Zuum After Shark Tank Update 2024 – Where Are They Now

Zuum Before Shark Tank

Electric ridables have gone from being things only seen in science fiction movies to becoming a common feature in many people’s lives. The segway is the most well-known electric vehicle. It was introduced to the world in 2001. The Segway made it easier to travel to and from places because it was easy to park and could even be used in offices. People no longer had to walk long distances in large companies because they could use Segways.

Chico Guerra and Mason Buechler wanted to bring other electric ridables to the market. They saw that a company in China had developed electronic skates and the pair decided they would bring them to the United States. They started the company Zuum which would sell electronic skates in the United States. They did this by getting a contract with the Chinese company making the product.

The Zuum skates were individual self-balancing platforms with rollers. The Zuum shoes have a top speed of 8 miles per hour (12 kilometers per hour). Their battery could also last for one hour. The Zuum company had been started that year so no one knew how far it could go but the founders did experience enough problems that they wanted a shark to help them grow. Chico and Mason were on the 10th episode of the 11^th season of Shark Tank.

Zuum on Shark Tank

When Chico Guerra & Mason Buechler went onto Shark Tank they were looking for $125,000 and were willing to give 20% of their business for it. The presentation started with them showing the sharks how their product worked and they then asked the sharks to invest in them. Once they had finished, Robert asked if he could try riding the device.

Robert and the other sharks were allowed to try the device but Robert was the only one who tried it. As Robert skated around the front of the Shark Tank, Lori asked him if he felt like he was going to fall off. Robert said that it was him so it was unlikely that he would fall. Robert skated all the way out through the entrance and back without falling.

The sharks thought that the product looked great. Robert said that stopping was hard but the product was great. Lori said that there were pavements and potholes outside of the studio and she wondered how people were expected to cope with such problems. Mason said that the Zuum shoes were not a replacement for regular shoes.

Robert then asked what the price of the shoes was and he was told that they cost $299. The pair were then asked what it cost to create them and they were told that it cost $130 to make them. Lori asked them who made it. Chico said that there was a manufacturer who made it but they were the ones who introduced it to the market.

Chico then said that the manufacturer was in China. The pair flew to China to see the producer and as they explained, Lori asked if it was a ready-made product. Kevin then asked them what would prevent a competitor from making the same product from the same manufacturer with a different name.

Mason said that nothing would stop others from doing that. He then said that they had a Kickstarter in January of that year and it had raised $25,000. Barbara wanted to know if the fundraiser was just to get the testing done. Chico said that they raised the money to test the market and they saw it as an ideal way to get their proof of concept.

Robert then asked if they had exclusive rights to the contracts. He wanted to know about the deal that they made to bring the product to the market. Chico said that they don’t have exclusive rights to the technology. This meant that the technology was available in many places.

Robert then asked him what he had. Mason said that he wanted to take the money to make custom designs. Mark Cuban thought that it was a bad idea. Mark Cuban then left saying that he was leaving because they did not seem to know if they had any competitive edge. He also left because they did not seem to know which direction they were headed in.

With Mark out, Barbara asked them what their biggest obstacle was. Mason wasn’t sure what his biggest obstacle was. Chico said that their company was capital intensive and they also needed a shark. Barbara did not like their response and told them that they were not very persuasive.

Mason then said that their biggest problem was capital. The business had many opportunities but the pair could not do anything when those opportunities arose because they required capital. One of their problems was not having money for inventory. Barbara disagreed and said that she had seen businesses succeed when the founders did not have any money. She also said that they lacked passion for the business.

Mason said that they could grow even without the capital but it would be slower. Barbara then left because she did not think they had the passion to do the things that they wanted to do. Lori was still in and so she asked them who their competitors were and if Segway had an equivalent product.

Mason said that Segway did indeed have an equivalent product but they were more expensive and that was because of the big brand status. Lori said that the brand name was something hard to compete with. She said that she didn’t understand why they picked a product that could give them so much trouble down the road. She then left saying that she didn’t think that it was the product meant for her.

With Lori out, Kevin told them that they were in a terrible market position. He then left because he didn’t like the product. Robert then asked them what their game plan was because to him, they were not being specific about anything at all.

Chico said that they wanted to work with some developers in China to create a catalog of electric riding products. Robert then left because he didn’t trust them with his money and he didn’t think he would get more.

Before they left, Lori recommended that they hire a salesperson but Mark advised them to sell their product themselves. Mason said that they would take what the sharks said and continue to sell their product because they were on the right path.

Zuum Now in 2024 – The After Shark Tank Update

Zuum technology did not get a deal from the sharks but business went on as usual. It had an active 2020 and 2021 but business seems to have slowed down in 2022. Its website is not available. Its social media was also last updated on July 17.

Several factors could have led to the decline of the business. The first reason is that they were in a very competitive space and there were already established brands selling similar products. It would have been difficult for them to get any shelf space. Retailers would not have simply given shelf space they would have had to prove themselves.

The other problem that Zuum would have experienced is the entrance of vendors with similar products. You have to remember that Chico and Mason did not create the product so the entrance of other individuals with similar or the same product was always a possibility. These individuals could have been offering better products. Amazon does have several brands of electronic roller skates.

It should be noted that the founders had said on the show that their low price was one of the biggest competitive edges but a low price is not the only thing that customers are looking for. Hopefully, the pair left the business wiser, smarter, and stronger.