Brian Bloch and Chase Mitchell’s lightweight ice-free Chill Systems seemed like a brilliant idea. The product replaced traditional heavy drink coolers for beach and barbeque hangouts. But when the product was pitched to Shark Tank, the founders didn’t get a deal. As of 2024, Chill Systems is worth $0 as they went out of business.
The Founders
Brian Bloch is from Los Angeles and double-majored in accounting and business administration at the University of Southern California. Also hailing from LA, Chase Mitchell is another business administration graduate and minored in web technologies and applications at USC.
Both men have long resumes. Brian started as a warehouse operations specialist at Dornbracht and later became a business analyst at Apple. Chase began his career as a salesman at Vector Marketing, but his most notable position was as an account manager at Google.
Founding Chill Systems
The two guys became friends at college and were Shark Tank fans. They often talked about bringing their own product onto the show.
Eventually they came up with a concept for a chiller that was easy to carry and didn’t need ice. The duo spent two years bringing the idea to life. Chill Systems was launched in 2018 after a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $53,172 from 473 backers.
The product featured an insulating wrap and a cooling gel, which helped it stay cold for 4-6 hours. However, it needed to be put in the freezer overnight before use. By 2020, the startup had made $111,000 in sales.
Shark Tank Appearance
The company was making sales, but were selling at a loss to test out the market. In 2021, Brian and Chase appeared on season 12, asking for $150,000 for 15% equity.
The Sharks looked amused by the pitch but were skeptical of the product. The pitch went downhill quickly once the founders admitted “our costs are really bad”.
When the guys revealed they left jobs at Apple and Google to pursue this opportunity, Kevin O’Leary uttered one of his best ever lines on the show – “Do you want me to make a call to get your jobs back?”. Mr. Wonderful was the first out, and the other Sharks soon followed. Overall the pitch didn’t go as planned and the founders got roasted by the Sharks.
After Shark Tank
Kevin O’Leary advised the guys to stop the business and return to their regular jobs. After Shark Tank, Chase and Brian continued with Chill Systems until January 2022.
It was available to buy on their official website, which is currently offline and the domain name is for sale on Godaddy Auctions. The iceless chillers are out of stock on Amazon and the company hasn’t posted on social media for over two years.
The aspiring entrepreneurs have taken Kevin’s tip after all. Both guys are now working normal jobs. Chase works at Coinbase as a Partner Success Senior Associate and Brian works at Elbay Endeavors.
