Mike Burton

Post-pitch story

Mike Burton, a former Marine intelligence officer, opened Season 13 with an idea for cities: smart bike locks added to the bike racks they already have. Riders get a safer place to lock up, and the racks become data hubs that show how people move around town. Cities pay about $750 per device upfront, with recurring revenue from the data. The season premiere, "Secure the Bike, Save the World," aired in March 2025. Burton arrived with two pilot cities signed, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Bentonville, Arkansas, and was raising $1.5 million. Then came one of the season's most talked-about moments. When Jesse Middleton of Flybridge offered $50,000, Burton turned it down, explaining that he wasn't taking checks under $100,000. The Pitch even wrote a blog post about it. The show now marks Lockstop as funded, but we couldn't find who invested, how much or any newer city deals outside The Pitch's own coverage. Selling to cities is slow, and pilots don't always become contracts. If Tulsa and Bentonville sign on for more, Lockstop could have a model other cities want to copy. For now, it's a bold founder with a clear plan.