Shane Cox, the CEO of PEEQ technologies, appears in episode 904 of shark tank with an air of confidence. He hopes to impress the sharks with his fun and an insightful invention called the Qball.
The confident and jovial yuppie created this device to help school children hear better during class. Now, just a few years later, it’s taking classrooms by storm!
Two years since appearing on Shark Tank, the Qball has generated a revenue of $3.9 million. That figure continues to grow today, making it a unique and wholesome success story.
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What is the Qball?
Research shows that many school kids miss out on a lot of important information during class due to bad hearing. Qball aims to fix this problem by making sure that everyone is heard clearly and loudly.
The Qball is a microphone in the shape of a soft and lightweight ball that we can throw around easily.
The unique thing about Qball is that it makes learning fun and improves the overall quality of the classroom. On top of that, it is also a great tool for group sessions and conventions.
| Company Name | The Qball |
| Entrepreneur | Shane Cox |
| Product | Throwable microphone |
| Investment asking for | $200,000 for 15% in The Qball |
| Final Deal | $300,000 for 30% |
| Sharks | Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner and Rohan Oza |
| Business status | In business |
Who is the Founder of Qball?
Shane Cox created the Qball to help students have a better and more audible experience during class. He knows how difficult it can get as a kid to follow every word coming from the teacher.
Most kids below the age of 15 have limited attention span and miss a few words, causing them to lose information.
Shane noticed that teachers were using ineffective methods to make children heard in the classroom. So he created the Qball to fix this problem and make sure everyone in the class could hear the speaker.
This way, kids could have a fun and interactive learning session without missing any information.
The Qball introduces a new concept to the classroom; if you have the ball, you have the floor. This makes sure that everyone who needs to be heard gets heard loud and clear.
Although it was made for the classroom, the device works great for events, meetings, conferences, and Q&A sessions.
So how does it really work?
It’s simple! Rather than everyone speaking at the same time, we can simply toss the Qball to one person for the turn. After the person is done speaking, he/she can toss the ball to the next speaker.
This way, no one collides with each other, everyone gets heard, and the session is fun and entertaining.
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The Qball Before Shark Tank
Before stepping foot in Shark Tank, Shane had already successfully sold the Qball to various schools and other entities. He even made quite a lot of money with his new venture ($177,000 in sales, to be precise!) It’s very clear that Shane has a great product at hand and knows what he’s doing.
However, he wanted to get enough funds to expand and go into mass production. That’s when he started attending casting calls for ABC’s Shark Tank.
After his third attempt, Shane finally got invited onto the show, making his goal closer.
Shane prepared for his pitch by rewatching every episode for the last 8 seasons and formulating a plan. He made notes of all the most asked questions and prepared how to answer them.
In November 2017, Shane finally got the chance to be in the same room as the sharks and make his pitch. His ask? $200,000 dollars for 15% equity in his business. A much-needed investment that would enable him to start mass-producing the Qball.
How was the Shark Tank pitch of the Qball?
Even though Shane Cox walks into the meeting wearing a pair of cute shorts and matching blue striped socks, he has a very confident presence on stage.
The sharks immediately noticed the childish outfit, which put smiles on their faces.
The first thing Shane does is blow the whistle tied around his neck to signify the start of the pitch. Barbara Corcoran notices this and lets out an approving smile; she seems like she’s having fun.
Shane then introduces himself and states that he is looking for a $200,000 investment in return for 15% equity.
Now, Shane gives the sharks a good look at the Qball as he begins explaining the product. He says that it’s not just an ordinary ball, then he talks into the Qball, declaring that it’s a wireless microphone.
Barbara, Rohan, and Lori are already impressed by this demonstration and seem eager and attentive.
Shane continues to say that the Qball is a fun and dynamic way to engage and interact with others. He starts playing with the ball and explains that it can be tossed and rolled around.
He then points out saying “Yes, you can drop this mic!” as he performs a smooth mic drop. We notice that Lori lets out a giggle from this little performance.
Shane further explains that the Qball is the perfect tool for a classroom. He states how students love playing with the Qball because it makes learning more fun and interactive process. What’s more, the teachers also love the Qball as it helps them easily manage the classroom.
Shane then elaborates that the Qball is not just for the classroom but can also be used for audience interactions during events.
Shane ends his act by asking who’s ready to get rolling with the Qball? Mark and Lori lift their hands up, but Shane acknowledges that Mark was faster and throws him the ball. Mark talks into the ball as Rohan asks where the Qball is connected to. Shane explains that a small receiver connects the audio and the ball.
Shane then explains that with limited sound levels in the classroom, students could mess up every third word and be unable to fill in the missing information. He further explains that the cost of production is $52, and the retail price is $179 (great margin!).
So far, he has generated a revenue of $177,000.
Shane explains that 90% of the sales are made to schools and adds that some sales are made to public speakers and research groups as well. He plans on scaling the figures up to $650,000 by the end of the year.
When asked how he would manage that, Shane explains that teachers buy the ball because they want to be the cool techie teacher. Once the trend catches on, he starts getting calls from school principals to order in bulk.
Robert explains that he finds selling to governments and schools quite challenging. He claims that he will be too old and gray by the time he sees any money from this and opts out.
Mark shows some interest and asks Shane what he plans to do with the money invested. Shane explains that he keeps running out of stock, so he will use the money to buy inventory.
Finally, Lori declares that she wants to make an offer and requests another shark to go in with her. Mark and Rohan answer the call, and the three of them make an offer of $300,000 for 30% equity.
Shane tries his chance at negotiating and counter-offers for 25% instead. But how can this young lad bargain with the giant sharks? Mark assures him that he is getting a great deal. After some thinking, Shane decides to take up the offer.
Final Deal: Lori Greiner, Rohan Oza, and Mark Cuban agreed to invest $300,000 for 30% equity in PEEQ Technologies.
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What happened to the Qball after Shark Tank?
When Shane appeared in the show, he was still using his garage as an office space. However, after finalizing a deal with three sharks, Shane was able to scale his business and moved into a small office space.
Soon after, he moved again into a bigger office and hired more staff. The Qball’s popularity exploded after it was showcased in the show, which heavily boosted sales.
Within the next two years, PEEQ technologies managed to sell Qballs worth a whopping 3.9 million dollars. The Qball has now been integrated into Alexa, the famous Amazon AI software.
Ever since airing in the show, the Qball has become a popular tool in schools across the country. It has also made it big in the corporate world and is slowly being adopted more and more.
Since its initial release, the Qball has gone through several updates, such as a USB slot. However, most of its core functionalities remain the same.
Is the Qball Still in Business?
The answer is a big and resounding yes! Qball is still in business and grows more and more popular every year. As of November 2021, Qball is a hot product in the youth market with annual revenue of more than a million dollars.
With the help of the sharks, Shane has become one of the most innovative and successful entrepreneurs of today. He continues on spreading the Qballs popularity and aims to be even more popular in the future.
With an estimated net worth of $1.3 million, we can definitely say that he’s well on his way to achieving his goals!
