What Happened To LavaBox From Shark Tank Season 14?

The eighteenth episode of the fourteenth season of "Shark Tank" premiered on ABC on March 31, 2023 to roughly 3.3 million live and same-day viewers as measured by the Nielsen ratings. Among the week's four pitches was founder Josh Thurmond soliciting investments in his company, LavaBox, a maker of "portable campfires" powered by customer-supplied propane. Anxious to find a way to reduce the number of wildfires caused by poorly-managed traditional campfires, Thurmond came up with LavaBox, and it turned into a very viable and lucrative business for him, one that quickly achieved significant profitability to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year. The sharks showed a lot of interest, with multiple bids sent his way until a pair of counters back and forth led to a preliminary agreement with Lori Greiner for an investment in his company.

However, the deal never closed, and for once, the "Shark Tank" entrepreneur actually gave an interview explaining why, though he did claim 18 months later to be unsure if his non-disclosure agreement pertaining to the show had expired yet. Hesitant to give up equity and revenue at a time when, despite a modest post-"Shark Tank" increase in sales, he was unsure if he wanted to grow the company to be much bigger than it already was, Thurmond punted. Since then, LavaBox still seems to be doing well, albeit with clear signs that Thurmond is risk-averse. Let's take a closer look at what happened to LavaBox on "Shark Tank" and beyond.

Entrepreneur Josh Thurmond entered the proverbial tank seeking $200,000 for 10% equity in LavaBox, his company making propane-powered "portable campfire" devices. As Thurmond explained it, he wanted a way to start campfires that didn't pose the wildfire risk of a traditional campfire. You hook LavaBox up to some propane (everything other than the propane is included), slowly release the propane into LavaBox, and light it with the provided stick lighter.  You can adjust the level of flames coming from the box, although Thurmond noted that about 12 inches is best for traditional campfire activities like roasting marshmallows. He also showed how the device's legs can be repurposed as a grill top to let you cook while out camping. The most popular model retails for $195, but the cost to make it is just $29, according to Thurmond.

Year to date, as of filming, LavaBox had profited $290,000 off of $610,000 in sales, with $1.2 million in sales projected for the full year, so the sharks were, unsurprisingly, itching to invest in the product. Kevin O'Leary offered $200,000 for 20 percent, and Daymond John matched that offer, while Lori Greiner undercut them at 15 percent, albeit with a 75 cent per unit royalty under she made back her $200,000. Thurmond countered, asking Lori if she'd do the deal at 12 percent; she said she'd go for 12.5. O'Leary went down to 10 percent, but Thurmond wanted to work with Greiner, so he accepted her offer.

At first glance, it's not clear if Josh Thurmond's deal with Lori Greiner for an investment in LavaBox actually closed. Lori is one of the sharks who keeps a list of her "Shark Tank" investments on her official website, and LavaBox isn't mentioned there, but the list looks like it hasn't been updated in several years. Even as recently as October 2024, on The Trailhead Podcast, Thurmond conceded that he wasn't sure whether or not his non-disclosure agreement about everything that went on with his episode and potential deal had expired yet. If you dig around enough, you'll find the definitive answer: In an article that ran a few weeks after the episode aired, Thurmond told BusinessDen that the deal didn't close.

More specifically, the article says Thurmond claimed that the deal had gone through due diligence and he had the contract in hand, but he decided on the day that he talked to the BusinessDen — 10 months since the episode was shot in June 2022 — that he wasn't going to sign the deal. "I did want it to work out, but it's difficult to give up 12.5 percent of your company that you built ... we're not in dire straits on cash so it was really about her leadership and mentorship," he explained, adding that the decision to not sign was mutual and "bittersweet." LavaBox did see a dramatic increase in sales in the immediate aftermath of "Shark Tank" episode premiering, though.

By all appearances, LavaBox is doing fine and still in business. At least from what populates the search results on Google Shopping, it looks like it's largely stayed as a direct-to-consumer business, with the only exceptions being some outdoors/camping supply stores in and around Josh Thurmond's home region in the Rocky Mountains. There's a LavaBox Amazon storefront, but LavaBox handles the fulfillment for it, so it's effectively just an extension of the company website.

The Amazon product listings for LavaBox weren't added until July 2024, and, further removed from the "'Shark Tank' effect," the presence hasn't moved them above the dregs of the Amazon sales rankings in the "Patio, Lawn & Garden" product category. At least going by what Thurmond said in the aforementioned BusinessDen article, it seems like he's more than fine with his business continuing to exist at a level where it's simultaneously low-key and incredibly profitable for him. 

Per that article, LavaBox grossed $1 million in 2022 — just below his on-air projection of $1.2 million — and was on track to double that for 2023, but Thurmond was hesitant to grow the business much further. "This was a means to an end, this was a way to stop wildfires," he told BusinessDen, adding that he had "bootstrapped" the business and was being very particular about potential investors. "It's actually a more important question now, do I want to scale to a certain size? I really like the pace we're at now." 

For the foreseeable future, if his comments to BusinessDen are any indication, Josh Thurmond is content keeping LavaBox the way it is: A very profitable, self-sustaining business that provides him with a very comfortable living. There are no indications on the company website that we should expect new SKUs of the LavaBox, much less spin-off products, any time soon, which tracks with Thurmond's decision to not try to super-charge the growth of the company.

LavaBox's social media presence is a mixed bag, but largely indicative of a healthy, active company. The LavaBox account on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, has been inactive for years, and the company YouTube channel is updated on a very irregular schedule, but LavaBox's other accounts on Instagram and Facebook remain very active. The company blog, meanwhile, is updated periodically and tends to consist of LavaBox-adjacent camping advice. As for Thurmond personally, he's pretty quiet on social media, as he doesn't use the blogging function on his LinkedIn page and he hasn't posted on his Instagram account since February 2024.

Taken together, all of this jibes with what we knew. That Josh Thurmond's content with LavaBox netting him a very comfortable six-figure annual income for the foreseeable future, and if he's that hesitant to accelerate growth, you can see why he elected not to give up 12.5 percent of the company and a cumulative $200,000 in profits when the time came to make his final decision.