ZUUM
ZUUM is a company from Portland, OR, that has created a roller skate-like shoe attachment that will drive users like a scooter or hoverboard to capitalize on the electric scooter and hoverboard trend with something slightly different.
According to the entrepreneurs, their... well.. skate, for lack of a better term, can drive a user around at 8 miles per hour, features green lights, and can last for up to an hour.
For the second time this episode, Robert gets up to try out the product. Though he's pretty shaky at first, he seems to get the hang of everything but stopping. Lori, seeing the that the set of Shark Tank is pretty flat, asks about how it would work on uneven surfaces.
The entrepreneurs states that ZUUM has raised $25,000 on Kickstarter with a successful campaign to test the market for it and that they currently sell their skate for $299 when it costs $139 to have it manufactured. Then they drop the bomb.
ZUUM doesn't own the skate. ZUUM is just the distributor, not even the exclusive distributor, of the skate in the United States. They admit under Mr. Wonderfull's questioning that he could contact the manufacturer and begin selling the exact same product.
The entrepreneurs tell the sharks that they are in the tank because they want to raise money to create a custom design that is unique for them.
The sharks seem doubtful and even more so that the ZUUM skate will becomes a means of transportation but the entrepreneurs don't see their skate as a replacement for existing transportation alternatives. They say that because the skate so small, it's the kind of thing people can put in their bags when they head to a park and that it can be used for general Recreation.
Mark is the first shark to drop out because he doesn't see the entrepreneurs as having a real plan.
Barbara asks what the biggest obstacles are that ZUUM faces and the entrepreneurs reply that the business is very capital intensive. But Barbara responds that she's never seen a young entrepreneur who has a problem that can be solved just by money and not by passion and drops out.
Lori wants to know if Segue has something like the ZUUM skate and the entrepreneurs admit that they do. Citing this and the other issues she sees with the company, Lori drops out. Kevin, likewise, drops out saying that ZUUM doesn't actually own anything.
Lastly, Robert asks about their vision for the future and the entrepreneurs respond that they want to innovate and create new products beyond the original skate. But this doesn't do much to pacify Robert because he drops out stating that he doesn't think the entrepreneurs would be good custodians of his money.
Before the entrepreneurs ZUUM out of the tank, Lori recommends that they hire a good sales person. Which appears to be the sum total of help they can expect to get from any shark