Philly native who appeared on Shark Tank killed in motorized surfboard accident

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- An entrepreneur and father of three with ties to Philadelphia was killed in a surfboard accident over the weekend near Miami Beach, Florida.

Aaron Hirschhorn, 42, was a venture capitalist and angel investor who launched the dog sitting business DogVacay, according to the Miami Herald. He launched the business with his wife, Karine Nissim. The company was later acquired by Rover.

Hirschhorn had ties to the Philadelphia area. He graduated from Swarthmore College with a BA in neuroscience in 1999, according to his LinkedIn account. The family most recently lived in Miami.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) told ABC affiliate WPLG that Hirschhorn's motorized surfboard collided with a boat on Sunday in Biscayne Bay near the Meloy Channel. He died at the scene.

"My beloved husband of ten years died yesterday in an accident. We are broken and will never be the same," his wife wrote on Facebook Monday.

"Husband. Father. Son. My only brother. I love you," added Hirschhorn's brother, Dan, a senior politics editor for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In 2019, Hirschhorn appeared on ABC's Shark Tank to pitch his pet health startup company, Gallant. He walked away with a $500,000 investment from two Shark Tank investors.

Hirschhorn is survived by his wife and their three young children: a daughter in kindergarten, a son in first grade and a son in second grade, the Miami Herald reports.