Shark Tank's Lori Greiner and Kevin O'Leary go to war over massive Terrashroom deal
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: For the most part, mushrooms and the technique of producing them have remained an arcane mystery, with the answers supposedly concealed beneath a wet wooden log in a mossy forest. Terrashroom and its inventor, Jared Steele, want to provide consumers with an exceptionally simple, dirt-free way to grow mushrooms at home.
Their miracle product is a computer-controlled mushroom grow chamber that does all the labor. All one has to do is lay their mushroom cake inside, tweak the settings, and add some water, and a good harvest of mushrooms will be available in a week.
Jared appeared on ABC's 'Shark Tank' Season 16, Episode 4, only to walk out with no deal yet hefty advice.
Terrashroom's $7M valuation doesn't sit right with Sharks
Jared walked into the Tank seeking $175K for 2.5% of his company, which set his company, up for a whopping $7M valuation.
Terrashroom began mass production in China in October 2024 and now has over 6,500 pre-orders to satisfy. Their first mass-produced batch, including 130 units, will arrive at their Austin facility on November 13, 2024.
The second wave of 1040 units will arrive on December 15, 2024. Terrashroom orders may be placed through their website; however, there is currently a considerable queue.
A single mushroom growth chamber is available for $499, with a launch discount lowering the price to $399. It also includes one free, ready-to-grow mushroom cake.
A HEPA Filter Pack for TS-01 (2 Pack) can be bought for an additional $24.99.
During his appearance on the Tank, Jared claimed to have 22k customers on his email waitlist despite not shipping one item ever since they started in 2022. Yikes.
Terrashroom's no sales but hefty gains worries Sharks
Jared had yet to deliver any orders; therefore, he had no sales figures to share with the Sharks. He provided a brief overview of his product's logistics, stating that he has generated $780K from pre-sales of 6500 units.
Jared's confirmation that his company had not shipped one product in over two years clearly alarmed the celebrity investors. The Sharks saw Jared as an "oversell" and someone who was not ready to deliver; therefore, Mark Cuban declined to make an offer.
Robert Herjavec didn't trust Jared, since he didn't come clean about not being able to ship anything until prompted by the Sharks. As a result, he also refused to make a deal.
Lori Greiner seems to love this type of farming, but believed that this one in particular was overly engineered.
Kevin O'Leary shuts down Lori Greiner as latter 'Shark Tank' investor tries to look out for Terrashroom founder
Kevin O'Leary seemed to appreciate the idea of the company and was willing to take a bet with Jared. He offered $175,000 for 15% of his firm.
Lori couldn't sit still and had to interrupt because she believed Jared wasn't ready to take on an investor and would be foolish to give away such a large portion of his firm at such an early stage. Kevin, on the other hand, believes that as the firm grows, they will need to raise additional funds for inventory.
Lori believes Jared should not be releasing anything to the market that is not completely ready. Lori places a high importance on brand names.
Despite Lori's best efforts to keep an eye out for Jared, Kevin insists on taking a chance with him.
Jared, on the other hand, refused to give up more than 5% because he had already secured funds at a greater valuation prior to coming on 'Shark Tank'. As Mr Wonderful refuses to yield, Jared walks out of the Tank empty-handed, saying that the ABC investor "overstated his value."
'Shark Tank' Season 16 airs on Fridays on ABC at 8 pm ET. For those who miss the episode, it will be available on demand the following day and on Hulu. Additionally, viewers can explore past seasons and episodes on Amazon Prime Video and iTunes.