Wine tastes better when it is chilled, and it usually takes a while to get it to the right temperature in the fridge. For those who don’t like to wait, you can get instant chilled wine with ProntoBev. Alexander Simone marketed the product on Shark Tank and has a deal with Mark Cuban. ProntoBev is estimated to be worth $100,000 by 2024.
Alexander Simeone’s Background
Alexander Simone is an inventor from San Francisco with a BS in Entrepreneurship from Arizona State University and has worked in a variety of industries.
He started out as an engineering technician at Homewood Suites and a customer service agent at Hilton Phoenix Airport. The San Francisco native also worked as a graphic designer for CustomFratTanks.com. He later worked as a product manager for asterRide and 3AM Projects.
Founding of ProntoBev
While in college, Alexander invited a girl over for a glass of wine! However, the bottle of wine was warm and he didn’t want to serve her that way. So he took a pasta strainer, filled it with ice cubes, and poured the wine through it.
While this cooled the drink, it also diluted the flavor, ruining the wine and his date. This embarrassing encounter gave Simonyi a brilliant idea. He spent several years combining stainless steel and secret gel technology to create a device that could cool wine in 30 seconds.
The ProntoBev prototype was launched by Pronto Concepts in 2016. A year later, the founders launched an IndieGoGo campaign hoping to raise $25,000, and ultimately raised $60,000.
Shark Tank Appearance
In 2017, Alexander was tapped for Shark Tank, but at the time he only had a prototype. The confident entrepreneur thought that was enough to seal the deal. Simone appeared on Season 9, seeking $100,000 for a 5% stake. The valuation was $2 million, without a product ready to sell.
It was a bold move, but the entrepreneur’s pitch was convincing. The sharks liked the product after a nice glass of wine, but were not happy with the valuation.
Wine connoisseur Kevin O’Leary offered $100,000 for 50% of the company, the founder tried to counter but Kevin had no room to maneuver. Cuban initially backed out but later invested another $100,000 for 25%.
After Shark Tank
After Shark Tank, things didn’t go smoothly for ProntoBev. The product is still in the prototype stage, and they haven’t shipped many orders to backers on IndieGoGo. It looks like the deal with Mark Cuban was never done, as there is no mention of ProntoBev on his website.
ProntoBev was last updated in 2018 and has been silent on social media since then. In July 2020, Alexander told IndieGoGo backers that he was working on some minor improvements. Now, customers are furious and eager to get refunds.
One Reddit user recounted their bad experience working with the startup, sending multiple refund emails but receiving no response. Despite this, the parent company Pronto Concepts is still active and is valued at $100,000. Alexander Simone worked as a product director at makeXnow Inc for more than two years, a position that ends in November 2023. The inventor currently lives in San Diego and is looking for his next opportunity.
Categories: Shark Tank
Source: dut.edu.vn
