Roominate Toy Building Sets Update | Shark Tank Season 6
Alice Brooks and Bettina Chen dreamed of inspiring children through play with their innovative toy-building sets. They wanted to help produce a whole new generation of engineers, especially girls, through their toy line. Will the sharks be inspired enough to make a deal on
Shark Tank Roominate Update
- Entrepreneurs: Alice Brooks and Bettina Chen
- Business: Engineering toy-building sets
- Ask: $500,000 for 5% equity
- Result: $500,000 for 5% equity
- Sharks: Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner
Alice and Bettina, the creators of Roominate, entered
A wired building set that inspires open-ended, hands-on play while showing girls that creativity and engineering are fun! Over 75 pieces allow children to build their Mobile Pet Vet, then add stickers to make it even more their own! See the website for alternate building instructions!
At the time of the pitch, the ladies had about $1.7 million in sales and were projecting about $5 million in gross revenue, certainly an impressive number for the sharks to hear. It costs just $8.75 to manufacture a single unit and it was being sold for $29.99 online in their Amazon marketplace, according to the two entrepreneurs.
Kevin O’Leary was extremely concerned about whether the company would be able to sell through its current inventory. He also wasn’t certain that Alice and Bettina would be able to generate enough success for him to get his money back, which led to Kevin ultimately dropping out.
Barbara Corcoran was concerned about the original concept and target customer that the company had wanted. She raised the concern and told Alice and Bettina that the toys should be specifically targeted toward little girls on the packaging. Since the packaging didn’t include more clarity on who the toy was designed for, she dropped out too.
In a shocking result, Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner teamed up to partner and made an offer of $500,000 for 5%, which was ultimately exactly what the two entrepreneurs asked for. How did things turn out for Alice and Bettina after the deal was made? Keep reading our Roominate update to find out.
In the months after the episode aired, the Roominate expanded rapidly into a variety of stores, with some of their sets still being available on Walmart.com and on Amazon.
In 2016, PlayMonster bought out Roominate and Alice and Bettina exited the business. This will be our final Roominate update.
You can find the other company updates from Season 6 here:
Don’t forget to take a look at our Season 6 Products Page for even more on companies and products!
Andrew Smith is the founder and owner of Shark Tank Recap. He is a longtime Shark Tank fan that has been watching it for years and has seen every episode multiple times. His friends know him as the Shark Tank expert, because he can answer any question about the show! His favorite Shark Tank products are Bertello's pizza oven and Bug Bite Thing!