Village Scholarships Update | Shark Tank Season 7

Tasha and Antonio Adams started Village Scholarships after struggling to pay for college. Tasha got a full scholarship to Oxford, but Antonio lost his basketball scholarship after getting injured. They saw that many students don’t get enough financial help, so they created a crowdfunding platform where students can raise money from friends, family, and donors. Let’s see what happens between the sharks and the entrepreneurs in our  Village Scholarships update and pitch recap.

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

Tasha and Antonio entered Shark Tank Season 7, seeking $125,000 for 10% equity in their crowdfunding scholarship platform. Sadly, after their pitch, they left without a deal.

In terms of a Village Scholarships update, the company struggled to gain traction after Shark Tank and failed to build a strong user base, despite the exposure from the show. Sadly, in December 2016, the company shut down, and its website domain was put up for sale.

Shark	Result
Kevin O’Leary	No offer
Chris Sacca	No offer
Lori Greiner	No offer
Robert Herjavec	No offer
Mark Cuban	No offer

Shark Tank Village Scholarships Pitch

• Entrepreneurs: Tasha and Antonio Adams
• Business: Crowdfunding scholarships platform
• Ask: $125,000 for 10% equity
• Result: No deal
• Shark: None

Tasha and Antonio entered Shark Tank seeking an investment for their idea, a crowdfunding idea designed to help students raise money for college.

The platform allowed students to create profiles detailing their school, major, and tuition costs. They could then share their fundraising link with friends, family, and social networks.

The funds raised would go directly to the student’s university. Unlike other crowdfunding sites, Village Scholarships included a fund-matching feature, where outside donors could match contributions.

However, Kevin O’Leary wanted to know how many users were currently on the platform. Antonio admitted that the website wasn’t live yet, and they had no users or revenue.

This raised further concerns, as Lori Greiner pointed out that the business was still in the concept phase with no sales to validate its potential.

Village Scholarships relied solely on the student’s existing network and would make their 8.5% service fee seem excessive.

Mark Cuban explained that most crowdfunding platforms connect those who have money with those in need. In contrast, Village Scholarships merely facilitated donations among acquaintances.

Guest shark Chris Sacca then shifted the conversation to the founders’ backgrounds, asking how they had funded their own education.

Tasha shared that she had received a full-ride scholarship to Oxford for optical engineering. Antonio had played college basketball but lost his scholarships due to injuries.

Their personal experiences with higher education costs had inspired them to create Village Scholarships, but the sharks still had doubts about its scalability.

Robert Herjavec then raised a major concern. For Village Scholarships to work, it needed a large number of both donors and students.

However, he questioned whether families would pay an 8.5% fee simply to send money to a student when they could do so directly at no cost.

Antonio pushed back, arguing that thousands of students already use crowdfunding for tuition and accept service fees as part of the process. Despite this, the sharks remained unconvinced.

Kevin was the first to drop out, stating that the fee structure was too high and revealing that he had already invested in a competitor.

Robert agreed that the idea had potential. However, he noted that the business model lacked clarity and didn’t offer enough value beyond existing crowdfunding platforms.

Lori believed Village Scholarships was too early in development for her to take the risk. Therefore, she also backed out.

Chris felt that attempting to tackle all four ideas at the same time wouldn’t work, so he went out.

Tasha acknowledged the concern and apologized for the lack of focus but assured the sharks that they had a structured plan.

Mark needed to see proof that the model could work before investing and said he couldn’t take it from the prototype stage to full launch. With that, he also backed out.

Find out how they are doing now in our Village Scholarships update.

Shark Tank Village Scholarships Update

Our Village Scholarships update found that after their appearance on Shark Tank, the company faced significant challenges as they struggled to gain traction.

Despite the exposure from the show, the business remained in its developmental stages and failed to establish a solid user base.

In December 2016, Village Scholarships ceased operations, and its website domain was put up for sale.

The company’s social media accounts have been inactive since March 2016.

The founders have moved on to other careers. Antonio Adams now works in marketing and growth roles.

He has held positions at IT consulting and software companies like Arrow Electronics, Bark, Network For Good, and Ariox.

On the other hand, Tasha Adams pursued a career in science and technology after Village Scholarships ended.

She worked as an Assistant Director for STEAM Science and Robotics in Colorado.

She also held roles as a Teaching and Research Assistant at the University of Arizona and as a Junior Optical Engineer at Applied Research Associates, Inc.

This will be our final Village Scholarships update.

Don’t forget to take a look at our other company updates on the products featured in Season 7 Episode 14. You can find them here:

• Fixed Update
• Hatch Baby Update
• Beard King Update

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