EyeBloc Before Shark Tank
If you aren’t technology illiterate, turning off your webcam easily without the hassle of removing the USB plug can be an issue that causes you to have to pull wires out of your computer or potentially ruin the drivers that make your computer run. EyeBloc is a potential remedy to this situation, serving as a physical answer instead of a software or hardware answer. Read on to find out more about EyeBloc.
EyeBloc on Shark Tank
C.J. Isakow is from Washington, D.C., and is seeking $50,000 in exchange for 10% of his company. C.J. starts by saying that he needs this money to start up EyeBloc because Americans are being watched. Americans are being watched by cameras that are already in their home; in their home, in their office, and in their school. How are people being watched? Through their computer, or more specifically, through any webcams. C.J. looks to Robert to testify, which he does, and I can personally agree that webcams can easily be accessed, although it mostly falls down to dumb luck. Hackers can hack into a webcam and take control of the webcam, taking pictures and video upon command. It is potential that even the government is overstepping the bounds, and C.J. insists that this violates America’s very core.
But there is a solution – EyeBloc. EyeBloc fits to any device and will fit over device’s camera. All it does is slide over the webcam and sits snugly, protecting the wearer from any potential cyber crime. Lori looks to Robert to testify, and Robert elaborates that this is is indeed a problem and that turning off the webcam is indeed a problem for the average consumer. Kevin insists that C.J. valued his company correctly at $50,000 for a simple little piece of rubber, which C.J. agrees that yes, his valuation is correct, and goes on to ask if any of the sharks have been naked in front of their computer.
Mark asks about the sales and growth of EyeBloc, and C.J. says that two months ago, EyeBloc did not exist. EyeBloc is a brand new startup, exploding rapidly; C.J. is receiving orders from the military and all over the United States. Daymond asks for a specific number, which C.J. reveals to be $4,500. All the Sharks are in disbelief, and C.J. digs himself deeper to say that he is only selling around one a day. He is selling the EyeBloc for $9.99, and boasts that he has sold $9.99. Mark explains that he has sold only 45 units because any smart user can take a piece of gum or a post-it note and place it over the camera, forgetting about it. C.J. admits that his competition is indeed post-it-notes, but Mark says that he won’t lose the EyeBloc versus losing a cheap post-it note.
C.J. hands out samples, and explains that with only $5,000, he has founded the company and invested in an
aluminium mould which unfortunately keeps the price at around $1 due to needing to replace the mould every ten thousand units or so. However, with the steel mould, the price would fall down to around $.25 since the mould would last nearly 5 times as long. The steel mould would also allow for greater fidelity, allowing for a local and potentially personal engravings to be built into the EyeBloc.
Lori vocalizes her biggest issue with the EyeBloc, which is the price of $9.99. Lori says that she only sees the value of a dollar in the EyeBloc, and explains that people can find a million other ways to block off the webcam.
Robert says that there is indeed a market for people that are seeking to protect their kids from webcams, but that EyeBloc is not the best solution; he is out of the deal as well.
Daymond says that Robert is one of the top ten experts in cyber crime around the world, and if Robert is not in, he has to be out as well.
Mark is the next shark to obviously fold out of the deal, saying that he finds there is simply a product and no brand and that EyeBloc will not last.
C.J. looks to Kevin as Kevin is the last remaining Shark. Kevin says that he wants to share a story; in the days where there were no internet and humanity only had cities and castles and houses, the universal sign of distress was an upside down flag. When things were bad, a household would turn their flag upside down to alert any neighbors and passersby that things are bad. Standing next to C.J. is an American flag, which Kevin says that C.J. should turn the flag upside down; he thinks that EyeBloc is “absolute crap on a stick,” and is out of the deal as well.
C.J. does not find the investment he came to Shark Tank looking for.
EyeBloc After Shark Tank: Now in 2018 Update
EyeBloc still appears to be around, and must not be considered a failure despite the one-star rating on Amazon. However, EyeBloc appears to be on a trend of spiralling down very rapidly; on Amazon, EyeBloc is very poorly rated with 37% of all ratings being a 1 star rating, and an overall average review of 3.3 out of 5 stars. EyeBloc also has a Facebook media page with only 356 likes.
EyeBloc has since brought its price down from $9.99 to $5.99 for a webcam cover in black or $6.99 for a webcam cover in red, white or blue. However, all EyeBlocs on the website http://eyebloc.com/ are sold out at the moment, and I could not find any more information about the supply being replenished. It is unknown what exactly the status of EyeBloc is, but it does not appear to be closed down.
From the EyeBloc site: “ATTENTION INVESTORS: EYEBLOC IS FOR SALE BY OWNER.”