Pavlok left the Tank with no deal and 5 seriously annoyed Sharks! But what happened next? This Pavlok Shark Tank update has the answers.

What is Pavlok?

Pavlok is a wearable tracker that helps you break bad habits. Whenever you’re engaging in a bad habit, the Pavlok device sends electrical sensations to help your brain associate the habit with something unpleasant. 

The technology that Pavlok uses involves a type of science called aversive conditioning, which is used to help a person curb bad behaviors by having them associate that behavior with something unpleasant, which in the case of Pavlok, is electric shocks.

Unlike other Tank alumni that focus on mental health, such as Moment and Liberate, the Pavlok wrist device helps users wake up on time, stand up more often, quit nail-biting and stop snacking throughout the day by sending electrical shocks through integrations and the Pavlok app. 

Who created Pavlok?

Maneesh Sethi from Boston, Massachusetts, who has a Bachelor of Science with concentrations in Technology and Society, created Pavlok in 2013 in an effort to stop his own bad habit of scrolling on Facebook. 

Maneesh has always had severe ADD, and he found that he could never get himself to actually get his tasks for the day done. In an effort to break his habit of scrolling on Facebook instead of focusing on his tasks, he paid someone to sit next to him and slap him around the face every time he clicked the app. After a while, Maneesh realized that paying someone to slap him was a waste of money, so he used his background in tech along with his passion for psychology and came up with the idea of a zapper to zap him every time he went on Facebook. 

What happened to Pavlok before Shark Tank?

Before Shark Tank, Pavlok had just begun shipping preorders which amounted to $800,000 in revenue. The devices were available on the Pavlok website and were selling for $200 a device. 

What do customers think of Pavlok?

Despite the Shark’s doubts in Pavlok, Pavlok customers seem to be very happy with their Pavlok devices.

For the most part, many comments and reviews praise the alarm clock feature of the Pavlok device, with Av reviewing the Pavlok 3 on Amazon with the following comment, “I am a heavy sleeper, and this method of alarm wakes me up. I think it’s a great invention for the partial hearing community, and It is also an attractive device.” 

Fritz N also praised its alarm clock capabilities with the following comment on Amazon, “I bought this product because I wanted a way to set an alarm and wake up without having 7 audio alarms like I used to. Nowadays, I generally just use the vibration at 100%, but I used to use the shock portion, and holy crap, that little thing is powerful. No issues sleeping in too long when I wear it.” 

In relation to the Pavlok’s habit breaking promises, Owen left the review, “As the title suggests, I bought this product because I wanted to kill my desires for all things sweet and chocolaty. Every time I took a bite out of a “sweet,” I would give myself a shock. After about two sweets, I found it much easier to avoid them altogether. Whenever I look at a candy bar, my 1st thought is still of how good it would be, but it is immediately followed by the thought of shocking myself.”

Along with the initial Pavlok that Maneesh took into the Tank, Pavlok now has a device called the Shock Clock 3 that is specifically for waking up on time. Brooklyn Simmons, on the Pavlok website, said, “Works well to wake me up. As a man with narcolepsy who sleeps like a rock, I can’t wake up to most alarms. This does the trick.”

Although many people are happy with their Pavlok devices, other users have commented that the devices are poorly made and the zapping features stop working fairly quickly.

When did Pavlok go on Shark Tank?

Pavlok appeared on episode 29 of Shark Tank’s 7th season, which aired on May 20th, 2016. 

Did Pavlok get a deal on Shark Tank?

Pavlok didn’t get a deal on Shark Tank, despite Kevin making him an offer, largely because of Maneesh’s attitude and the company’s valuation, as Pavlok went into the Tank looking for $500,000 for 3.14% of the business.

Of all the Sharks, Lori Greiner was the first Shark out because she didn’t like the fact Maneesh had made no effort to conduct clinical trials and had no actual proof of Pavlok even working. 

Lori Greiner: “Right, I’m going to make it simple, I talk about things, I say things are either heroes or zeros, for me, this is a nowhere-nero.” 

Up next was Barbra Corcoran, who found Maneesh’s presentation exhausting and complicated. Barbra didn’t feel like she would have the energy to deal with Maneesh if she made a deal with Pavlok, so she was also out. 

Robert Herjavec liked the idea of breaking habits but didn’t agree with the $16 million valuation, especially as Pavlok was only on pre-orders at that current time, so he, too, was out. 

Mark Cuban agreed with Lori that Pavlok had no clinical trials to back Pavlok and that Maneesh was relying on other studies instead of conducting his own to prove that Pavlok actually works. Mark didn’t believe that Pavlok was a legitimate product, so therefore, he was out, leaving only Mr. Wonderful left in the running. 

Kevin O’Leary: “You’re a combination of spontaneous combustion and ADD mixed together, it’s very difficult to listen to you.” 

Despite all of his co-Shark’s doubts in Pavlok, Kevin decided to make Maneesh an offer simply because he had previously achieved a degree in psychology so he believes and knows that aversion therapy actually works. 

What Kevin didn’t agree with, however, was Maneesh’s valuation, so he gave Maneesh an offer of $500,000 as a loan at 7.5% interest for 24 months, as well as 3.14% equity in the Pavlok business. Shockingly, Maneesh told Mr.Wonderful that he couldn’t work with him because he felt like Kevin wasn’t a great investor. 

Maneesh: “I would take an offer from anybody besides Mr.Wonderful.” 

It’s safe to say that Mr.Wonderful, along with a few curse words, sent Maneesh on his way out of the Tank without a deal. 

What happened next? Pavlok Shark Tank update

Although Pavlok didn’t get a deal with any of the Sharks in the Tank, one of Pavlok’s frequent users is Shark Daymond John. Today Pavlok is available on the official Pavlok website, as well as on Amazon, and Maneesh has come out with the Pavlok Shock Clock, which is solely for alarm clock purposes.

Pavlok has raised over $200,000 in crowdfunding, and the company now makes $600,000 in revenue each year. 

Is Pavlok successful?

Pavloks’ initial valuation in the Tank was $16 million, and even though that figure is significantly higher than the company’s actual $2 million valuation, Maneesh and Pavlok have still done incredibly well for themselves, which I would say is a success.