Pink Shutter Photobooths Shark Tank Update – Shark Tank Season 4
Pink Shutter Photobooths brought instant photo fun to parties. It appeared on Shark Tank Season 4. But will that land them a Shark Tank deal?
Pink Shutter Photobooths was a leader in the photobooth rental service business in California and Las Vegas before entrepreneur Lance Yabut pitched the Sharks on growing his popular and highly recommended service business on Shark Tank Season 4 Episode 24.
Check out more Shark Tank Season 4 Episodes.
About Pink Shutter Photobooths
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Business Name | Pink Shutter Photobooths |
| Founders | Lance Yabut and Tom Kanemoto |
| Industry | Photography |
| Product | Photobooth Services |
| Deal Status | Deal secured with Barbara Corcoran |
| Investment Asked | $300,000 for 10% equity |
| Deal Outcome | $300,000 for 33% equity |
A Pink Shutter Photobooths “technician” would arrive at an event location and set up a temporary, high-tech photo booth with touch screens, CANON Digital SLR cameras, high-speed photographic printers, and “party props.” This product was a popular “accessory” for weddings, parties, and corporate events.
Guests could hop into the photo booth and create an instant photographic memento of the event. Pink Shutter Photobooths claimed to be the best photo booth rental service in the business, and the many kudos they received on Yelp supported that claim. They also offered a video option and had a low price guarantee.
Pink Shutter Photobooths Tank Recap
Lance Yabut and Tom Kanemoto came to the Shark Tank hoping for a $300,000 investment in return for 10% of their business.
The pair enticed the Sharks to try the photo booth for themselves and record some silly images using props like sparkling hats and other silly items.
The company had no debt and cleared $195,000 in its first year. They duplicated those earnings in the first quarter of the second year, putting them on track for another profitable year.
They operated in five large cities like Sacramento, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and San Diego.
Did Pink Shutter Photobooths Get a Deal on Shark Tank?
Mark Cuban wanted to know what made them different from the other photobooth companies. Yabut explained that they had cut the cost of the photo booth down and partnered with Groupon and Living Social to market their products online.
Kevin O’Leary said, “There’s nothing proprietary about this,” and went out. Mark Cuban felt the pair had created a situation with large margins, which would allow competitors to undercut the business. He was out.
Daymond John also questioned the numbers. The pair was getting $100,000 salary each. He didn’t believe the numbers added up, so he was out.
Robert Herjavec agreed that the numbers didn’t make sense and said that 10% equity wasn’t worth his time, and he opted out as well.
Barbara Corcoran was the last Shark standing. She made an offer of $300,000 in exchange for 33% of the business, with the contingency that when the pair took their salaries, she wanted to be paid $100,000 as well.
Mark Cuban jumped back in, offering the same deal but adding that he wouldn’t take the $100,000 repayment until they made $1 million in sales.
The pair took a minute to talk it over and returned with a counteroffer of 25% for $300,000, split between Corcoran and Cuban.
The Sharks refused to change the percentage, and Cuban went out, calling the pair “wishy-washy.” Faced with a lack of options, they accepted Corcoran’s offer.
What Made Pink Shutter Photobooths Unique?
Pink Shutter Photobooths offered a widely loved service at affordable prices without compromising quality. Their focus on customer satisfaction and social responsibility, under which they gave away 5% of their earnings every year to a cancer awareness program, really set them apart.
Pink Shutter Photobooths Shark Tank Update
True to her word, Barbara Corcoran put the time in to help build Pink Shutter Photobooths’ success. After their appearance on Shark Tank, Pink Shutter Photobooths were invited to multiple events sponsored by big names like Hulu, NBC, and DreamWorks.
The Pink Shutter Photobooths entrepreneurs were well on their way to becoming an established nationwide company and enjoyed the success that came with the boost from a Shark Tank deal.
By August 2021, they had 10 locations in San Francisco, Honolulu, Dallas, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, Orange County, Sacramento, and San Diego. They also offered franchises. Annual revenue had reached $5 million.
By November 2022, the website was down, social media hadn’t been updated since 2018, and Lance no longer listed Pink Shutter on his LinkedIn page.
By April 2024, Lance had Pink Shutter back on his LinkedIn profile, which indicated he shut the business in 2023. He co-founded Sierra Blue Ventures, a real estate investment firm, in 2017.
Posts About Pink Shutter Photobooths on Shark Tank Blog
You can now see more about the Photobooth Rental Service and how it was brought to Shark Tank.
Where Can You Try The Product?
Given the lack of clarity on the company’s existence and lack of a personal domain or website to get the services from, the business probably went out of business in 2023, and there is no way to experience it firsthand now.
Their Facebook and Instagram handles still exist, although they have not been updated since 2019.
Quick Summary
- Pink Shutter Photobooths rented high-tech photo booths for weddings, parties, and corporate events.
- They secured a deal with Barbara Corcoran for $300,000 in exchange for 33% equity on Shark Tank.
- After the show, the company expanded to 10 locations, offered franchises, and worked with major brands like Hulu and NBC.
- At its peak, annual revenue hit $5 million, but by late 2022, the website was down and updates had stopped, suggesting the business closed in 2023.
Interested in knowing about other businesses that appeared on the same episode? Check out their business updates!
Unfortunately, the Pink Shutter Photo Booth folks just provided everyone with another example of how important it is to protect ideas before going on Shark Tank. Had these guys used the patent system, they wouldn’t have been nailed by questions about how they could be easily undercut in the market. Here’s a blog post about it: http://inventingpatents.com/shark-tank-pink-shutter-photo-booths/
I contacted pink shutter photo booth after my original photo booth had canceled and was so impressed that they were able to help me and even though it was expensive and the time was going to be cut in half, I was grateful to have something for my daughters graduation party. I emailed them and said how thankful that I was and how would I ever repay them for helping me on such a short notice. They emailed me back and asked that I gave them a 5 star review before they even came out. THANKFUL I DIDN’T! We paid for an upgrade to have two strips of photos a certain way so that guests could leave a strip and write a message to her in her photo book, however they weren’t printing that way and every time my daughter or her guests said something the attendant seemed extremely bothered. The attendant then announces to my guests that the photo booth has been extended to 9:45 p.m. for FREE and my daughter was so excited. I told the gentleman to please check before he announced that again because it couldn’t be right so he checked and it was the wrong information. He said that we could have it for an additional hour at the rate of $125 so my friend as a gift, graciously paid by credit card for it. The attendant took a picture of her credit card and when she asked why he did that, he stated the machine was broke. Today, her card was charged $317.50 and now she understood why he took a picture of it on his phone! That hour was more than the hourly amount we were originally charged. We tried emailing and no response! When we originally emailed to book the booth, we got an immediate response! Besides the hidden fees that you aren’t told about when you book it, they charge your credit card without permission! They take pride that they were on Shark Tank and that they have this amazing business and do huge jobs and that everyone loves them! We should have been treated as if they were working a wedding or a fancy venue, however because they came to our home and did a graduation party, we were treated differently! I WILL NEVER USE THIS COMPANY AGAIN!
It seems Kanemoto is now a competitive fisherman and Yabut exited the company in 2023 according to his LinkedIn. He has another business