Popup Play Update | Shark Tank Season 8

When you were a kid, did you wish you could create your own perfect play structure? PopUp Play allows kids to do just that — and have it shipped to their house, ready to color and assemble. In Season 8, they brought this idea to the tank and nabbed a deal with Chris Sacca. Where’s the company now? Read our PopUp Play update to find out!

Shark Tank Popup Play Update

Popup Play Update

  • Entrepreneur: Amelia Cosgrove and Brian Thomas
  • Business: Custom-designed fiberboard play structures
  • Ask: $250,000 for 6% equity
  • Result: $250,000 as a convertible note, $3 million cap
  • Shark: Chris Sacca

PopUp Play was a simple concept in theory. Kids used an app to design their perfect cardboard play structures — complete with custom images to color. Then, it shipped to their home for a flat fee of $109 including shipping. It was an imaginative idea — one that founders Amelia Cosgrove and Brian Thomas thought would go far.

However, their great idea started to fall apart when they got around to their sales. PopUp Play had a purchase order with one of the largest automakers in the US for $300,000. Unfortunately, their total sales were only $330,000, so only $30,000 had sold outside of this deal.

Amelia and the sharks agreed that this wasn’t a great situation, and Amelia shared that they were spending too much to acquire customers and it was sinking them.

Kevin O’Leary was the first to go out. He agreed that Amelia and Brian were spending far too much to acquire customers and that the model wasn’t going to work for him, so he wasn’t going to invest.

Barbara Corcoran agreed that the business model wasn’t proven. She said that the price was too high for her. For this reason, she went out. Lori Greiner quickly followed. It was too early for investment from her, but she thought it was a cute idea.

Mark Cuban agreed that he just couldn’t invest. There wasn’t enough for him to come in. Guest shark Chris Sacca, on the other hand, thought there was something special about the company. It’s a fun idea, he said, but there was no acceleration to move it forward. Upon learning that Amelia and Brian had other investors, he made them an offer at the same terms as their other investors.

The result was a deal for $250,000 as a convertible note, with a $3 million cap. They agreed to take it. How has this partnership helped the company? We did some PopUp Play update research to find out.

Unfortunately, there isn’t much of a PopUp Play update after all. The company went out of business in 2019, along with a similar company the couple also owned. Both Amelia and Brian have moved on from this idea, which is a shame for Chris Sacca. Hopefully, they have some success in their future endeavors!

Before you go, check out the other company updates from Shark Tank Season 8 Episode 14:

Make sure to stop by our Season 8 product page for more company updates from Season 8.

Website | + posts

Kimberly is a writer for Shark Tank Recap. She has written episode summaries and updates across multiple seasons of Shark Tank, with a focus on complete and accurate information since 2021. She believes that getting the business aspects of each deal correct is extremely important for viewers and fans. Her favorite Shark Tank products are The Wobbles and Rocketbook!