Hi there! Are you a big fan of arcade games? If yes, then you have exactly landed on the article that you should be on. It’s because in this article, I’m going to explain all about Future Circus – The Arcade Experience of the Future!
Pitch Highlights
- Brent Bushnell appeared on Shark Tank season 16 and asked for $500K for 5% in his company – Future Circus.
- Brent is the son of Nolan Bushnell – the famous person who founded Atari and Chuck E. Cheese.
- His high valuation on top of zero sales was the major barrier that stopped him from securing the deal from any shark.
The Best Arcade Experience?
Have you ever thought of playing in the free parking lot just two blocks away from your house? Or in the vacant area besides the shopping mall? If you’re nodding your heads right now, then Brent and his company, Future Circus are going to help you realize your dreams.
Offering you one of the unique concepts in $300 billion gaming industry, where with the help of artificial intelligence and augmented reality, you can now create any vacant spot of your liking to a play area.
How Does it Work?
- AR Goggles + Gaming Joystick
- Upload a Map – Could be your room, a lake, a mall, or an empty lot.
- Transform the Space – The app overlays digital gameplay elements on real-world surroundings.
- Play Anywhere – No need for a physical arcade setup.
How Is It Possible?
Well, the right question should be “what isn’t possible in this world of technology”? All you need is a pair of augmented reality googles, and then, just a gaming joystick would do the trick.
Also, you must download the map of any location, be it a park, lake, mountain, your room, or any parking lot, and upload it on the game. Then, as it is downloaded, it is prepared for a jam-packed gaming session with your buddies.
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The Underlying Problem
To be honest, I don’t like it when sharks do not offer any deal to the deserving startups. However, I also don’t like it when the founders, who haven’t earned a dime come and pitch their ideas on this prestigious platform.
Well, this was the case with Brent Bushnell and his company – Future Circus. To date, he had his idea prepared on the paper. And, that idea was pre-COVID when he ran a different company, but with almost identical idea.
You may be shocked, but he raised around $40M for his previous company. And, out of those $40M, he spent around $9M to set it up, and the rest of amount to sustain it during COVID. Eventually, he had to shut everything down, simply because he didn’t have the funds.
How Did Sharks React?
Honestly, sharks were as stunned as the spectators were! Brent said that he had prepared the software of his idea, and did $9K sales by featuring in some local events. And, the most surprising factor is that Brent did not own a single location.
After considering these factors, would you invest in something like that? Or just let it pass away like a bad dream. Well, all the sharks chose the latter option as it was a sane choice.
Starting with Daniel, he simply said that Mark and Barbara said later that Brent was too early and no doubt on his business skills as his previous company performed well. But at this stage, he had neither sales nor any location upon which his business stood. For that reason, the trio of Daniel, Barbara, and Mark Cuban refused to invest in Future Circus.
Then came in Mr. wonderful and he said that the valuation of business was too high, considering Brent hasn’t made any sales to flaunt his numbers. For that reason, he opted out as well.
In the last, Lori simply validated what all other sharks said and added that this business wasn’t something she wanted to invest in the first place. So, this is why and how Brent Bushnell and his company, Future Circus went empty-handed from the shark tank.
| Sharks | Deal Offered | Remarks |
| Daniel | No | Too early for investment |
| Barbara | No | Too early for investment |
| Mark | No | Too early for investment |
| Lori | No | Not the right fit for her |
| Kevin | No | Too high valuation |
Analyzing It Financially
Sadly, as there were literally no sales apart from the $9K from what he did in the local events, I cannot perform any financial analysis. Even though I am sad, I know the next review of this same episode would be great. So, stay tuned for that!
