy League school in midtown Manhattan where she received a bachelor’s degree in film studies. Then she lived in Los Angeles for four years.

What’s 10 minutes in the middle of a school of sharks?

“It was one of the best experiences I’ve had,” Hahn said of the show. “I was kind of in shock. I felt like I could be in the tank forever. I’d like to go in it tomorrow.”

Hilary Hahn will be in it tonight.

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