Sparketh Art Education Update | Shark Tank Season 13

A lot of kids who liked art didn’t have good lessons or teachers to help them improve. Dwayne Walker and his friend Tim Samuel started Sparketh, a website where kids and teens could take art and baking classes online. It gave them fun projects to follow and mentors who could guide them as they learned. What will the sharks think of this colorful idea? Keep reading our Sparketh update and pitch recap to find out.

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

Dwayne and Tim entered Shark Tank Season 13, seeking $100,000 for 8% equity in their online art education brand. After their pitch, they left with a deal from Barbara Corcoran and guest shark Daniel Lubetzky for $100,000 for 20% equity, contingent on profit after six months.

In terms of a Sparketh update, the company maintained steady growth through its homeschool family audience, even though it did not experience an immediate boost. Further, Sparketh grew its platform to more than 1,000 video lessons and was generating around $2 million in annual revenue.

Shark:	Result:
Barbara Corcoran and Daniel Lubetzky	Accepted deal of $100,000 for 20% equity, contingent on profit after six months
Mark Cuban	No Offer
Lori Greiner	No Offer
Kevin O’Leary	No Offer

Shark Tank Sparketh Pitch

• Entrepreneurs: Dwayne Walker and Tim Samuel
• Business: Online art education for kids and teens
• Ask: $100,000 for 8% equity
• Result: $100,000 for 20% equity, contingent on profit after six months
• Shark: Barbara Corcoran and Daniel Lubetzky

Atlanta childhood best friends Dwayne and Tim entered the Tank with Sparketh, their online art education platform.

The service focused on teaching kids and teens art techniques through video tutorials and also allowed them to share their work.

Walker and Samuel explained that they had dropped out of college in 2015 to start the company.

Samuel, who lived with sickle cell disease, often ended up in the hospital, but his determination kept him pushing forward.

Walker handled the art side while Samuel managed the video production, filming tutorials for the site.

To engage the sharks, Walker even invited them to take part in a quick art demonstration, making for a charming start.

However, when it came to the numbers, the pitch turned less impressive. Sparketh had generated $300,000 in sales in 2020, an improvement over prior years. Yet none of their customers stayed longer than 12 months.

For a subscription model, that was a major weakness. Customers brought in about $160 in lifetime value but cost $51 to acquire, leaving the business just breaking even.

Meanwhile, Walker and Samuel stressed that they wanted to use investment money to build a better website and expand their content library.

They also projected $500,000 in sales for the year. The question remained: would that be enough to win over the sharks?

Lori Greiner was the first to bow out. She liked the idea but admitted she wasn’t an “app person” and didn’t see herself involved.

Kevin O’Leary followed, pointing out that Sparketh’s high valuation didn’t make sense for a company with no profits.

The entrepreneurs argued that it was about their long-term vision, but Kevin wanted an immediate path to returns, so he was out.

Mark Cuban then weighed in. He said they needed something that made them stand apart, but at the moment, free YouTube videos offered similar content without charging a subscription.

Since Sparketh lacked a unique hook, Mark declined to invest as well.

This left Barbara Corcoran and guest shark Daniel Lubetzky. Barbara admitted she was still looking for a reason to invest, even though the business lacked profits.

Walker and Samuel insisted they could be profitable if they chose to, which prompted Barbara to make an offer of $100,000 for 20% equity, with the condition that Sparketh become profitable within six months.

Daniel agreed with Barbara’s perspective. He admired their spirit and was sympathetic to Samuel’s health challenges, but he also felt they weren’t taking the business side seriously enough.

Even so, he proposed joining Barbara, offering mentorship alongside his investment.

In the end, the entrepreneurs accepted the deal. They walked out with $100,000 for 20% equity, split between Barbara and Daniel, sealing it with a four-way hug.

But would that deal spark real growth for Sparketh after the cameras stopped rolling? Keep reading our Sparketh update to find out.

Shark Tank Sparketh Update

We have some good news to share in our Sparketh update. The deal with Daniel and Barbara eventually closed successfully.

But we didn’t see the usual Shark Tank effect for this particular company, as their sales didn’t explode overnight. But we have it on good authority that Sparketh maintained steady growth through its main audience—homeschool families.

In April 2023, Sparketh was earning about $2 million in annual revenue.

At the time of this writing, Sparketh offers over 1,000 bite-sized video lessons, organized into themed “Art Tracks” like portraits, animals, and nature.

Pricing is set at $25/month or $250/year, with membership covering two student accounts. Families can add more accounts for an additional fee. They also offer a free one-month trial that gives full access to all courses.

If you want fun, engaging art lessons at home, you can sign up on their official website. They even offer a one-month free trial so you can test everything first.

You can also follow their journey on Instagram and Facebook.

For now, even though growth looks slow, the duo is still working hard to encourage learning and creativity in young, aspiring artists.

If we get more news on a Sparketh update, we will let you know!

Before you go, be sure to check out some other company updates from Shark Tank Season 13 Episode 3:

• Oat Haus Granola Butter Update
• Flasky Flowers Update
• IncrEdible Eats Edible Cutlery Update

For more on Shark Tank Season 13, be sure to check out our Season 13 products page.