VaBroom got a deal on Shark Tank, but not the one the founders asked for, and no source we could open confirms it ever closed. Trevor Lambert and John Vadnais went on in Season 13 (episode 11, aired January 14, 2022) asking $350,000 for 2.5% of a broom with a vacuum built into it, Market Realist and Looper reported. Kevin O’Leary was the only Shark to make an offer: a $3 royalty on every unit until he had recouped $700,000, plus 2.5% of the founders’ design company rather than of VaBroom. They accepted. As of 2026 the product is still sold on vabroom.com.

What did VaBroom pitch, and what was the ask?

Per ABC’s episode listing, VaBroom is “an innovative new floorcare solution that eliminates dust pans or the need to bend over”, a 2-in-1 lightweight cleaning tool with a vacuum. The product sits in a nozzle you press against the floor; the company’s site says suction starts when you tilt and press it down.

The ask was $350,000 for 2.5%, which implies a valuation of $14 million (our post-money valuation calculator gives the same arithmetic). Market Realist and Looper report the founders said they had sold about $3.1 million over the prior twelve months, with a little over $300,000 in profit. Those are the founders’ on-air figures; we found no audited number. Market Realist reports Vadnais put up $200,000 of his own money, and that Lambert used money from his design company, founded in 2010, to cover the rest of the cost of taking the product to retail.

Why the other Sharks passed

Market Realist reports that Mark Cuban and Daymond John passed. Cuban objected to VaBroom being held separate from the founders’ design company; John, it says, called the founders “greedy” over the ask. House Digest adds that the Sharks cited the lack of a patent and the loose tie between the product and the design firm. House Digest says three Sharks declined in total. The complaint underneath all of it is structural: investors were being asked to price a product whose economics sat partly in another company.

What was Kevin O’Leary’s offer?

O’Leary’s counter wrote that structure into the deal. House Digest and Looper both put it at $350,000, a $3-per-unit royalty until $700,000 was recouped (a 2x return), and 2.5% of Lambert’s design firm, Enhance Innovations. Looper reports the founders tried to negotiate and he held firm, and that they took the deal because O’Leary was the investor they were hoping for.

The royalty arithmetic is simple: at $3 a unit, recouping $700,000 takes about 233,000 brooms. The 2.5% of the design firm is the part that outlasts the royalty.

Did the VaBroom deal with Kevin O’Leary close?

Not that we can document. Looper says plainly that “there’s no evidence that the deal with Kevin O’Leary went through.” Market Realist and House Digest say the founders agreed on air and do not confirm closing. We found no filing, press release or founder statement settling it either way, and the VaBroom site does not mention an investor. Treat the on-air terms as an offer that was accepted at taping, nothing more. Our Shark Tank deals data study covers why that gap is common.

The story before the Tank: a Kickstarter

VaBroom was not an idea in search of a first customer. Looper reports a 2019 Kickstarter that hit its $50,000 goal and went on to raise more than $74,000 from over 1,300 backers, with all orders fulfilled by October 2020 despite pandemic delays. Market Realist says the product had been sold only at Bed Bath & Beyond and on its own site before the show, and that it is now at Walmart, Lowe’s, Amazon and major Canadian retailers; House Digest reports the same expansion. The company site now sells direct only.

Is VaBroom still in business?

Apparently, yes, in a reduced form. The vabroom.com store was live in 2026 with a 2026 copyright, a price of $79.99 (shown against a struck-through $99.99), a one-year warranty and a rechargeable battery. The product was marked backordered with shipping in 10 to 15 days. That is up from the $59.99 price on the show. Looper reports the company’s social accounts were last updated in September 2022, and that Lambert remains CEO of Enhance Innovations while Vadnais is listed on LinkedIn as a part-time founder. House Digest reported an Amazon rating of 3.5 stars in July 2023, with complaints about breaking handles and a harder-to-use nozzle than shown on air. Some low-quality sites quote “net worth” and annual-sales estimates; we left those out because none traces to a primary source.

What founders can take from it

First, the Sharks priced the structure, not just the product: when a product’s value sits in a company next door, expect investors to ask for the company next door. Second, a royalty offer moves risk toward the investor early and gives him more of your upside later, so check what the equity piece buys after the royalty is paid off. Third, crowdfunding and a retail record before pitching gave these founders real numbers to argue with, even if the on-air figures remain theirs alone. If you are working out what a stake is worth, start with our guide to valuing your startup.