What Happened To The Terrashroom From Shark Tank Season 16?

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ABC's hit reality series "Shark Tank" has featured no particular shortage of bright-eyed entrepreneurs hoping against hope that their product is destined to be the next big thing in the consumer arena. Of course, the market success of many of those products is largely dependent on whether or not said entrepreneurs can soft-toe their way into making a lucrative deal with one of the series' regular panel of would-be investors. And if more than 15-seasons of "Shark Tank" has taught us anything, it's that making a deal is no easy feat, as the likes of Kevin O'Leary, Lori Greiner, and Mark Cuban are rarely quick to part with their hard-earned dollars to back an unproven upstart.

Jared Steele and his in-home intelligent mushroom growing system Terrashroom were wholly unproven when the Austin, Texas based entrepreneur stepped into the "Shark Tank" studio looking for help in taking the product to the next level. Steele was facing an uphill battle almost from the get-go, as the Terrashroom creator's ask translated to a $7 million valuation despite the fact that his company had not yet delivered a single unit to its customers. That fact led some Sharks to deliver a relatively quick offering of the customary, "I'm out."

There was, however, one intriguing offer made to Steele, with O'Leary deciding to "take a flyer" on Terrashroom. Did Steele take the deal? Has Terrashroom become the first name in homegrown mushrooms? Here's what happened to Terrashroom after its Season 16 "Shark Tank" appearance.

As for Jared Steele's ask, the Texas entrepreneur was seeking $175,000 from the "Shark Tank" panel, and offering a paltry 2.5% equity in Terrashroom in return. As noted, the Sharks questioned the $7 million valuation immediately, though many were still impressed by what Steele and the Terrashroom team had managed to do in marketing their product. They were just as intrigued by the product's "printer and ink" business model, with the company looking to secure recurring sales via replacement mushroom grow packs.

There was, however, a not-so-minor blip in Steele's presentation of his sales numbers, as he forgot to note that the device's sales were, in fact, just pre-orders. Yes, said stipulation meant Terrashroom had been taking pre-orders for about two years without delivering a unit to its customers. Several panelists were quick to pass upon learning that information, particularly in the context of Steele's lofty valuation. O'leary, however, bit on Steele's vision, doing so against ongoing protests from Lori Greiner, who was adamant that Terrashroom was both overengineered and not yet ready to take to market.

Despite the protests, O'Leary made a play for Terrashroom, offering Steele a dramatically different deal that netted him a 15% stake in exchange for the $175,000. As he did with Season 15's foodie-centric Chefee Robotic Chef, O'Leary boasted that his team could take Terrashroom to the top of the market. Steele was adamant that 15% was far too much to give, countering with a 5% stake for the $175K, but O'Leary wasn't interested, and Terrashroom left the studio without an investment deal. 

Jared Steele was clearly bummed at not being able to procure a deal for Terrashroom during its primetime debut. Nonetheless, the exposure the product received from the "Shark Tank" appearance no doubt helped bolster the smart, fully-automated mushroom-growing machine's place in the organic home-grow marketplace. That episode aired in November 2024. While Steele and his team had, at the time, been struggling to fulfill pre-orders for the product, by the time Terrashroom officially went prime time, real-world users had not only been testing the device, but the company was well into full-scale mass production of the mushroom-growing device.

Per the Terrashroom website, however, it would seem that the first production took a little longer than anticipated, with Steele noting in a September company update that he expected products to be shipped to customers by October. But that timeline wasn't quite realistic either. Indeed, Steele utilized an October 30 update to let customers know that the first round of production had been completed, and were expected to be shipping out to customers in November and December, which isn't too far behind the original schedule.

It would seem that Terrashroom was largely able to meet that shipping timeline. The FAQ section of the company's website noting that new orders that were not part of the first production round would also begin shipping in February 2025. As of this writing, Terrashroom is still taking pre-orders in its web store, and selling its Terrashroom Master Grow Kit at $399 a pop. To date, the company's site also boasts that they have about 7,000 happy customers. 

However, as of this writing, Terrashroom's site also claims it has upward of 25,000 customers on a waitlist for the product. So, even as Terrashroom has satisfied many of its customers, the company may be struggling to scale-up production on its artfully designed hydroponic shroom houses. Given that fact, one has to imagine that Terrashroom is not exactly looking to expand its offerings beyond the current lineup of grow domes and mushroom cakes that Jared Steele founded the company on. Despite the apparent growing pains, it would seem that, at least for the time being, Terrashroom is managing just fine without Kevin O'leary's market acumen or his $175,000.

If you're curious as to what Steele is up to these days, per his LinkedIn profile he is still very much calling the shots at Terrashroom, listing himself as the company's founder and CEO. If that profile is any indication, Steele is very much all-in on making Terrashroom a success, as he appears to have no other business ventures in the works.

Of course, given that the company has only been around since 2022, and has grown the way it has, one could hardly blame him for dedicating himself completely to his vision of bringing mushrooms to the fungi-adoring masses. Even still, it remains to be seen if he'll be able to turn Terrashroom into a multi-million dollar success like Season 8 "Shark Tank" star Getaway, or if the company will ultimately go the way of the now defunct reservation app Snagastool, which appeared in Season 6. "Shark Tank" is currently available to purchase or rent through Amazon.