Brightwheel Early Education Platform Update | Shark Tank Season 7

When Dave Vasen’s daughter started daycare, he realized he had no easy way to know how her day was going, and the staff was buried in paperwork. That led him to create Brightwheel—an app that helps daycares send updates, track attendance, and handle billing from a phone. It keeps parents connected and saves teachers time. Will the sharks get on board? Let’s find out in our Brightwheel update and pitch recap.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick overview of what happened to Brightwheel after Shark Tank.

Dave pitched his platform tool for early education on Shark Tank Season 7, seeking $400,000 for 4% equity. After his pitch, he made a deal with Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca for $600,000 for 6.67% equity.

In terms of a Brightwheel update, the company successfully scaled its platform by expanding to over 25,000 schools and consistently raising funding from major investors, including follow-up investments from Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca.

Shark	Result
Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca	Accepted offer of $600,000 for 6.67% equity
Kevin O’Leary	$400,000 for 4.85% equity
Daymond John	No offer
Barbara Corcoran	No offer

Shark Tank Brightwheel Pitch

• Entrepreneur: Dave Vasen
• Business: Platform tool for early education
• Ask: $400,000 for 4% equity
• Result: $600,000 for 6.67% equity
• Sharks: Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca

Dave entered Shark Tank and showcased Brightwheel, his tool for early education.

His goal was to improve communication between teachers and parents while helping schools manage daily tasks.

The app lets teachers check students in, track activities, log updates, and send photos throughout the day.

In addition, it also handles administrative functions like billing and reporting. Parents receive real-time updates, so they know what their child is doing.

Brightwheel is free for parents. Schools and childcare centers pay a monthly fee, depending on size.

Plans range from $40 to $200 per month. A center with up to 200 kids would pay $200.

Dave said they didn’t plan to run ads or charge parents unless they added more value later on.

Earlier on, he launched a pilot in 2014 with ten schools. After collecting feedback, he rebranded as Brightwheel and signed up 2,500 schools the following year.

At the time of the pitch, Brightwheel was adding 40 to 50 new schools daily. Dave had already raised $2.2 million at an $8 million valuation. He projected $1 million in revenue in the coming year.

Daymond John asked what Dave really wanted from a shark. Dave said public relations and support.

However, some sharks questioned the high valuation and monetization model. Daymond went out because he said education wasn’t an area he had much experience in.

Kevin O’Leary offered $400,000 for 10% equity.

Guest shark Chris Sacca showed his interest but advised that the lack of advertising might need to be reconsidered. He also made an offer of $400,000 for a 4.85% equity.

Following that, Dave asked Chris if he would consider teaming up with another shark, but Chris didn’t rank the other sharks for their skills in education.

As a result, this led to an extended quarrel between Chris and Mark Cuban that Daymond seemed to enjoy witnessing.

Kevin took advantage of the squabbling to change his offer, matching Chris’ for $400,000 at 4.85% equity.

Mark joined the offers with $400,000 at 4%, the equity Dave initially had on the table.

Dave countered with $600,000 for 6% equity, and Chris countered that with a joint deal with him and Mark with $600,000 for 6.67% equity.

Turning to Mark, Dave asked if he’d match the deal, and Mark agreed.

With that, Dave accepted the offer and shook hands with the two sharks, leaving the Tank with two new partners.

Now let’s check in for a Brightwheel update to see what happened after the episode aired.

Shark Tank Brightwheel Update

Our Brightwheel update found that the company expanded from 2,500 to over 25,000 schools after Shark Tank.

In 2017, Mark Cuban and Chris Sacca invested another $10 million. In 2018, the company raised $21 million from Mark Zuckerberg’s investment firm.

Additionally, in 2021, Brightwheel secured $55 million from top investors, including Addition and Emerson Collective.

In Season 9, a Brightwheel update segment shared that the company launched premium features like two-way messaging, parent check-ins, and document management.

They also signed a $1 million, three-year deal with The Learning Care Group, the largest for-profit childcare provider in the U.S.

In April 2023, Brightwheel acquired Experience Early Learning, adding a full early education curriculum to its platform.

By 2024, the company hit $75 million in annual revenue.

Brightwheel is now one of the most successful companies to come out of Shark Tank.

You can learn more on the Brightwheel website.

We’re calling this Brightwheel update a success.

Interested in the other companies featured in Season 7 Episode 26? Check out the links below to see our other company updates for the episode.

• FashionTap Update
• BrellaBox Update
• My Fruity Faces Update

Before you go, be sure to check out our list of all the Shark Tank Season 7 products.