Next into the tank is Trobo seeking $100,000 for 10 percent equity.

Key Takeaways: Trobo on Shark Tank

  • Investment: Robert Herjavec invested $166,000 for 33.3% equity, contingent on a licensing deal with DreamWorks.
  • Product: Trobo is an interactive storytelling robot focused on engaging kids in science and math through educational stories.
  • Challenges: High product cost and skepticism about consumer interest were major concerns for the Sharks.
  • Trobo’s Journey Post-Shark Tank: After appearing on Shark Tank, Trobo experienced moderate success but eventually faced challenges in scaling. The founders shifted focus to other projects, and Trobo is no longer widely available. The product did not secure a licensing deal with DreamWorks, and the company struggled to gain widespread market traction.

What is Trobo? A Quick Overview

Trobo is a storytelling robot that reads stories about science and math. The stories also become interactive so kids remain engaged.

The content creation is crowdsourced by putting out a theme or topic and having people contribute. They have an order of 600. It is $4.95 per story and they hope to switch to a subscription model.

Mark Cuban is the first to say he doesn’t like the idea and goes out. Kevin O’Leary doesn’t believe their idea will work and goes out, as does Daymond John.

Lori Greiner finds the almost $60 cost of the robot too much and worries that people won’t like the product. She goes out too.

Social reactions from Trobo’s appearance on Shark Tank:

Pitching his passion for education, he asks the sharks to reconsider. Robert Herjavec acknowledges that the application didn’t make him go “wow,” but sees it as a content-delievery system. He wants to license it and offers $100,000 for 33.3 percent, contingent on a licensing deal with DreamWorks.

They counter $166,000 for 33.3 percent, which Herjavec accepts.

Final deal: Robert Herjavec for $166,000 for 33.3 percent, contingent on a licensing deal with DreamWorks.

What did you think of Trobo?