The second screen phone product known as PopSlate appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank in 2016. The founder and CEO at the time, Yashar Behzadi was the one to make the pitch to the panelists. Find out what exactly happened on the show, as well as what followed afterwards with this update.
5 Facts About PopSlate
1) Described as a “second screen,” PopSlate was invented by Yashar Behzadi. Users would have the case on their iPhone, and the E-ink display would allow them to use the device without having to unlock it like normal.
2) The first version had limited potential, according to a review by The Verge which wrote: “instead of recharging your phone, it talks to it over Bluetooth and displays images that you ‘pop’ to the screen on the back.” The case itself had good battery life, but users had to manually change the image each time they wanted something different.
3) Shark Tank Tales reported Behzadi asked for $500,000 for 5%. This made the valuation $10 million. They did not receive a deal, and no shark went in on the product.
4) Yashar and co. began funding via IndieGoGo for a PopSlate 2.0, aka: a second version. The second version would have better screen and act as charger for your phone battery. Sadly, another Verge article said they filed for bankruptcy.
5) Reasons for the bankruptcy were financial and design-based. Apparently, the prototype didn’t test well. As they revised their materials, orders pushed back. The company could not refund any of the campaign backers. Currently, Yashar runs Base Theory Partners (specialty consulting firm) and Synthesis AI (data technology to build better artificial intelligence).
Shark Tank season 13 premieres October 8 at 8 PM on ABC. You can watch other episodes on demand or on Hulu.
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