Whatever Happened To Singtrix After Shark Tank?
When entrepreneurs Eric Berkowitz and John Devecka appeared on "Shark Tank" in 2014, they weren't exactly business novices. When he was in his 20s, Devecka created a drumming arcade game in his parents' garage, ultimately using the technology to create the drumming simulator Drumscape with his friend Berkowitz. Crucially, Devecka filed patents for instrument-based video games. A few years later, the duo sold the patents to Activision for its hit game Guitar Hero. "We did very well," Devecka said modestly on "Shark Tank."
For their next enterprise, Singtrix, Devecka and Berkowitz returned to their love of music for a voice-tuning karaoke machine. "Singtrix began with my frustration over not being able to sing backup vocals in my band and not being able to sing in key," Devecka told Authority Magazine. "Trying to solve that problem led me on a path to create technology and products that could turn everyone into a decent singer, including me."
The sharks were immediately impressed with Singtrix, which had already netted $1.2 million in sales. What they couldn't abide by was the co-founders' hefty $30 million valuation with only 1,000 units sold. After the "Shark Tank" sharks lobbed a flurry of alternate deals at the Devecka and Berkowitz, the pair walked away without a handshake.
"In fear of making a mistake and taking a deal, we passed on 4 offers because their equity requirement was a lot more than I anticipated," Devecka said during his Authority Magazine Interview. "That was my mistake, and, in the end, I did regret not doing a deal."
Singtrix exists in earnest today, but a deal might have saved the business from hitting a rocky patch.
Singtrix hit a few devastating speed bumps
Shortly after appearing on "Shark Tank" in 2014, Singtrix signed a deal with electronics distributors Voxx Electronics, and publicity courtesy of "The Today Show" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" helped as well. In the years following its "Shark Tank" appearance, Singtrix sold tens of thousands of units.
Then in 2017, disaster struck. The Chinese factory that manufactured the devices went up in flames, right before the holiday season sales surge. "To miss an entire holiday season — almost all of our sales happen around the holidays — it was devastating," Eric Berkowitz told Inc. Singtrix fell deeper into their financial hole the next year when the factory closed to be rebuilt. In the midst of the upheaval, Singtrix and Voxx ended the terms of their deal. Berkowitz and Devecka had to go to retailers with their tails between their legs, explaining that yet another holiday season of shipments would be affected.
In 2019, the co-founders decided to bounce back with an ambitious Indiegogo campaign that ultimately raised over $300,000, with $5 from each sale going towards VH1's Save the Music Foundation. They also partnered with a new manufacturer. In another positive sign of the product's rebound, it was featured in a 2019 episode of "Keeping Up with the Kardashians."
After years of manufacturing disasters and production woes, Singtrix seems to be doing well once again. In 2022, the company was acquired by Swedish holding company Embracer as part of a massive $575 million, five-company purchase that also included the IP rights to "Lord of the Rings."