TROBO STEM Toy Update | Shark Tank Season 7

Educational toys tend to be boring for kids. Luckily, Jeremy Scheinberg and Chris Harden developed an adorable plush robot that teaches kids about STEM. Between the robot and the accompanying app, TROBO empowers children’s natural curiosity by providing them with facts delivered in fun and memorable ways. Will this toy bring in a deal on Shark Tank Season 7? Find out in our TROBO update and pitch recap.

Shark Tank TROBO Update

Trobo Update

  • Entrepreneurs: Chris Harden and Jeremy Scheinberg
  • Business: STEM toy for children
  • Ask: $100,000 for 10% equity
  • Result: $166,000 for 33.3% equity
  • Shark: Robert Herjavec

Chris and Jeremy were engineers and dads looking to provide a different experience with educational toys to children. That’s why they created TROBO.  After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Chris and Jeremy entered Shark tank Season 7 to get an investment that would support development and scale to demand.

Chris and Jeremy introduced the TROBO robots and then allowed the sharks to hold them and interact with them. The TROBO achieved the best results when telling stories that were also being displayed interactively on the screen of an iPad or tablet through an animated book.

Retailing at $59.95, the TROBO acted like a speaker used for storytelling interwoven with amazing scientific facts. The price included the toy and a collection of five books and already appealed to small and mid-sized retailers, with six hundred orders in production.

Chris and Jeremy were looking for the sharks’ backing to break into the market of educational toys for children. Mark Cuban immediately dropped out because he didn’t believe in the strength of the product.

Kevin O’Leary followed, reasoning that the price for the TROBO was too high and that bigger retailers would probably not be interested.

Daymond John was also out due to the same reasons. Lori Greiner was unconvinced by the price, especially with the lack of interest from big retailers. She also went out.

With Robert Herjavec remaining the only one in the game, Chris appealed to him with a personal anecdote about the power of education.

Robert thought the future of the product would be to market it as a content delivery product. He cited his connections to Dreamworks for a potential licensing deal. He offered a deal of $100,000 for 33.3% contingent upon a deal with Dreamworks.

Chris countered with $166.000 for 33.3% and Robert accepted.  Chris and Jeremy left the tank with a deal, but what do you think happened after their exit? Check out the rest of our TROBO update to learn more. 

After appearing on Shark Tank, our TROBO update shows that the company enjoyed mixed success. The deal with Robert never closed, perhaps due to a lack of interest from Dreamworks and too intricate of legal demands.

In the years that followed, the TROBO’s price decreased. The company officially shut down in 2017 after being unable to secure a content delivery deal.

This will be our final TROBO update.

Would you like to know more about the other companies featured in Season 7 Episode 23? Check out our other company updates for the episode in the links below.

Want to know even more about companies and products?  Visit our Season 7 Products Page!

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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!