People buy and store old vinyl records for their love of vintage music. However, they don’t get used as much nowadays because record players have become expensive. Fortunately, Logan Riley created a small portable record player RokBlok, which landed a massive deal on Shark Tank. As of 2023, RokBlok is estimated to be worth $5 million.
About the Founder
The founder Logan Riley is from San Francisco, California. He studied communications at the College of Southern Nevada and SFSU to become an audio engineer. Riley also taught himself electrical engineering by watching YouTube videos.
He worked for about nine years at Apple as a Mac specialist and Creative Lead. He left the tech giant to gain more control over his career and inventions.
In 2015, the California native founded an idea company called Pink Donut. Logan had several early creative products that didn’t work out. He got his first breakthrough idea after realizing the high demand for portable music players.
Creating RokBlok
The rising inventor noticed that many music lovers wished for an affordable way to revive their vintage records. As a result, he developed the BLOK, a portable music player that spins around a disc as the sound amplifies through its speakers.
His device is wireless and compatible with Bluetooth. Riley took out $2,000 of his personal money to create a prototype for the product. When the product was ready, he applied for a patent to protect his idea.
In 2016, after realizing he required additional financing, Logan started a Kickstarter campaign and raised over $350,000 for the project. Still, he believed his startup needed more capital and publicity to expand.
Shark Tank Appearance
When Logan entered Shark Tank in 2017 and asked for $300,000 for 15% of the company. He made a spectacular entrance, and after starting his small music player, all the Sharks were amazed, especially Robert Herjavec and Barbara Corcoran.
The investors had an insightful discussion with Logan. Still, most of them expressed concerns about the product’s small market and the risks that come with it.
This didn’t stop Kevin O’Leary from making a surprising offer of $300,000 for 50% of the company. However, he was overshadowed by Robert Herjavec’s proposal of $500,000 for 100%, $5 per unit royalty, and a two-year work contract. Logan accepted the offer without much hesitation.
After Shark Tank
After initially agreeing to buy the company, Robert Herjavec later pulled out of the deal. RokBlok has received negative reviews as it’s similar to Soundwagon, another product that has been on the market for years.
Airing on Shark Tank helped the company with its steady rise in 2018 and the business was selling 100 to 200 units per day. With this, RokBlok made more than $959,000 in total revenue. Despite the jump in sales, the product isn’t a big seller because it targets a small market.
The device has a substantial profit margin and is advertised as a substitute for old vinyl players, which sell for an average of $500. RokBlok is valued at $5 million and can be purchased on its website or Amazon but is currently out of stock.
There is limited information available online about Logan Riley. Also, Logan hasn’t tweeted much since 2018 and the Pink Donut website only shows old projects.
Recently, Logan launched a new product called Snapbacks. They are thin decorative backplates for iPhones that can easily be swapped out. He ran a Kickstarter campaign hoping to raise $7,500 but didn’t manage to hit that milestone. The creator canceled the project on December 16th 2022. Despite the failure, he still managed to raise $7,358 from 220 backers. Also, in recent news Logan got married!
