What Happened To iReTron Device Recycling From Shark Tank Season 5?

In a special episode of "Shark Tank's" fifth season, the titular Sharks invited young entrepreneurs into the tank, hoping to sink their teeth into the deal of the century. Among the pitches was a forward-thinking idea that sought to solve one of the biggest problems with old electronics — what do we do with them? 

Jason Li, a then 16-year-old visionary with a track record that included being named the "Next Teen Tycoon" and landing on The Best Schools' "World's 50 Smartest Teenagers" list, pitched iReTron to Mark Cuban (who unfortunately may be leaving the show), Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, and Kevin O'Leary, hoping to secure the funding needed to market his million-dollar idea. But just how far does an idea go when it's part of a market flooded with similar businesses?

It was a question Li was forced to face as he stared down at the Sharks from his proverbial podium, hoping that his ambition would be enough to lure in an investment. Was iReTron just the right chum to attract a Shark or two? Or was Li left floating in open waters without a life raft for his business? 

Li entered the tank exuding a confidence and maturity that had the Sharks thinking he was well beyond his 16 years of age. The pitch for iReTron was simple enough: a green business dedicated to recycling old electronic devices out to consumers not caught up in having the newest on the market.

While Herjavec kicked off the questions, it was O'Leary who launched the first criticism, asking how iReTron was different from any other device recycler on the market. Li had no issue firing back, citing that his business was a "social enterprise" and, unlike other recycling companies, accepted virtually every electronic and paid the highest prices.

This line of questioning eventually led to the big bombshell — iReTron only made $40,000 in 12 months and netted a $10,000 profit. While that did elicit an adverse reaction from the Sharks, the conversation continued. Unfortunately, despite the Sharks admiring his entrepreneurial spirit at his age, Herjavec, Cuban, O'Leary, and eventually Greiner dropped out.

However, Corcoran remained confident in Li, and instead of offering $100,000 for 20% of just iReTron, she blanketed the 20% across any of Li's future business ideas. While O'Leary was critical of the offer, a final plea to Cuban ultimately secured Li two Sharks and pretty much the investment he sought.

In a 2016 interview with the Requests for Startups blog, an outlet dedicated to spotlighting entrepreneurs and influencers, Li not only discussed his experience on "Shark Tank" but offered a quick update on iReTron. After describing how "Shark Tank" producers invited him onto the show, flew him first class to Los Angeles, and swapped out his stuffy style for something "cooler," Li confirmed that the deal with Corcoran and Cuba did, in fact, go through.

At the time of the interview, Li's episode was two years old, and business was thriving at iReTron. "With Barbara and Mark's assistance, iReTron is now growing and self-sustainable," Li explained. He went on to note that the Sharks also helped with another business he was working on, UProspie, which allowed high school students to connect with college students at universities they were considering attending.

Based on social media posts, iReTron seemed to fare well, but Li's vision did steer him in multiple directions. While still overseeing iReTron, Li joined up with Flipside, an information aggregate that aimed to make digesting different viewpoints much easier. While Li's ambitions were high, they may have been a little too high to keep him focused.

While the iReTron website is still active, all signs indicate the business is closed. Along with inactive social media accounts, with the last social post being an iPad review from 2018 on the Facebook account, Li's LinkedIn also shows that he left the company and joined Oscar Health as a product manager in June 2019.

There's no real update as to what happened with iReTron or why it may have gone under. SlashGear reached out to the email on the website but received no response. While the phone number is still active, the voicemail is generic. When we attempted to create a new account, it reverted back to the home screen every time. Even the blog is offline, with each post leading to a database connection error.

Despite what appeared to be a period of success for the device recycling company, it's safe to say that it's no longer operational.

Though iReTron may not have succeeded beyond 2019, it clearly did not deflate Li. Near the tail end of iReTron's life, or possibly shortly after it shuttered, he worked as a product manager for the Drift data platform, touting that he was one of the "first 100 hires." From Drift, he moved on to Oscar Health, a provider of accessible health insurance, where he remained until the fourth quarter of 2022.

For 10 months, Li set his entrepreneurial spirit aside and backpacked across Asia. It didn't take long for him to return to the business world, though, as shortly after he returned, he signed on as the senior product manager for Transcarent. According to his LinkedIn, he's still with the personalized healthcare app. Though he took a brief recess in March 2023, where he explored Nepal, nothing suggests he's not putting his impressive business sense to use at Transcarent.

Where the future will take Li is unknown. It's impossible to say whether Transcarent is a more permanent stop on his journey or if he'll reemerge with another grand idea for the Sharks to invest in. For now, at least, he appears to be comfortable improving another's vision.