What Happened To iCPooch From Shark Tank Season 6?

If it was up to many of us, every day would be bring your dog to work day. Having to leave your dog at home alone for hours on end can be rough on both you and your pet, especially for dogs with separation anxiety. Thanks to the ever-growing realm of pet tech, there's a solution that can help keep owners connected with their furry friends, no matter where they are. iCPooch is a device that lets owners face time with their dogs. Users can download the accompanying app on their phone or table and mount it on to the front of the device. From there, you can set it up anywhere that's easy for your pet to access and pop up to video call them at any time. In addition, you can press a button on the app that allows the device to dispense a treat. 

The iCPooch came into being when inventor Brooke Martin was only 12. The Washington-based inventor was inspired by her golden retriever Kayla who experienced intense separation anxiety when left alone. Discovering that this was widespread issue among pets, Martin set out to develop iCPooch, pitching it at Startup Weekend Spokane 2012 where she managed to win against nearly 40 adults. 

This aided her in further developing the technology and allowed her to build a team that included CEO James Pelland and industrial designer Jeff Bendio. iCPooch received coverage from the likes of CBS, Huffpost, and TechCrunch to name a few, which helped bring attention to its 2014 Kickstarter campaign. The campaign became a success, earning nearly $30,000 on a $20,000 goal.

Brooke Martin and James Pelland came onto "Shark Tank" hoping to receive a $150,000 investment for a 20% equity stake in iCPooch. They demonstrated the device with a dog named Yo-yo, who's owner called in and dispensed a treat. The iCPooch sold for $149 and cost $60 to produce. Within two months of launching, they sold 115 units. The item was on Amazon and expected to have its first shipment to Bed Bath & Beyond.

Robert Herjavec questioned what would motivate a dog to go to a video call. Martin states that she learned at a dog trainer conference that many trainers are using Skype to conduct their lessons. Kevin O'Leary has his own concerns with the design. He believes it looks too similar to a fire hydrant and that dogs would pee on it. Pelland commented that they intended to refine the design, he assured the sharks that they've had no complaints of the sort from customers nor had they experienced anything like that during test trials.

Sadly, it did little to put the sharks' worries to rest, citing its unproven sales as a primary concern. Mark Cuban believed it would be a hard sell given that you'd need an additional smartphone or tablet to leave at home all day. O'Leary and Daymond John were afraid that the device may potentially worsen behavioral problems in anxious dogs, with former even going as far as saying, "I hate this very much as an idea." Despite failing to secure a deal, the sharks nevertheless applauded Martin for getting so far at her age.

While far from being one of the most vicious "Shark Tank" takedowns in the vein of Amber or Ionic Ear, it's definitely rare to see the investors tear into a child entrepreneur to the extent they did with Brooke Martin. Even on the night of the episode's initial airing on March 20, 2015, O'Leary tweeted, "I hate everything about this! Count. Me. Out." reflecting his closing remarks about iCPooch made in the segment. Despite keeping her cool during the episode, Martin admitted to being intimidated. "It was so intense," she said in an interview with The Spokesman-Review shortly after the episode aired. "I think you can learn so much more from failure, so to speak, than success."

Nevertheless, it didn't stop her from pushing forward with iCPooch. Leading up to the broadcast, she and her team revved up production and altered their website design in anticipation of an influx of traffic and sales. While exact figures are unknown regarding sales in the immediate aftermath of "Shark Tank," it's been reported that thousands of units were sold in the years following, indicating that the product found its audience. This was likely aided by its price going down from $149.99 to $129.99.   

Just as with her time before "Shark Tank," Martin found herself receiving a number of notable accolades after being on the show. These include winning 2nd place in the 2015 Microsoft Small Business Contest, the 2015 Appreneur Scholar scholarship from the Consumer Electronics Show, and receiving the Inventions We Love award from Geekwire Tech Summit.

Sadly, despite the promise that iCPooch showed after "Shark Tank," the company's days were numbered. iCPooch ceased operations in 2017, with founder Brooke Martin expressing that there were problems with outsourcing and product design. "We would have had to redesign the technology and the device," she shared in a 2022 interview with the Spokane Journal of Business."We did our best to connect existing customers with a competitor that had a similar product." 

Despite the outcome, Martin remains supportive of face timing with dogs and is still grateful for the overall experience. "ICPooch probably still is the defining experience of my young life," she continued with Spokane Journal of Business. "I learned so much from angel investors, patent attorneys, and entrepreneurs in Spokane that gave me strong motivation." The same technology used to create iCPooch went into Martin's next invention, iC LovedOnes, a device that allowed lone senior citizens video call with loved ones while also acting as a remote medication dispenser. It was launched in 2015, but does not seem to have gone much further. 

As of this writing, the only evidence of iCPooch's existence online is an Instagram account that has not been updated since 2015, as its official website only reads, "Due to unforeseen circumstances iCPooch has ceased all of its business and manufacturing operations." The app itself received mixed to negative reviews with a three-star rating average on the Amazon Appstore. Customers described the app as performing inconsistently and some of their dogs not being attracted to it, while others were upset that the app stopped working entirely once the company shut down.  

The sharks may have had some harsh things to say about iCPooch, but among the more positive words were those of Lori Greiner towards the end of the segment, where she noted, "The great thing about this, though, is you're 14 years old, and you've already thought of one pretty clever item. I can't imagine what you're going to do in the next dozen years." As it turns out, this comment had plenty of merit. 

To say Brooke Martin has stayed busy since appearing on "Shark Tank" would be an understatement. Not long after shutting down iCPooch,she was accepted into Stanford University. Here she received her Bachelor's Degree in Management Science and Engineering and later returned to get her Master's in the same subject. After graduating in 2022, she worked at Floodgate, a California-based venture capital firm that specializes in early seed round funding and resource allocation for up-and-coming entrepreneurs. 

In September 2024, she announced her exit from Floodgate and return to world of entrepreneurship. Her newest startup venture is Friends Know Best which, in Martin's words, is, " ... a social platform that unlocks collective intelligence by empowering the curation & exchange of opinions among friends. By mapping human taste & preferences, FKB strives to amplify trustworthy and authentic knowledge, simplify decision making, and nurture our most meaningful relationships." It received early funding support from Floodgate and is currently in the process of building its team.