Shark Tank Season 5 premiered in September 2013, featuring Breathometer during the fifth episode. As the entrepreneur Charles Michael Yim pitched, his unique product was supposed to be paired with the mobile app.
After blowing in the Breathometer, individuals can check whether their blood alcohol level (BAC)is higher or not. If so, the product featured a "touch" button which can also call a cab incase if the individual has higher BAC levels.
With his pitch and expansion plan for the Breathometer, founder Charles Michael Yim secured a deal from all five Sharks. It included Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, Lore Greiner, Kevin O'Leary, and Mark Cuban. The celebrity investors offered $1 million in exchange for 30% equity in Charles' company.
Initially, things went smoothly. However, it all went south after the Federal Trade Commission reported an issue with the Breathometer and ordered the company to refund the buyers. Read on to learn more about what happened to Charles Michael Yim's Breathometer after being featured on Shark Tank.
Shark Tank: Things did not end well for Breathometer
The initial pitch for Breathometer was featured on Shark Tank Season 5 Episode 5, which all five sharks were interested in. Later, during the show's 29th episode, an update was shared, in which the founder, Charles, revealed that the Sharks had made $1 in sales since investing in the Breathometer.
Shark Tank Season 6 Episode 4, airing in October 2014, featured Charles again with another unique product. He shared his newest product, a Bluetooth version of a Breathometer called "Breeze." Prepared in a Cleveland Clinic lab, the products were available at Best Buy and Brookstone.
While things were going well for Charles and Breathometer, he hit a roadblock in 2017 when the Federal Trade Commission ordered a refund. The company was ordered to refund every individual who purchased a Breathometer sold from 2013 to 2015.
It was because the Breathalyzer was said to show lower blood alcohol levels than the actual level. Despite Michael being ordered to pay the consumers, the company continued selling the product.
"People relied on the defendant’s products to decide whether it was safe to get behind the wheel. Overstating the accuracy of the devices was deceptive — and dangerous," FTC Director Jessica Rich shared.
Shark Tank's Mark Cuban appeared on the Full Send Podcast on July 15, 2022, and shared how his investment in the Breathometer has been the "biggest beating."
While sharing more about the Breathometer founder Michael, Mark Cuban shared,
"It was a great product. But, the guy – Charles – I'd look at his Instagram, and he'd be in Bora Bora ... Two weeks later, he'd been in Vegas partying, and then he'd be on Necker Island with Richard Branson."
Later, it was revealed that Michael's pitch made him a finalist in Branson's Extreme Tech Challenge competition.
During his interview with CNBC, as revealed in a July 22, 2022 article, Michael opened up,
"You can't look at someone's social media and take it for face value. That's not how social media works."
He referred to Mark Cuban's allegations as "completely off base" and said that he didn't spend company money on his personal travel trips. Additionally, Breathometer's founder accepted that the company was not conducting proper testing for some of its products. He mentioned a "lack of rigor," and his busy schedule resulted in such.
The company was still in business until August 2021, making over $1 million in revenue. Later, in July 2022, Shark Mark Cuban revealed that he had lost his investment in the company.
The products had not been available since August 2023. Despite Charles Michael Yim's claims about how the company was acquired, there has been no proof of such deals.
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Viewers can stream Shark Tank Season 16 on ABC.
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