What Happened To OrigAudio From Shark Tank Season 2?

Episode seven of season two of ABC's "Shark Tank" premiered on May 6, 2011, to an audience of 4.45 million people watching live or later that night, according to Nielsen Media Research's viewership ratings. The first of four pitches that week was for OrigAudio, a new startup specializing in unique, portable speakers powered by a device's headphone jack instead of being a Bluetooth or otherwise amplified device that needed batteries. With $750,000 in sales in the company's first year, the Sharks were somewhat impressed by founders Michael Szymcak and Jason Lucash, but their enthusiasm was tempered a bit when they found out that, factoring in the founders not paying themselves yet, OrigAudio hadn't made a real profit just yet. Still, just two of the Sharks opted out, and of the three offers, the one that was accepted was the one that met Szymcak and Lucash at their initial ask.

However, in the months after the episode was shot, OrigAudio's revenue steadily increased to the point that it no longer made sense to take a deal at their "Shark Tank" valuation. The company continued humming along, doubling revenue year over year before the founders sold to a bigger entity. Let's look at how all of this went down in the decade-plus after OrigAudio's "Shark Tank" episode aired and see where they are today.

Michael Szymcak and Jason Lucash entered the proverbial tank seeking a $150,000 investment for 15% equity in OrigAudio, their portable speaker company. Their newest product, the $49.99 MSRP Rock-It, was powered by a given device's headphone jack and acted as a transducer that you attach it to, turning household objects into speakers of all shapes and sizes. However, it was preceded by foldable, recycled speakers — hence the OrigAudio name, for "the origami of audio," that were also powered by a headphone jack. Lucash, asked by Robert Herjavec how the sound quality was, described the sonics as "for their size, quite good." In its first year, OrigAudio had grossed $750,000 in sales, $500,000 of which was from the folding speaker and $250,000 of which was from the Rock-It. The company profited $150,000, albeit without paying either founder a salary.

The Sharks seemed skittish after Lucash explained that neither speaker was their own technology, instead being licensed tech from the factory in China that developed the speakers. Kevin O'Leary opted out, feeling they overvalued the business in a crowded space. Guest shark Mark Cuban followed after asking for a tailored offer and not getting a response. Daymond John offered $300,000 for the whole company, while Corcoran offered $150,000 for 25 percent and argued her TV connections were perfect for demonstrating their products. Herjavec, though, was willing to buy in at their ask of $150,000 for 15 percent equity, so Lucash and Szymcak decided to go with his deal.

For once, we actually have an interview with a "Shark Tank" entrepreneur who explicitly gave a status update on their "Shark Tank" deal after the episode aired. In this case, Jason Lucash appeared on Fox Business Channel in May 2013, where he revealed that the deal never closed because the business had grown significantly after the episode was shot, causing the preliminary agreement with Robert to become untenable and fall apart. Remember: What we see being agreed to on-air on "Shark Tank" is not a final deal; everyone needs to go through due diligence after the episode is shot, and the preliminary agreement can easily fall apart during that process for a number of reasons.

"I was thinking wisely, I think, because when we filmed the 'Shark Tank' [episode], we had a million dollar valuation on our business," Lucash told Fox Business. "So the deal we struck with Robert Herjavec was based on a million dollar valuation. By the time the episode aired, which was about nine months later, our business doubled in terms of revenue, so for us, it wasn't worth it to kinda make a half price deal. And I'm glad we didn't, because now, the business has gone up almost four times that." 

Six months before that Fox Business appearance, OrigAudio was profiled by Entrepeneur.com. There, it was noted that OrigAudio had doubled its annual sales every year since 2009. In 2012, those annual sales hit a whopping $4 million.

At least in the form it took at the time that the "Shark Tank" episode aired, OrigAudio is no longer in business. That's because HUB Promotional Group acquired the company in September 2018 for an undisclosed sum. 

"The Origaudio team has worked very hard to consistently deliver innovation and value to their customers, and their rapid growth and recognition in the industry speaks for itself," HUB CEO Joe Fleming told Counselor. "The addition of Origaudio to the HUB family of companies enables us to expand our product lineup and become the leading hard goods supplier in the promotional products industry."  

As part of the deal, Lucash and Szymczak were retained in their respective OrigAudio roles as president and COO while also getting the new respective titles of HPG's senior vice president of marketing and product and vice president of business development.

As of February 2025, though, it looks like the OrigAudio brand exists in name only within HPG. Looking at the OrigAudio page on HPG's website, 43 OrigAudio-branded products are available, but the old signature products like the Rock-It and the folding speakers are nowhere to be found. Instead, the OrigAudio name is attached to a few dozen pretty generic accessories that don't have the unique appeal that the brand's original products had: a selection of USB chargers, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, wallets, and backpacks. OrigAudio may technically still exist, but what we saw on "Shark Tank" is effectively gone.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the OrigAudio brand's shift away from its original product line under HPG, both Michael Szymcak and Jason Lucash left HPG in the fall of 2023, according to their respective LinkedIn pages. (Technically speaking, Lucash stepped down from his active role as Chief Development Officer in February 2022, but he stayed on as a member of HPG's board of directors until late 2023.)  The pair has since launched a new company, Rupt, with Lucash as CEO and Szymcak as Chief Revenue Officer.

"We're producing product that is made out of fully recycled material this time," Lucash told ASI Media in January 2024. "Three main categories: Tech, drinkware, and bags. That's decorated out of our facility in Austin, Texas in 48 hours." He also noted that they had fulfillment arms in Portugal and Hong Kong to handle European and Asian markets, as well. 

"Rupt is an investment in a future where innovation goes hand-in-hand with sustainability," Szymczak told ASI.

Where does Rupt stand among tech products made out of recycled materials? It depends on the item, and each product page breaks down what the SKU in question is made of. For the tech items, which are mainly speakers, headphones, and chargers, the cabling (when applicable) and ABS plastic housing are the main beneficiaries of recycled materials, while Rupt's stainless steel reusable water bottles and polyester-based backpacks leverage recycled materials better than the current selection of tech items are capable of.