Pinblock Update | Shark Tank Season 8
Vladislav Smolyanskyy of Pinblock got himself shark partner in Kevin O’Leary during
Shark Tank Pinblock Update
- Entrepreneur: Vladislav Smolyanskyy
- Business: Toy building blocks
- Ask: $100,000 for 20% equity
- Result: $100,000 for 50% equity
- Shark: Kevin O’Leary
Pinblock makes block toys that are similar to Lego… but also very different. Instead of making it possible to connect every piece together, Pinblocks are all the same shape but with pivot points. This affords a lot of creativity as one can use the Pinblocks to create 3D models and more. Vladislav has also created tons of tutorials for those who’d like to learn how to use their block toys.
With more than $160,000 in sales and an American Dream success story from Vladislav, who was originally from Kiev, the sharks were definitely impressed.
Because of his experience in the toy industry, Kevin couldn’t help but jump on a chance to make an offer as soon as possible. He offered $100,000 for 30% of Pinblock as long as Vladislav was open to partnering with a larger company in the toy industry. Although this went against Vladislav’s goal of building Pinblock into a brand, he quickly found himself in a tough situation.
After hearing Kevin’s deal, Barbara Corcoran went out immediately. Lori Greiner followed suit as she believed that Vladislav still had a lot of work to do. Robert Herjavec complemented Kevin’s deal and decided to drop out. Mark Cuban didn’t take long to bow out either.
However, upon seeing that all of the sharks were already out, Kevin got sharky and increased his equity ask to 50%. After much deliberation and thinking, Vladislav ultimately made the decision to accept Kevin’s offer.
After the Pinblock
Even though the Pinblock website is still up, the company has since gone silent. None of its social media pages have been updated for years. However, it does seem that you can still purchase sets on the website, however, with none of its social media pages being updated in years, we’d suggest you buy with caution.
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Kimberly is a writer for Shark Tank Recap. She has written episode summaries and updates across multiple seasons of Shark Tank, with a focus on complete and accurate information since 2021. She believes that getting the business aspects of each deal correct is extremely important for viewers and fans. Her favorite Shark Tank products are The Wobbles and Rocketbook!